Blessing Photo Illustrations
I’ll never forget the day I–pregnant and full of hope–asked my bishop if I could just hold my baby for her naming and blessing ceremony as she’s presented to our congregation. I wept all day when he told me no. Two months later, after I held her for the first time in my arms, I dreamed of what it would have been like to participate with my husband in a day so important in LDS ritual to my Rosie’s life and ours.
In this spirit of hope and reverence we are pleased to release the first set in new Photo Illustration Series: Visualize Our Potential. These illustrations recently received national media attention, but they have long been in the pipeline–we have been planning them for over a year, originally intended as a flipchart to accompany OW’s Conversation Five: Visualize Our Potential. However, when we were writing this 5th Conversation, Kate received notice of her disciplinary court, and so the project was put on temporary hold. We hope that this flipchart, along with the accompanying activities such as the River of Life, will further the conversation on women and the priesthood. And as we learned in Conversation Two: Know Our History, blessings were an integral part of women’s ritual in our early Church days. More illustrations in this series will be released to our site in the upcoming days/weeks, so please stay tuned! We will also be using these photos in future blog posts, videos on our youtube channel, and will create an OW Tumblr of illustrations.
In compliance with current church policy, no actual ordinances took place in the making of these photo illustrations. All models are Mormons who respect LDS ritual. Their purpose is to visualize the day when women are ordained.
Honoring our past,
Envisioning our future
Kristy Money, the author of this post, is an Executive Board Member of Ordain Women.
OW supports John Dehlin
Long-time Ordain Women supporter and host of the Mormon Stories podcast, John Dehlin, is facing excommunication. His disciplinary trial is scheduled for January 25 in Logan, Utah.
John has a profile on the Ordain Women site, but even prior to posting his profile John helped support and nurture Ordain Women. In fact, before Ordain Women was even an entity and was just an idea in my head, I called up John. He was immediately very supportive of the idea and helped me connect to several other people in the community who turned out to be instrumental in the movement. John Dehlin has been one of Ordain Women’s truest allies from its start.
Even in those early days, John expressed concerns over church discipline, something he wanted to avoid, first and foremost, for the sake of his family. However, in the recent New York Times article he said,
I would prefer for them to leave me alone, but if given the choice between denying my conscience and facing excommunication, I’d much rather be excommunicated.
This type of courage and unwavering conviction in the face of punishment is inspiring. It is in these trying times we find out what true integrity really is. I hope and pray that John’s leaders do the right thing, by choosing ‘no action’ and sending the message that there is a place for all in the Church. Indeed, there is room even for those with legitimate questions and concerns.
In this difficult time my heart aches for, and support goes out to, the Dehlin family. I know his wife and wonderful children and think they will benefit from our collective thoughts and prayers. Please deliver messages of support, but be careful to respect their privacy. Being in such a direct spotlight at such a personally exhausting time can be hard.
I know the excruciatingly painful road John is facing, perhaps more intimately than almost any other person can. Rejection from your faith community is agonizing, no matter how deeply held your convictions are. Excommunication is particularly heartbreaking when the negative effects will be felt not only by you and your family, but by an entire worldwide community reeling in pain. I support John as he navigates this process, and stand by him as a friend.
As an organization Ordain Women stands in solidarity with John Dehlin while he faces excommunication, as he has long been a staunch ally to and supporter of women seeking priesthood ordination.
The author of this post is Kate Kelly, founder & Action Committee Chair of Ordain Women.
Informal Discipline
I remember my first calling. I was going to be the Beehive Secretary and I was incredibly excited. In my eyes, this was a chance to serve my friends and to help my leaders. But more than that, a calling was a signal to my ward that I was truly part of our faith community. I enjoyed the same feeling of full fellowship when I held my first temple recommend in my hand. It was a physical symbol of how hard I had worked to gain a testimony and be worthy to enter the House of the Lord.
Every member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can appreciate these moments. We are told that callings are a privilege and a chance to serve others as we grow in the gospel. And we are often reminded that we should always have a current temple recommend, even if we are too far from a temple to attend. These are the symbols of our faith. Recognizing their cultural importance, one can only imagine the pain and damage caused by instances of informal discipline in our Church, where members are threatened with the loss of one or both of these symbols.
While many of us understand the fear of disfellowship or excommunication, we are learning that informal discipline can be just as painful. Where formal discipline follows a set of established rules and comes with a sense of finality, informal discipline is arbitrary and ambiguous. There are no rules laid out in the Church Handbook of Instruction for removing a person from a calling as a Sunday school instructor because of anonymous complaints about the teacher’s Facebook posts. A woman has no timeline for being asked to be a Relief Society teacher again when she was released because she has a profile at www.OrdainWomen.org. And few of us have the wherewithal or presence of mind to push back when we are asked additional questions—questions not listed in the Church Handbook of Instruction—in the course of a temple recommend interview. Members are placed in the position of having to choose between their public support of women’s ordination and the ability to participate in or even attend the temple wedding of a family member. In fact, this absence of rules leaves individual members at the mercy and whim of their local leaders.
I want to stress that of the more than 600 men and women who have submitted profiles, barely 20 have experienced this sort of informal discipline; in fact, many members who support women’s ordination serve in presidencies, as teachers, and more. But the time has come to speak openly about it. When an individual loses a calling or recommend as a result of support for the ordination of women, at first she feels shock. She thinks “Surely, my bishop has made a mistake; he knows me! He has heard my testimony and seen my service! I just need to talk to him.” But after one or two failed attempts to explain her heart, the shock wears off and she recognizes it for what it actually is: informal discipline is a public punishment. It is a scarlet A that she will wear every week. It is a way to brand a member as a threat, to tell the people with whom she worships that she is not their sister. Or worse, it is a warning to others that they must remain quiet and distant or they will suffer her same fate.
For most supporters of Ordain Women, the discipline is a faint shadow. In truth, over the last two years, I have been pleasantly surprised by stories of local leaders who have listened carefully to women as they discussed the question of gender inequality in our Church. Most bishops and stake presidents not only welcome the participation of the women in their congregations who are questioning gender inequality in the Church, but they also listen. The faith and humility of these leaders should be an example to others. They have remembered the new commandment, given by the Savior, that we love one another, as He has loved us. When our leaders act out of love, they need not fear us nor we them.
Honoring our past,
Envisioning our future
Debra Jenson, the author of this post, is the 2015 Chairperson on the Executive Board of Ordain Women.
What is God’s Will
Ordain Women is pleased to announce the release of our newest video series in which we explore, based on scriptural and historical evidence on the most important question in women’s ordination, “What is God’s will?” Part 1 condenses the information from OW’s Conversations One and Two. Our second video, Part 2, focuses on Conversation Three, particularly the fundamentals of Mormon Doctrine that support gender equality. The final video, Part 3, in our series focuses on why priesthood is necessary to eternal progression from information contained in Conversations Four, Five and Six.
In creating this content we present compelling arguments all from official church sources that are accessible in 5 minute videos. These can be consumed in a different way than reading the Conversation packets. For further information you can view and download the entire conversation series here. There are also video links to OW leaders discussing each one of them individually live on our YouTube channel.
The glory of God is intelligence, and we have learned since our Primary days it is up to each of us to discern God’s will for us personally and use moral agency to act on principles of righteousness–to do what is right, let the consequence follow. We wish all the best of luck on this very personal journey.
“They’ll brave the world side by side.”
Pastels and primary colors mix, mingle, and collide in our crowded toy room. Intricate villages combine blocks and Barbies, and it’s difficult to determine where Pet Shop animals end and Match Box cars begin. Boys rock baby dolls to sleep, and girls crash down towers with monster trucks. Imagination is celebrated and play prioritized, with little regard for real world norms and expectations.
In this world, personalities collide in battles of wills. The oldest expects to create and control the game by default. Her younger brothers resist, but often go along with her intricate plans. Their complex world is increasingly influenced by what they read, hear, and see, yet their genders rarely create limitations for who they can be or what they can do. Their ability to take in what they like and leave out the rest delights me.
My daughter especially refuses to be pink-washed. She embraces fairies, ponies, and princesses, but bemoans their limitations. She reads daring adventures and wonders why the protagonist is almost always a boy. She watches a show with an ensemble cast, inevitably asking, “Why is there always just one girl?”
My eldest son is a born nurturer. His newest baby brother won over his six year-old heart three months ago. He wakes up in the morning seeking out the baby to hold his tiny hand, rushes to his side each time he cries, and finds him for a smile first thing after school. I dread all of the little ways he’ll learn to be cautious about these feelings as he ages, masking them in “masculinity” and praising nurturing as inherent to womanhood.
My daughter rejects the notion that being a girl is anything less or limiting in any way. I revisit the frustrations I felt as a girl through her struggles and listen as she asks hard questions and rages at the inequality in the world.
Her younger brothers are less concerned by these issues, influenced by both age and the excitement of seeing themselves in the hero. They are not aware of otherness until their sister points it out. Yet, they resist stereotyping in their own subtle ways; most notably choosing to be a female character in a video game or during movie role playing.
If my children approach the future from the perspective of their playroom, they’ll brave the world side by side. The idea of excluding one from an activity based on gender will seem absurd. The concept of dividing responsibilities into “girl” and “boy” categories will confuse them. Each new milestone will be open to everyone, requiring special skills only determined by personality and experience.
They will begin to leave the toy room behind in the years to come, my daughter exiting first. She is already pushing back against gender messages in some ways and internalizing them in others. When she wonders why the hero is almost always a boy, I encourage her to reimagine the story with a female protagonist. When the roles for women in a history book, video game, or movie disappoint, I suggest she rewrite them. I hope these are transferable skills, practice for the dedication and determination required to make similar changes in the real world.
I want my sons to be engaged in this process alongside their sister; resisting the complacency and ambivalence so easy to adopt in adulthood. I envision them as men who do not simply acknowledge inequality or limiting gender roles, but who seek to create revisions as well; recognizing how reimagining the same old story creates a better world for everyone.
Honoring our past, envisioning our future
Ordain Women
Mindy, the author of this post, has a profile on Ordain Women.
Preparing for our future
As Chair of the Executive Board, I am happy to announce that Ordain Women, thanks to the hard work of some of our fantastic friends, has applied for and been granted 501(c)(3) status. I believe this will allow us greater flexibility in planning actions and will also give individuals a new way to participate—by making a tax-deductible donation via the PayPal link below (email is ordainmormonwomen@gmail.com). As is the case with all we do, our goal in becoming a non-profit entity is to engage in faithful action to help further the conversation about the role of women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A pioneer woman
Here, let me adjust your bonnet a little–that’s it.” I felt my heart beating out of my chest while the photographer took the first set of pioneer photos. It was truly a spiritual experience and brought me back to other times in my life when I’ve dressed up as a pioneer: At Pioneer Day Primary parties when I was a little girl, I’ll never forget playing ring-toss on cardboard cow horns and winning spray painted “gold” rocks to exchange for prizes. When I was in Young Women, I participated in our Stake Trek and pulled a handcart with my family across hot and humid terrains. I’m thrilled my first daughter was born on Pioneer Day, honestly one of my favorite holidays.
I’m a believing Mormon with pioneer ancestry I deeply revere and whose sacrifice I honor. I don’t live in Utah anymore, but my family does, and whenever I look out the window as our plane descends into SLC or see aerial shots of Y Mountain in Provo or the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Timpanogas, my eyes mist up. Mormonism is my home–my tribe–and always will be.
My commitment to stay and make my spiritual home a better place for the next generation of young women gave me the courage to participate in these photo illustrations. (No actual ordinances were performed, in compliance with church policy). While posing, Evie–my Pioneer Day baby who was named after her Mormon ancestors–played under the table in front of us, watching with fixed intensity and curious as to what the heck we were doing. The look in her eyes sent me back to the time she looked up and offered me carefully broken bread on a plate. You see, earlier that Sunday we attended a family baby blessing at another church with a female pastor, and Evie had been paying attention that day too. I want her to see female bishops on the stands of LDS chapels someday. I want her to pass the sacrament with her brothers, if she so desires. I want her to have the chance to hold her first baby girl when she’s blessed during sacrament meeting, a blessing of the priesthood I wasn’t allowed to experience.
Honoring our Past, Envisioning our Future: I can’t think of a better Ordain Women theme for 2015. So when the time came for the second part of the photo shoot, I was bursting with excitement. I smiled as my friend pinned the cameo from before on my dress, which was the same color as the bonnet. This feels so right–to honor our ancestors and visualize a potential someday when the prophet reveals that the female priesthood ban is finally over.
I believe God has many great and important things to reveal pertaining to the LDS Church. And after studying the scriptures and praying, I am convinced women’s ordination is God’s will for His children. I invite everyone to reflect on this photo illustration and what it could mean for Mormonism’s future, particularly if we play an active role in the revelatory process with President Monson, whom I sustain. After all, revelations don’t often come unless they are actively desired by those who would receive the blessings. My four years of seminary and decades of scripture study have taught me so.
Kristy, the author of the post, is on the Executive Board of Ordain Women
Honoring My Mother’s Courage and Finding My Own
My mother went to BYU in the 70s when, as she often reminds me, she wasn’t allowed to wear pants to her classes or to her on-campus job. She was an English major—and later an English teacher—so she spent her college and grad school years writing theses. If there is one thing I have learned from my mother, it’s that a good thesis comes from asking the right questions.
The first time my mom lived in the United States was when she attended BYU as a freshman. Though she grew up in Ireland, Morocco, Venezuela, and Panama, she always believed that she belonged to the Mormon community in Utah. However, to this day, whenever anyone asks her about the cultures in which she lived, she will say BYU Provo was the strangest. One of the examples she gives to punctuate her assertion happened on her second Friday at BYU. She was called into the common room of Heritage Halls for a “candle passing.” This was a common ritual of sorts done when someone in the dorm got engaged. The women gathered and passed around a candle with the engagement ring attached to it. When it reached the newly engaged freshman, she blew out the candle, and the rest of the women in the dorm squealed with delight. My mother says she felt so confused. Her childhood Mormonism looked almost nothing like the BYU world she had entered.
Not too many years later, my mom went to Morocco to teach English at the school she had attended. A large part of her motivation for going back to Morocco was an attempt to re-find the culture of her childhood and deal with her own faith crisis. She had spent almost two years in a Washington, DC LDS single’s ward and was disturbed by what she called the “competitive dating” she saw there. She wanted to find a place to explore her faith.
Before returning to Morocco, my mom had written her master’s thesis on T. S. Elliot. Today, when she reads me Eliot’s poems, she talks about how she loves the way he deals with doubt and exploration. One of my favorite passages from Elliot’s Four Quartets is: “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
This passage was a thesis for my mother’s life and has become a thesis for mine. After about two weeks without the LDS Church in Morocco, my mom missed the music and started going to an Anglican church weekly to sing. She dealt with the doubt, conflict, and pain in her experience with Mormonism, and boldly explored her own questions.
Knowing about my mother’s exploration gave me the courage a few years ago to explore my own faith. And while I’m nowhere near done exploring my own doubts and questions, at the end of the day, I know my mother is there for me. If and when I find my way to where I started, seeing Mormonism for the first time, I will know my mother is with me all the way.
Honoring our past,
Envisioning our future
Emma, the author of this post, has a profile on Ordain Women
“What I discovered about our pioneer foremothers surprised me.”
For as long as I can remember, I have been told how to be a woman: my hair is my crowning glory, I am to serve and revere my husband (having a husband is the only option to be complete), meekness is the most desirable quality I could possess, faithful women are rare so I must be a ruby among the unpolished stones. Womanhood was not about being empowered, or strong, or even autonomous. I was left hoping for something more. Something better.
As I am a lover of history, I had been doing a great deal of reading about women in the Church. I have always loved Emma Smith for her powerful example of what I imagined was the embodiment of “woman.” What I discovered while reading about Emma and our pioneer foremothers surprised me. Could it really be that women were giving blessings to one another? How was this possible? I shelved these ideas and thoughts for 12 years for fear of being labeled as “apostate” for thinking such things were really what they claimed to be. With the release of the Joseph Smith Papers Project, more light was opened on this subject for me.
I read about different kinds of women: strong women, women crowned with glory from their Eternal Parents, priestesses, women who laid their hands on the heads of one another before the birth of a child, anointing one another with oil, healing children, using the Holy Priesthood to heal their husbands and others who were in need. All of this done before the correlation of the Relief Society and the stripping of our ability—your ability, my ability—to perform priesthood responsibilities, without authorization from a male to do so behind the closed doors of our temples. I ached for this during my own pregnancies but words could not be formed to describe those emotions.
For me, honoring this heritage and tradition is as important as looking toward the future and holding a space of hope for change; it is remembering this part of myself. Remembering it in the full sense of the word: to go back to. To go back to a space of oneness and wholeness with the person I am created to be. It has nothing to do with power or authority for me. It has everything to do with reclaiming that which was taken without permission or consent. I want better for me. I want better for the women in our faith tradition. I want better for my mothers and my sisters and my daughters.
My daughters deserve to know the legacy left for them by these women. They deserve to know their right and rite within the rich ritual of laying their hands upon the heads of those who call on them for healing and comforting. They deserve to have that space within them filled again and return to a state of wholeness, even if they may not be able to put into words yet what that empty space feels like. But they know it is there, just as I knew it was there. As I sit here, I am nursing my sweet daughter and telling her the wonderful stories of women who went before her and hope that I may add my story to theirs one day as a woman who discovered who she was: someone no longer afraid to take off the bushel basket from my candle—someone who dared to share my light.
Honoring our past, envisioning our future
Ordain Women
Rachel Wachs, the author of this post, has a profile on Ordain Women.
