Including LDS women on the platform is in line with the gospel

That young women need visual validation of their importance in the Lord’s work is consistent with what I know about this generation as students and learners. .

I have been very vocal and public about the sadness and heartbreak caused by the dismissal of a woman from a Bay Area stand by the North American West regional president. Having women in leadership on the platform is a practice that beautifully and simply models how essential women are to the building of Zion and the exaltation of the Son of God.

As a mother of three daughters, the loss of Stand was devastating. Not because the stand itself was so important, but because it was a way to show her daughters that Latter-day Saint church culture is consistent with the beautiful gospel principles of equality and equality. A united partnership.

Now, my daughters have pointed out that while women are essential and essential to the plan of happiness, they do not believe that this truth is modeled for them in the same way that it is modeled for young men. What should I explain to them? Like my generation, clichés and unfair comparisons don’t work for them.

Some, like Tribune reporter Gordon Monson, advocate slimming down the stands rather than strengthening them. I see the benefits of a slender stand where only the chairman sits. If her husband had been sitting in the stands for years while I was in the audience taking care of our young child, I definitely would have been a fan of that plan. However, I am concerned that this version of the Stand focuses more on the importance of one person leading and chairing than the contributions of many.

Even if everyone (men and women) came down from the stands, we would still be able to address the questions and concerns that the missing faithful young women bring to mothers and fathers as they seek their future place in the church community. You probably haven’t dealt with the hurt yet. they love

Let me be clear: I love church. My faith, my understanding, my life, and my very identity are tied to my Mormonism, and it’s impossible to know where one thread begins and the other ends. . I truly want to weave into my daughters the gospel truths that have so much meaning in my life. Unfortunately for me and many other Latter-day Saint parents, the cultural structure of the church makes it increasingly difficult to engage this generation of young people firmly in the tapestry of our community.

Our children are very sensitive to discrepancies between observed church practices and professed church doctrine, and when asked by our children why a discrepancy exists, we I don’t have a satisfactory answer to give them.

At the same time, society as a whole recognizes the value of young girls, with women leading the way in business, government, higher education, and other respected institutions. The visual presence of women on the podium, on the platform, in the boardroom makes their absence on the platform paradoxical, and they notice it.

From my experience as an educator, a mother, and a member of a stake Young Women presidency, I know that meeting the needs of, serving, and discipling this generation of youth requires a lot of effort from previous generations. need to understand that they are different. That young women need visual validation of their importance in the Lord’s work is consistent with what I know about this generation as students and learners. .

“Digital natives” are constantly bombarded with images and information throughout their lives and have a strong preference for visual learning. The ability to memorize and retain information increases by 83% with the help of visual input. In my classroom, I provide my students with far more visual tools than when I first started teaching 20 years ago. Because our students have changed and their needs have changed, we have had to change the way we engage with and teach them.

True, the stands are not the most important place to meet women in church. I will always have a seat at every table where decisions are made, more than any seat in the stands. But regardless of how it turns out, young women need to look at themselves and their futures in the church. Words are never enough for them. We need powerful visual tools to show how well our communities know their value and how desperately we need their leadership.

Having women on the platform is an elegant and simple acknowledgment that our wards and stakes cannot run without women’s ministry and leadership, and it challenges young women to care for their brothers and sisters. I believe it tells them that you value them just as much. Whatever choice we make, it is clear to me and many other Latter-day Saint parents that our daughters need consistent, visible indicators of unified leadership and valued partnerships. .

I speak for those of us who are acutely aware of the weight of our responsibility to young women. “We need help.” We unnecessarily encounter cultural obstacles to young people’s commitment to the truths of the gospel. No matter how hard you try, you cannot move without help.

With the care of inspired leaders who have the power to make a difference, parents like me can lead this generation into the growing, ever-changing, breathtaking tapestry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be able to incorporate it.

amy watkins jensen He is a middle school humanities teacher in Oakland, California, and a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Amy manages her Instagram account @womenonthestand: A space for thoughtful and respectful dialogue about the “how” and “why” of women’s participation in the church.

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