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There seems to be some concern at top levels about creating the illusion of parity (without making any actual meaningful changes to elevate how much control and input women have in the organization). I for one will not miss the Women’s Session because I have literally never watched it. A meeting in a patriarchal church just for the women? Talking about what, exactly? Gender roles, how women can support men, and motherhood? No thanks. When they extended it to “women” age 8 and up, that sealed it for me. Women & children are literally one category to the men who run this Church.
And yes, it’s galling that almost no women speak in General Conference. Even more galling that Church leaders don’t seem to notice or care. I’d love to see us cut down to one Sunday session, one two hour meeting, and only have the FP and Aux leaders speak (3 and 3). That’s doable.
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-27/saturday-evening-session-general-conference-continues-220677 ” class=”bbcode_url”> https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-27/saturday-evening-session-general-conference-continues-220677 Regarding the first announcement… April (conference) Fools!!!
Quote:Beginning with the October 2021 semiannual general conference, the Saturday evening session will be continued…
In a way it was never really discontinued, was it? The announcement to add two hours back to conference happened before people got an opportunity to experience shortened conference.
The short of it; conference is just as long as it was before but there is no PH and women’s session, the Saturday evening session is now just a regular session of conference.
nibbler wrote:
https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-27/saturday-evening-session-general-conference-continues-220677 ” class=”bbcode_url”> https://www.thechurchnews.com/leaders-and-ministry/2021-07-27/saturday-evening-session-general-conference-continues-220677 Regarding the first announcement… April (conference) Fools!!!
Quote:Beginning with the October 2021 semiannual general conference, the Saturday evening session will be continued…
In a way it was never really discontinued, was it? The announcement to add two hours back to conference happened before people got an opportunity to experience shortened conference.
The short of it; conference is just as long as it was before but there is no PH and women’s session, the Saturday evening session is now just a regular session of conference.
I was actually surprised at the initial announcement that they didn’t just change Saturday evening to a regular session. Maybe they should have done some “additional study and prayer” prior to the first announcement. Part of me thinks this is a bit of a cave to pressure (which could be positive if the concern is that one less session will mean fewer female speakers) and part of me thinks they really didn’t think it through to begin with.
*sigh* I was so looking forward to those two extra free Saturday nights per year.
Call me optimistic (scary) but I had assumed that they would take the three women speakers from the general women’s session and assign them to give talks during the remaining four sessions for both April and October, making for a higher percentage of women speakers during general conference. They may still do this, ensure that three women speakers from the women’s session give a talk at some point in the five sessions each conference. Time will tell, but that doesn’t move the needle much.
They give a reason for the initial change in the article, that people were just watching the session anyway, so drop it… never mind, make it another general session.
DarkJedi wrote:
Part of me thinks this is a bit of a cave to pressure…
Complaining about less conference. This is when the dog tilts its head sideways.
nibbler wrote:
Call me optimistic (scary) but I had assumed that they would take the three women speakers from the general women’s session and assign them to give talks during the remaining four sessions for both April and October, making for a higher percentage of women speakers during general conference.They may still do this, ensure that three women speakers from the women’s session give a talk at some point in the five sessions each conference. Time will tell, but that doesn’t move the needle much.
They give a reason for the initial change in the article, that people were just watching the session anyway, so drop it… never mind, make it another general session.
The ideal would be including more women speakers, but you’re right, just spreading the 3 or so females over the other sessions doesn’t really move the needle – especially considering those 3 women spoke annually, not semi-annually. I’d like to see a commitment to having a minimum number of women speakers per conference, but not counting on that.
I think another thing the FP may have realized (maybe in planning for the upcoming conference) is that instead of dividing the Q12 over 5 sessions they would have had to divide them over 4 (which mostly happened anyway during women’s conference turns). Now they can divide them over 5 and maybe shine a little less of the spotlight on the FP (maybe they each only speak once or twice instead of two or three times). Of course I think people (not necessarily me) might want to hear from the president himself more than the others. Whatever, in the end they’ll do what they “feel is right.”
Quote:DarkJedi wrote:
Part of me thinks this is a bit of a cave to pressure…
Complaining about less conference. This is when the dog tilts its head sideways.
True, with one of the dog’s eyebrows raised. That said, I did hear people complain about less conference and not just because of the legitimate fear of fewer women speakers. One of the first people I mentioned it to (other than my wife who really doesn’t care) more or less complained and said he liked priesthood session. I think it’s fairly akin to those who (still) complain about 2 hour church.
When it comes to meetings, less is always more in my book (church and otherwise, but especially church).
From the FP letter: Quote:“We recognize the increasing challenges facing members of the Church worldwide in our day. An important way to fortify against these challenges comes through hearing the word of God (see Alma 31:5) Therefore, after additional study and prayer, we have felt impressed to continue to hold the Saturday evening session of general conference, albeit in a different format than in the past.”
1) This pretty much dismantles any speculation that cutting the woman’s/priesthood session was out of a desire to save time.
2) I feel the church leadership is intentionally deceptive when they give reasoning like this. I feel so patronized that the church leaders don’t trust the members enough to just lay it out there for us transparently.
3) Wouldn’t this same reasoning also apply to adding back the third hour of church?
😈 They could add 100 more sessions if they want to, doesn’t mean I’ll watch any of them. 😈 Quote:We recognize the increasing challenges facing members of the Church worldwide in our day. An important way to fortify against these challenges comes through hearing the word of God
I wish conference actually did recognize and address actual, specific challenges of our day. Toss in a sentence or two about covid but it gets washed out during the remaining 10 hours of conference. Give a talk that straddles the political fence so deftly that people on all sides of the debate come out of it exactly as they went in.
I don’t know that addressing current events has ever been the goal of conference. The takeaways that I see from our conferences are mostly limited to extracting a new slogan to hammer during the upcoming months (let god prevail, covenant path, tender mercies, etc.). It’s never “do your part to slow the spread of a pandemic” or “watch out for this particular conspiracy theory that polls are showing half of you believe.”
Roy wrote:
3) Wouldn’t this same reasoning also apply to adding back the third hour of church?😈
Don’t give them any ideas…
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