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From the group that started the Wear Pants to Church day. (which I didn’t think had much of a point) Comes a movement to let women pray in General Conference.
I am totally behind this idea, I think it is great. I can’t tell you how many people I have talked to that didn’t even know that no woman has ever publicly prayed in General Conference.
I have been amazed by the hostility about it from people, mostly women, who think that asking for it is rocking the boat. One of my acquaintances even referred to it as a mob.
I don’t care whether men or women pray in GC… but I wouldn’t mind a trap door that is automatically activated after 20 seconds. It is astounding that women don’t pray in general conference. There is no rational reason they should be excluded. It is time! rebeccad wrote:From the group that started the Wear Pants to Church day. (which I didn’t think had much of a point)
I kind of feel the same way about this.Look… I’m not here to defend the practice… but I think it’s a little bit of misattribution.
Women aren’t excluded from praying in General Conference. Currently, only General Authorities pray in General Conference. Since no woman is a General Authority, no women pray in General Conference. It is also true that no stake presidents pray in General Conference. Maybe we should have a “Let Stake Presidents Pray” movement.
Bit of a technical question . Who or what is a general authority? Why wouldn’t the Relief Society General Presidency be general authorities? I might have just found the answer. Their photographs aren’t in the center of the conference issue of The Ensign. I guess it’s back to the Priesthood.
Heck…I didn’t realize only GA’s were allowed to pray in conference…I am good with “Let normal people pray in conference!” movement….and then include women. Pretty sure the only GA rule isn’t well known…is it in the guidebook or just another unwritten church tradition?
General RS President isn’t a General Authority… the key is in the name General AUTHORITY. A Stake President can call a Stake Clerk in his stake, but he can’t call a Stake Clerk in another stake. A GA can call bishops, stake presidents, patriarchs, etc, in any stake in the church. Notice the distinction between General Authority and Area Authority. Interestingly, called and ordained missionary Elders have some general authority… they can preach, teach, and baptize anywhere in the world, without boundaries… it’s just that they are “assigned” to a particular mission for organizational purposes. I served in two different missions, but I was only “set apart” once. As for the only GA’s are “allowed”… I don’t think that is the case, I would simply say that only General Authorities DO pray in General Conference. So, tradition.
Like I said before… just trying to explain it… I didn’t invent the way it is, and I’m all for opening it up more. I just want to make sure that when I fight battles, that I chose battles that are coherent. If the church decides that only General Authorities should pray in General Conference, I can understand that. It’s not like any bozo male member of the church can pray in GC and all women are explicitly excluded. It’s really just a benign side-effect of a much larger issue (no women in the priesthood, only priesthood holders are General Authorities… ergo… no women pray in GC).
Now, I suspect that the church will someday in the not-distant future have female general auxiliary presidency members pray in GC, just to avoid the appearance of exclusion… wasn’t that long ago that only General Authorities spoke in GC too… which also meant that all the speakers were men.
On Own Now wrote:Women aren’t excluded from praying in General Conference. Currently, only General Authorities pray in General Conference. Since no woman is a General Authority, no women pray in General Conference. It is also true that no stake presidents pray in General Conference. Maybe we should have a “Let Stake Presidents Pray” movement.
I know you’re not defending the policy, but I want to point out that during the 70’s and 80’s several non-GAs spoke at General Conference, including stake presidents and LaVell Edwards (although he’s not a great example because some consider him
higherthan a GA.) If a football coach can speak, then a demi-GA like a RS General President can pray. To me, this is a very simple issue with a very simple answer: Anyone who is “worthy” to speak in a meeting is “worthy” to pray in that meeting.I don’t know of a single member who would argue with that statement regarding any meeting other than General Confernce, which tells me this is matter of tradition and nothing else. I’m not going to agitate for a change, but I would love to see it happen and can’t think of any good reason why it shouldn’t or can’t.
I disagree that not having women pray in GC is benign. Most men don’t experience gender bias in the church, women that have great bishops, husbands and fathers don’t either. But others do. People read meaning into all sorts of things that there is no meaning for. Yes this is a small thing, but I think that this will open the door for great things coming to pass.
Quote:Pretty sure the only GA rule isn’t well known…is it in the guidebook or just another unwritten church tradition?
I’m guessing there are few guidelines on how to conduct GC in the handbook, since only GA’s need it.Quote:but I wouldn’t mind a trap door that is automatically activated after 20 seconds.
I would also be in favor of this church-wide.
Quote:I’m not going to agitate for a change, but I would love to see it happen and can’t think of any good reason why it shouldn’t or can’t.
Why not? If you would love to see it happen, why not?
Technically, I believe that many non-GAs have prayed in GC. I think I remember that emeritus 70s sometimes pray after their release. But this is meaningless hair-splitting. This is such a no-brainer to me. As far as traditions go, few typical members would notice but feminist leaning people would notice and appreciate it. The church can quietly point to it as positive change. I just don’t get it – if the church won’t change who prays I have little hope that it will change more visible things that we often discuss here.
rebeccad wrote:I disagree that not having women pray in GC is benign.
When I say ‘benign’ I’m talking about the intent of the church… I doubt very strongly, and assume you would doubt too, that the church leadership gets together before GC to talk about assignments, and that an item on the agenda is “just so long as no woman prays.”
I think we can all agree that the gender bias in the church is outdated and unnecessary. I consider it harmful, both to my daughters and to the general perception of the church. I would love to see the church modernize in this area, and am a frequent advocate for just that. Although I am a man, I hate the way the church has tried to brainwash my girls. I will be happy when I learn from second hand reports that a woman said one of the prayers in GC.
My only point is that I don’t believe the church has a ‘policy’ against women praying in GC and that current practice of having only GAs give prayers in GC results, without intent or malice, in the absence of women on the agenda for the invocation or benediction.
I pick my battles carefully, and this simply isn’t a battle I want to pick. I have expressed openly and honestly on multiple online sites that I would support and love asking women to pray in General Conference, but I won’t “agitate” for it in the classis sense. I have four daughters, so this isn’t academic only for me. It’s important to me. I want to see it happen, but I have chosen to tackle it at a different level and in a different way than petitions, marches, online demands, etc. Some people might view my written support as agitation, and I’m ok with that view, but I choose to do more than I will with this issue where I feel I have a greater chance of having an impact – and that tends to be at the local level. Part of that is because I believe lots of things in the Church get changed from the ground up, so my involvement in that effort has a larger effect, ime, and is a better use of my time.
I know how subjective that is, and I dont’ think everyone else should make the same decision I do, but it’s my own decision I have reached after a lot of thinking, talking and soul-searching.
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