The role of women, particularly in the areas of priesthood and leadership, has changed radically over the past four decades. Section 156 of Doctrine and Covenants, given in 1984, introduced ordination of women in the denomination. The panel will analyze these changes from two different approaches: 1) the institutional and historical contexts, with emphasis on how women’s priesthood and leadership has impacted imagery and activity, including perspectives on how the ordination of women is seen and interpreted in India and sub-Saharan Africa; and 2) one woman’s personal experience of God and of living through the transformation and expansion of women’s roles.

Kay Fletcher, Ronald W. Smith, Jenny Hedman