Best Practices for Collaborative Partnership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter -day Saints
Best Practices for Collaborative Partnership
Sometimes we think the only changes that matter are those implemented from the top down by Church leadership. However, there are already meaningful steps we can take within our home wards and stakes to embrace collaborative partnership and united leadership. Practices, policies, and cultural traditions currently available to us can promote inclusion and enhance the visibility of women’s stewardship and spiritual authority. Some of these are outlined in the handbook, others require creativity and vision, and many simply need focused attention. With a little advocacy, effort, and commitment from both local leaders and members, these practices can become an integral part of our ward and stake experiences.
Best Practices for collaborative partnership:
Provide equivalent opportunities for young women and young men in terms of activities, leadership roles, recognition, and spiritual preparation. (General Handbook, 11.2.1.4)
The bishopric ensures that the budget and activities for young women and young men are sufficient and equitable.”* (General Handbook, 11.2.1.4)
Active Participation in Ward Councils: Encourage women to actively participate and voice their opinions in ward and stake councils, ensuring their perspectives are considered in decision-making processes. (General Handbook, 4.3.3)
Stake leadership Sundays: Both male and female stake leaders speak in wards instead of just inviting members on the high council to do so. (General Handbook, 6.5.1)
Women on the Stand: Check with area authorities to see if this practice is available in your region. Include female ward leaders, such as the Relief Society President, on the stand during Sunday meetings. Invite the three women presidents from the stake to sit on the stand in ward and stake conferences. (General Handbook, 29.2.1)
Call specific young women to organize youth as greeters. (General Handbook, 11.3.4.2 and 29.2.1.3)
Highlighting Contributions: Feature stories and achievements of women in church newsletters, talks, and lessons to promote balanced representation in church communications.
Extending Callings. Women should receive callings in the same way as men. For a married woman, extend the calling to her and ask her to delay accepting until after she has talked with her husband. The same approach should be followed when extending a calling to a married man.
Never have a decision making meeting that affects whole wards and stakes without women in leadership present and fully collaborating. Final decisions can be made in ward and stake council meetings with women in attendance and actively participating or in separate meetings where women are included.
Quote women: Seek and include doctrinal insights from female sources in lessons, talks, and discussions.
Respect women’s stewardship by allowing women to make decisions for their organizations.
Each year Elders Quorums and Relief Societies should select a number of conference talks by women as the basis for Sunday Lessons.
Properly use and honor women’s titles and names, respecting their identities and roles within the church.
Counsel with women leaders when new bishoprics are formed.
Adult men and women speakers should be given the same amount of time in sacrament meeting. Women should be the concluding speaker half of the time. This need not occur in every sacrament meeting, but should be true over time.
Women have Doctrinal and Spiritual Authority. Invite women to speak on doctrinal topics, not just topics that traditionally have been “women’s topics.” Women should be seen as doctrinal experts and spiritual leaders.
Refer to Heavenly Parents and Heavenly Mother often.
Assign Young Women to take the sacrament to mothers in the mother’s lounge or nursing mother’s room.
Encourage the Relief Society and Elders Quorum to collaborate on service assignments, promoting shared responsibilities and broader service opportunities.
Encourage responsibilities and service opportunities to be divided according to the strengths and spiritual gifts of the individual and not on traditional gender roles.
Women experts and leaders should often be invited to teach fifth-Sunday lessons.
Include women leaders in decisions about boundary changes and the formation of new wards and stakes.
Encourage women to develop their own spiritual authority and trust in their personal relationship to Deity.
When there is a stake youth missionary training, women and men should teach the youth together. Women make up almost half of the missionaries in our church.
Have women give firesides.
Have firesides and discussions that focus on Heavenly Mother and other topics that affirm women’s divine nature and spiritual authority.
Collaborate with Mothers before events like baptisms, blessings, and ordinations on ways they can be included in milestone moments for their children. Holding babies, witnessing baptisms, etc.
By implementing these practices and policies, local wards and stakes can foster a more inclusive environment that values and utilizes the spiritual gifts and leadership abilities of all members, strengthening the Church community as a whole. Let’s keep track of our good ideas! What’s missing from this list that should be included? DM @womenonthestand on instagram, email womenonthestand@gmail.com or message https://substack.com/@womenonthestand.
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Hope for Future Practices that Affirm Women’s Spiritual Authority and Priesthood Power
What a wonderful thing it is to talk about women having the power to act in God’s name! We have become accustomed to hearing from the highest pulpit that women hold and exercise priesthood power. The words of our prophets and women leaders have led many of us to fervent, prayerful study, deepening our conviction of the truthfulness of our priesthood power and spiritual authority as covenant women of God.
As often happens with prayerful study, our growing understanding has led us to ask more good questions—questions about how future practices, cultural traditions, and institutional language can better reflect the truth of our priesthood and the significance of our responsibility in bringing souls unto Christ. Practices and language that affirm our belief in women’s priesthood power can only help women—young and old—embrace their priesthood power and recognize their central role in gathering all of Heavenly Parents’ children unto Christ. When our practices, traditions, and policies consistently reflect the reality of women’s priesthood power and spiritual authority, every member of the Church will better understand this truth, bringing strength and wholeness to the body of Christ.
What could this look like? Many Saints have offered thoughtful ideas! Some of these changes could be implemented immediately with nothing more than a few sentences added to our handbook or a few well-placed, encouraging words from our leaders.
Here are some ideas that Saints have shared:
The language we use to talk about women’s priesthood should not be motherhood or home specific. Women use their power to act in God’s name in all aspects of their lives and their power isn’t contingent on their marital or motherhood status.
Area organization advisers called in every area of the Church, including the U.S. and Canada.
More women speak in General Conference
Women are keynote speakers at worldwide events for women.
Women serve in financial callings, such as ward clerk
Primary presidents conduct baptismal services for eight-year-olds.
Women on ward and stake councils can be invited to conduct council meetings.
Women presidents extend their own callings.
Women serve in Sunday School presidencies.
Women on ward and stake councils are counseled with when new bishoprics or stake presidencies are called.
Stake leadership meetings always include women.
Mothers are given the option to hold their babies during blessings.
The option to have women on the stand in ward meetings is given to wards across the Church. Ward Relief Society President or another woman from the ward counsel sits on the stand during sacrament meetings.
Stake Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary presidents sit on the stand and are acknowledged during stake and ward conferences.
Call women as ward Temple Leaders and Family History Leaders
Visiting stake women’s presidents are invited to sit on the stand and recognized from the pulpit when attending wards that are not their own.
Young Women’s classes are given meaningful, specific names.
Young Women transitions between classes are acknowledged from the pulpit.
Transparency on the role of women’s General Presidencies as essential and collaborative leaders.
Women are included in metrics and data that inform ward and stake growth decisions.
Women conduct world-wide women’s meetings.
Policies that create more room for women to be decision makers and collaborative problem solvers at every level of Church Governance.
Women Mission Leaders given a meaningful title of their own.
Opportunities for women to teach and train adult men.
Empower women leaders to report abuse directly. The current language only advises Bishops and Stake Presidents on reporting abuse. Women and girls do not always feel safe discussing abuse with men.
Women occasionally teach men and vice versa in Relief Society and Priesthood meetings
Call women as advisors to the Bishopric.
More clarity and consistency in how we use the word priesthood.
Heavenly Mother consistently included in Church materials.
Heavenly Mother included in our understanding of the creation in temple theology and ritual.
RS Presidents given authority to council with women and young women.
The Young Men’s theme would read “I am a beloved Son of Heavenly Parents”
What Would You Add?
What other good ideas could we include? Let’s keep track of our good ideas! What’s missing from this list that should be included? DM @womenonthestand on instagram, email womenonthestand@gmail.com or message https://substack.com/@womenonthestand.
The old adage “actions speak louder than words” reminds us that words alone are not enough. Institutional and cultural practices that affirm and demonstrate women’s priesthood power would bless the entire Church!