Women praying in sacrament meeting

[_MsJack]

Here's the deal Consig:

You are correct that women were cleared to pray in Sacrament meetings in 1978. The Church Handbook of Instructions merely states that both men and women are welcome to pray in Sacrament meetings and says nothing about gender-specific opening or closing prayers. (This was on p. 67 of the last CHI; haven't looked up the reference in the 2010 edition.)

However, someone high up has been agitating for an "unwritten order of things" that still forbids women from giving the opening prayer. The reasoning is that Sacrament is an Aaronic Priesthood meeting and only an Aaronic Priesthood holder can invoke the Spirit. Extremely offensive to women? Yes, but the practice continues.

The last ward my husband and I lived in appeared to be working under this UOOT. At least, in the year we were living there, I never heard a woman give the opening prayer. It was either men for both prayers or men for opening, women for closing.

My husband's current ward definitely allows women to say the opening and the closing prayer.

Kevin Barney believes that it's Boyd K. Packer who has been agitating for this.

See the following Bloggernacle posts:

The Prayer Thing: Why Women Aren't Worthy to Open Meetings by Alison Moore Smith @ Mormon Momma
Not Letting Women Open Sacrament Meeting Redux by Kevin L. Barney @ By Common Consent
The Problem With the Unwritten Order of Things by Julie M. Smith @ Times & Seasons

[_sock puppet]

Why would God care who prays as long as it is sincere?

Because He's a total dick?

Equality, that is certainly a nominee for Best Post of 2010!

[_consiglieri]

Here's the deal Consig:

You are correct that women were cleared to pray in Sacrament meetings in 1978. The Church Handbook of Instructions merely states that both men and women are welcome to pray in Sacrament meetings and says nothing about gender-specific opening or closing prayers. (This was on p. 67 of the last CHI; haven't looked up the reference in the 2010 edition.)

Thanks for the references, MsJack. I will check those out as soon as I am done with this post.

I went to home teach a friend of mine last night, who has locked away an old 1989 CHI. He swore me to secrecy as all old CHI's are supposed to be turned into the church for immediate disposal.

Sound fishy? I am sure the church is just trying to make sure everybody is singing out of the same handbook, and not trying to cover its tracks.

Moving on, we looked up the part about sacrament meeting and about praying in church, and it is just as you said, both men and women are allowed in the CHI to give any prayers in any meeting (well, maybe not priesthood).

And yet, I was so certain that this was the "rule" I had heard growing up that I thought it must be coming from somewhere above the stake level.

Thanks again for the links.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

[_DarkHelmet]

It's because women are walking pornography. How can men be expected to reverently fold their arms and listen to the prayer when the pornography is standing at the podium?