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In April 2011 General Conference, Elder Cook gave a talk in which he stepped beyond the normal lines of Mormon think by relating a story in which a Relief Society President received revelation for the priesthood holders in her ward and passed it along to the bishop in a ward council, who implemented it with salubrious results.

At the time, I posted as to how remarkable this was. I have been wondering whether the October 2011 General Conference would ignore, retreat from, or expand upon that story.

Much to my surprise, there was a large expansion that occurred in the Sunday morning session.

Elaine S. Dalton, President of the General Young Women’s Presidency, didn’t just relate a story of women receiving revelation for priesthood holders, she actually did it herself!

The entirety of her talk was a call to priesthood holders who were fathers of young women to join the young women in their quest for virtue.

This is a huge divergence from the idea of members of the Church receiving revelation only for those over whom they have stewardship. Granted that President Dalton used the young women (over whom she does have stewardship) as a “hook” to preach to their priesthood holding fathers (over whom she does not have stewardship), it nevertheless amounts to a woman receiving revelation and inspiration for priesthood holders; and on a Church-wide basis.

I believe this is a watershed moment in the Church, and it continues a trend that will ultimately culminate in women receiving the priesthood.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

I agree with you, Consig. I also noticed that the talk was pretty much a call to repentance for the men! She talked about how the priesthood holders in the home should be careful about the the of media they watch, and what kind of example they set for their daughters. She also encouraged fathers to talk to their daughters, get to know them, and involve themselves in their lives.

It was the most boldly "preachy" talk I have heard given by a female speaker, particularly at conference.

Yeah. While I found many of her sentiments peppered religious nonsense (irrational fear of "the world"), it was nice to see it coming from a woman directed at men for once, instead of the usual Patriarchal malarkey.

Speaking of patriarchal malarkey, what was that book all about "woman" written by a bunch of nutty LDS male leaders who no doubt felt compelled to have sex through a hole in the sheet and who thought that feminism is a communist plot?

I just visited LDS.org and listened to the Dalton talk, and to be truthful I'm on the fence. On the one hand, she does address the priesthood. On the other hand, there's not much 'revelation' - it's advice on how to raise a daughter in a churchy way - in other words, in a way that respects the priesthood.

At around the 3:50 mark in the talk, Dalton recites the standard "men are patriarchs and preside", and throughout the talk, she almost fawns over the priesthood. My interpretation of this talk is that it is just another spin on the theme of females should pick a righteous priesthood holder. To me, a woman preaching this from the pulpit enlarges the divide and is an indicator that women will not hold the priesthood any time soon.

A clearer indication of women's advancement in the church will come in the form of a Relief Society President standing up in General Conference and stating that women need to come forward and take more responsibility from men, or even to reclaim what was historically theirs, pre-correlation. When that happens, we'll see the start of radical change.


H.

In April 2011 General Conference, Elder Cook gave a talk in which he stepped beyond the normal lines of Mormon think by relating a story in which a Relief Society President received revelation for the priesthood holders in her ward and passed it along to the bishop in a ward council, who implemented it with salubrious results.

At the time, I posted as to how remarkable this was.

You haven't been around very long have you? I can't remember a time when Bishoprics didn't respect the inspiration of the Relief Society pres.

LDSToronto wrote:A clearer indication of women's advancement in the church will come in the form of a Relief Society President standing up in General Conference and stating that women need to come forward and take more responsibility from men, or even to reclaim what was historically theirs, pre-correlation. When that happens, we'll see the start of radical change.


H.

You make good points, LDST. We will wait to see what next conference brings.

Baby steps down the street.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri