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Renlund addresses gender equality
Speaking at a women’s conference this month in Arcadia, California, apostle Dale Renlund tackled head-on a question about the church’s lack of gender equality and representation.
“The reason for the asymmetry between men and women regarding priesthood office ordination has not been revealed,” Renlund said. “Any proposed reason for that asymmetry with regard to priesthood office ordination is speculative.”
The absence of a reason, the former heart doctor cautioned, “doesn’t give us license to change the asymmetry just because we want to.”
Renlund did, however, assure the hundreds of women gathered to hear him speak that “any unfairness that’s created by the asymmetry can and will be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Apostle Dale G. Renlund speaks from Hawaii during a Relief Society worldwide devotional broadcast on Sunday, March 16, 2025. Photo is a screenshot from the broadcast.
In the meantime, he observed, church leaders “haven’t done as good a job as I think we can” to address existing imbalances “within the bounds that God has set.”
He concluded: “So, we’re going to do better.”
Renlund’s comments about ordination in the faith’s all-male priesthood echoed a similar warning he issued three years ago regarding the church’s belief in Heavenly Mother.
“I wish we knew more and you may wish you knew more as well, but reason cannot replace revelation,” the apostle said at the time. “Wanting to know more, asking questions, is not a bad thing. But speculation can sometimes … divert us from what has been revealed.”
Worlds of wonder
(NASA) Earth from the Apollo 10 mission in 1969. The notion that Latter-day Saints may someday create their own worlds is debated by insiders and derided by outsiders of the faith.
In the universe of Mormon culture, the popular notion that exalted Latter-day Saints will one day rule their own planets is routinely derided by detractors, mocked in the media, even belted out on Broadway stages.
In “The Book of Mormon” musical, for instance, Elder Price joyously relishes in “getting my own planet” in the showstopping tune “I Believe.”
And now, The Babylon Bee takes a satirical swipe at the idea with the tale of a made-up mom, Hadleigh Christensen, going on Pinterest to begin designing her future world.
“Aw, this would look cute on my planet,” said Christensen, clicking on a picture of a small mountain range. “I don’t want any volcanoes, though. Yuck. Oh, look at this beach! Definitely have to have that. What kind of animals do I want? So many decisions!”
The Onion-like Bee then notes that her husband “asked if she could please stop designing her future cosmological home and change the baby’s diaper.”
This funny fake news may prompt a seriously real question: What is the church’s official position on humanity’s postmortal planetary potential?
“This idea is not taught in Latter-day Saint scripture, nor is it a doctrine of the church,” it states in a website Q&A. “This misunderstanding stems from speculative comments unreflective of scriptural doctrine.” Members do, however, believe “God’s purpose [is] to exalt us to become like him.”
The latest ‘Mormon Land’ podcast: Examining U.S. members
Former Brigham Young University sociologists examine the latest Pew study about U.S. Latter-day Saints, including their views on abortion, climate change and partisan politics.
Listen to the podcast.
What’s up Down Under?
The Utah-based church has bought three farms in southeastern Australia, AgProperty Central reports, for an undisclosed sum — but almost certainly in the millions of dollars.
The 14,000-acre operation in New South Wales’ “Golden Triangle” region can produce wheat, barley, canola and chickpeas in the winter, the website reports, and cotton and sorghum in the summer.
Last year, the Utah-based faith purchased 64,000-plus acres of cropland in Queensland for more than $300 million.
“We are excited by the opportunities available in Australian agriculture,” an investment director over the deal told the Financial Review at the time, “and continue to see value from an investment in the sector that has the potential to drive strong returns into the future.”
Women can ‘change the world’
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson, center, stands with her counselors, J. Anette Dennis, left, and Kristin M. Yee, by the headstones of Joseph Smith, Emma Smith and Hyrum Smith in Nauvoo, Illinois, as they spent time preparing for a Relief Society worldwide devotional broadcast on Sunday, March 16, 2025.
Three of the church’s leading women traveled to a historic place to celebrate a historic moment: the founding of the all-female Relief Society 183 years ago in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Just as women in Nauvoo created a covenant community on March 17, 1842, “we’ve created a covenant community all around the world now as sisters who participate in priesthood ordinances and make and keep covenants,” President Camille Johnson, head of the 7 million-strong Relief Society, said in a worldwide devotional. “We’ve created a global community to bless the lives of our brothers and sisters.”
Johnson, joined by her two counselors, pointed to the Relief Society-led effort providing tens of millions of dollars in aid to improve the health and well-being of women and young children in dozens of nations.
“As sisters,” Johnson said, “we can and should change the world.”
Celebrating Easter
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) President Russell M. Nelson, with his counselors, Dallin H. Oaks, left, and Henry B. Eyring at General Conference in October 2024. This First Presidency released its Easter message for 2025 this week.
The governing First Presidency released the following Easter message.
“During this joyful Easter season, we join with faithful followers of the Savior in celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The resurrection is a gift to all of Heavenly Father’s children who have ever lived on this Earth.
“We testify that Jesus Christ gives rest to those who are ‘heavy laden; (Matthew 11:28). He knows ‘how to succor his people according to their infirmities’ (Alma 7:12) because he took upon himself our pains and sins. ‘He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows ... and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).
“Those who exercise faith in him, keep his commandments, and receive the saving and exalting ordinances ‘shall have hope through the Atonement of Christ and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal’ (Moroni 7:41).
“We invite all to come unto Jesus ‘that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10). Binding ourselves to him through making and keeping covenants enriches our lives now and eternally. May you find hope, healing, and happiness as you draw nearer to the Savior of the world this Easter season.”
Ex-senator gets a new church gig
(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith and his wife, Sharon, will become the new directors of church hosting on July 1, 2025.
Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and his wife, Susan, have been named the new directors of church hosting, starting in July.
In this role, the Smiths will represent the global faith of 17.2 million members to dignitaries from around the world.
From The Tribune
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Newly formed Celestial Recycling offers recycling of temple garments.
• Need to discard your worn-out garments? Think celestial — Celestial Recycling, that is.
• Latter-day Saints are more prone to perfectionism, right? Guess again, say BYU researchers.
• The porn predicament: “Sexual desire is divine,” says a Latter-day Saint psychologist, but “our behaviors are 100 % in our control.” Read excerpts from our “Mormon Land” podcast.
• The church turns up the heat on a Texas town ahead of possible lawsuit over the size of a planned temple.
(Photo courtesy of Valerie Hamaker via Religion News Service) Nathan and Valerie Hamaker, co-hosts of the popular “Latter Day Struggles” podcast, have resigned their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• A popular podcasting couple explain to Religion News Service columnist Jana Riess why they resigned from the church.
• See how the church plans to save water this year at meetinghouses across the West.
