Episode 211: Who's the Decider? | A Conversation with Natalie Brown
When asked about the possibility of priesthood ordination for women in 1998, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley famously told Larry King, “It would take another revelation to bring that about. I don’t anticipate it.” Big changes have come following revelations in LDS history, but must prophetic revelation always precede change? Even on a local level, many leaders are hesitant to innovate in small ways. Natalie Brown posits that “not every small experiment should require prophetic sign off.” In Episode 211, she joins Cynthia and Susan for a conversation about how change happens—or doesn’t—at church. Do debate and discussion have a place, and if so, whose opinions should be considered? And what about transparency in the decision-making process?
Notes & Quotes:
Second Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality, by Matthew L. Harris
Maybe LDS Leaders Can Make Big Changes Without Big Revelations, by Natalie Brown, Salt Lake Tribune, 8/10/2024
From Chicago to Memphis to Provo, LDS commitment to community grows, by Tamarra Kemsley, Salt Lake Tribune, 10/26/2024
Mormon Land podcast, Episode 368, ‘All about the LDS Church's rapid growth in Africa’
“Perhaps we should be equally cautious when insisting that revelation is required to change tradition, particularly when we don’t fully understand whether a revelation gave rise to the tradition in question.” —Natalie Brown
“On a more local scale, we might also be hindering ourselves by too often requiring permission to change customs that were never carefully considered or authorized at the start. Why not, for example, allow local lay clergy to innovate and adopt practices like letting female leaders sit on the stand instead of discouraging departures from custom? Not every small experiment should require prophetic sign-off.” —Natalie Brown
“We are perhaps overlooking the importance of debate and discussion in the revelatory process.” —Natalie Brown
“Perhaps the lesson is to err on the side of generosity and inclusion rather than wait for an official revelation or heavenly visitation to take action.” —Natalie Brown