Priesthood ordination is available only to men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But a group of women seeking ordination is trying a new tactic to persuade Mormons to change their minds.
Ordain Women is publishing a series of six discussions on its website, covering the history and doctrine of the LDS church and hoping to persuade more women to join the effort to change church policy.
Kate Kelly, the group’s founder, says the material is available online, but she thinks it would be most effective if it’s discussed personally in small groups.
Kelly tells KUER, “So we hope, if at all people are able, they’ll get together in these groups and that those discussions will be extremely fruitful and productive, and even if people don’t agree, that we’ll be able to exchange opinions and ideas about female ordination.”
Kelly led an effort to gain admission for Ordain Women to the priesthood session of the church’s last two general conferences, and twice they were turned away.
The church’s public affairs staff met last week with Mormon Women Stand, a different group that supports its official position. But spokesperson Cody Craynor says they have no plans to meet with “activist groups whose demands are inconsistent with church teaching and doctrine.”