President Bonnie L. Oscarson addressing the LDS Church’s general women’s meeting in April 2014. This month, Oscarson was appointed to one of the church’s highest committees, a first in Mormon history.
This weekend’s episode of the public radio show “Interfaith Voices” features a segment on the LDS Church’s recent announcement that three top female Mormon leaders will now serve as permanent members on three of the church’s highest-ranking committees.
I was interviewed about the change for the segment, which is about ten minutes long. “Interfaith Voices” describes it like this:
In the world of religion, women make progress slowly: a step at a time. But this month, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church, took a big step forward by appointing three women to leadership councils for the first time in its history. It’s a monumental move for a church that celebrates traditional gender roles and a male-only priesthood.
One follow-up note to the interview: after the segment aired, the show contacted me again to suggest Mormon women it might interview on both sides of “the priesthood question,” both for and against.
So we may be hearing more about Mormon women and leadership in an episode to come — from several different angles.
READ MORE: Mormon double-speak in historic announcement about women’s leadership
CORRECTION: The first version of this post incorrectly stated that “Interfaith Voices” is an NPR program. While it is carried on 82 local NPR stations, the show is independently produced and financed. I’m sorry that I misunderstood.