First Time For Mormons To Have A Woman Lead In Prayer After 183 Years

Today is the first time for Mormons to have a woman lead in prayer at the semi-annual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, 17 Mormons currently serve in Congress. Among them is GOP House Representative Matt Salmon who reaffirmed his opposition to gay marriage recently despite having a homosexual son. And of course we cannot forget that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, since Mormonism was thrust into the spotlight during the 2012 presidential election campaign.

The semi-annual gathering of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a two day weekend conference that includes more than 100,000 members. Millions more are watching via satellite, radio or Internet broadcast.

The Mormon religion has been in existence for 183 years but it’s the first time for Mormons to allow any woman to lead in such an important fashion. Within Mormonism, women can hold limited leadership positions but are not allowed to be bishops or stake presidents, which is similar to the Catholic church’s women priests controversy.

Back in January, a Mormon feminist group launched a campaign asking Mormon leaders to let women lead the opening and closing prayers for the conference as a symbol of gender equality. In response, Jean A. Stevens led the morning session’s closing prayer.

In the past, women have given speeches at this annual conference and are allowed to pray in the audience. Leading in such a manner is the first time for Mormons and Thomas S. Monson, the president of the Mormon church, says, “The response of our young people has been remarkable and inspiring.” Since the announcement, applications to become Mormon missionaries have double and half are coming from women. Previously, only 15 percent of Mormon missionaries were women.

What do you think about this being the first time for Mormons to allow women to lead in prayer?