Hmm. This survey intrigued me, and since I don't think I'll be able to go back and view my answers later, I'm gonna save them here. Here's the original article/survey link: http://squaretwo.org/Sq2ArticleReadersPuzzleSpring2016.html
SquareTwo Poll, Spring 2016, Renaming Women's Positions in the Church
The Relief Society, Young Women's, and Primary organizations have been called the "auxiliary" organizations of the Church. That term unfortunately connotes the idea that they are secondary to organizations of much greater importance. In the Great Plan of Happiness, however, we know that what women do is not auxiliary to what men do. The work of men and the work of women both equally contribute to the success of the Plan. So what term would you use in place of "auxiliary" to suggest that equal contribution?
The Young Men AND Young Women programs, as well as Sunday School, are also considered "auxiliary programs." I think we're being overly sensitive to the idea that this is somehow gender-related.
Do you have any suggestions for renaming the female position in the Church currently called "mission president's wife"?
Mission Mom? Mission Matron?
Do you have suggestions for renaming the Young Women age groups that are called "Beehives," "Mia Maids," and "Laurels"?
Don't see any particular reason to. Deacon, Teacher, and Priest are Scripturally assigned names; YW titles were invented from the start, and would just be invented again in this process. What difference does it make? There is meaning and purpose behind the chosen names of Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel already, though they're probably largely forgotten these days. "deacon(ess), teacher(ess), and priest(ess)" would seem wildly inappropriate to me, and any other combination would just be a modernized version of what we have, as far as meaning and "importance" go. So, nope. I like what we've got.
In the Young Women theme, would you favor changing the first line to read, "We are daughters of our Heavenly Parents, who love us and we love Them"?
Yes
No
Other: Sure, sounds cool. Not fussed, though
The highest achievement for Young Women in the Church is currently called the "Young Womanhood Award." (The highest for the Young Men is called the "Duty to God" Award.) Do you have suggestions for changing the name of the YW award?
Do both as "Duty to God," because that could carry a different perception of weight and importance for the young women involved, because we all have a duty to God. Not because then we can "match" what the boys are doing, but because the name in itself carries meaning, whereas "Young Womanhood Award" is merely eponymous with the program.
Can you think of a term for the "bishop's wife" that would recognize what she does for the ward?
I think people need to stop thinking "wife" doesn't already carry a lot of meaning and hard work, frankly. Huge parts of this "gender-inequality" perception is led by society thinking "mom" and "wife" and such titles need to be replaced by something more "official" to carry any weight.
Do you have any suggestions for renaming the female position called "sister training leader" among sister missionaries?
Just training leader, I guess?
Would you change the name of the female position called "temple matron"? If so, to what?
Nope. Again with our obsession with replacing titles of motherhood with something "better." There is nothing better.
Open-Ended Comments: Provide any additional comments you would like to make.
I am definitely not against making sure women feel like equal partners with the men in this Church, and society, and politics, and job wages, etc. I just think we're too focused on "raising up" the roles of women to "match" what men have, rather than recognizing the value already inherent in the titles we already posses. It's a balancing act, to be sure, but we've swung the pendulum too far the other way.
Just because men already have matching roles like "father" and "husband" doesn't mean the roles of "mother" and "wife" *need* to be added upon to match all the other titles men can have. And anyway, we already *can* have the same titles--RS President, Primary President (why is that one by default female, anyway?), etc. I've been a "Co-Chair" with a guy on a committee more than once, and he was also simply a "Co-Chair."
A mission president is specifically called to be such, and given specific keys. He cannot be called without his wife, who is an integral part of his mission, but she is, in fact, called to a supporting role. This is not inequality, any more than Eve being asked to follow Adam's lead in matters of the priesthood is inequality. What we have is a lack of understanding of the true, eternal, and very profound equality we do already have and strive for, and we're confusing it with the formality of titles and mantles and puffed up things.
I think the changes the Church has been making lately are perfectly good and interesting and cool, but that the "necessity" for them is more about translating the Church's structure to our era's understanding than it is about reflecting Eternal principles. Just because we've stopped seeing the inherent importance of the title "mother" does not mean women of earlier eras who valued that title above all others were somehow deceived. Quite the opposite. We are implicitly buying into today's assumption that being "JUST a mom" or "JUST the wife" is belittling. I have serious issues with this mindset.
