What do women do in mormon church?

Answer 1

Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (common called the 'Mormon Church') play a very important roll. As former leader, President Gordon B. Hinckley, said, "You women make up half the membership of the church, and are mothers to the other half! We largely owe our existence to you."

Although the church could be considered patriarchal, women are not treated as subservient to men but as equals. Since the family is considered the most sacred unit in the church, women are honored and revered in their role as mothers. Women are allowed to hold some leadership positions in the church, as well as teach Sunday School classes, speak in Sunday worship services, and perform other important roles. Some people have the misconception that Mormon women are forced to dress "Amish" or "like pioneers" in drab, old fashioned clothing, but that is not true. Mormon women do tend to dress more modestly and conservative than mainstream America, but still wear modern, fashionable clothing, including pants.

Answer 2

Women's roles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly called the "Mormon" church) revolve primarily around teaching, fellowship, service, and outreach. Women hold many positions in the church and equally share preaching and teaching responsibilities with men. Women in leadership positions serve on the Ward Council (the decision-making body for the congregation) and hold high-level positions over the international church. While women may hold some administrative positions, most of those positions are reserved for men.
Positions held exclusively by women are:
Relief Society President, counselors, secretary - oversee congregational service and women's fellowship. Includes organizing Sunday worship, weekday activities, group and congregation activities, service projects, and nearly all service within (and most outside) the congregation. Work very closely with the Bishop to identify and address needs within the congregation. These positions also exist at the local area (stake) and international level.
Compassionate Service Director and committee- assists members and non-members within the congregation boundaries with temporal needs including meals, childcare, house/yard work, funeral meals, etc.
Visiting Teaching Director and teachers - visit with each adult woman in the congregation monthly to provide temporal assistance and spiritual nourishment.
Relief Society Teachers, pianists, choristers - provide music or teach lessons during weekly worship meetings.
Young Women's President, counselors, secretary - oversee the girls youth group (ages 12-18) including temporal and spiritual needs, Sunday worship meetings, weekday activities, Summer camp, and service projects. These positions also exist at the local area (stake) and international level.
Young Women Class Advisors -lead smaller class groups of teen girls, teach Sunday lessons, assist with weekday activities.
Primary President, counselors, secretary- oversee children's Sunday school ("Primary", ages 1-12) including Sunday worship meetings and classes, Activity Day and Boy Scout programs, temporal and spiritual needs of the children. These positions also exist at the local area (stake) and international level.

Positions that are equally held between women and men are:


Primary Teacher - teaches a small group (2-10 kids) of similar ages each Sunday.
Sunday School Teacher - teaches a class group of teens or adults each Sunday
Primary Pianist and Chorister - lead children in half-hour music worship time each Sunday and plan and lead children's programs in the main worship servicea few times each year.
Scouting - in countries with boy scout programs, both women and men serve as leaders of community scout troops hosted by the congregation. In nations without scouting, the Church has an alternate program, Activity Days.
Music Committee - lead the congregation in hymns during Sunday worship, organize musical performances during the worship service, organize and direct a congregational choir.
Library/materials - run the church library and assist teachers in finding the resources (photos, lesson plans, movies, etc) they need for their lessons.
Sunday Worship - Women and men equally share the responsibility of leading congregational prayer and preaching sermons to the congregation during Sunday worship each week. These responsibilities are usually rotated through every adult member (and often youth and children) in the congregation, so that everyone has an opportunity to participate a few times each year. In most meetings, one woman, one man, and 1-3 teens/children will preach short sermons.
Missionaries - operating outside of the congregational structure, missionaries may be either men or women, usually college-age singles or retired couples. Missionaries may be sent anywhere in the world to provide humanitarian service and/or as traveling evangelists and to teach and fellowship prospective converts.
Seminary/Institute Teachers - Also usually operating outside the congregational structure are the seminaries and institutes of the church. These are weekday religious schools which hold academically based religious classes as a supplement to a student's regular high school (grades 9-12) or college (ages 18-30) classes. Teachers and directors may be men or women.
Other Committees as needed - In large congregations or at the local (stake) level, leaders often create committees to assist members and non-members within their boundaries with various things such as finding employment, preparing for disasters, researching their family history, preparing for mission service, and preparing for marriage or Temple ceremonies. Leaders and members of these committees may be men or women.
Temple Service - Women serve in essential roles in Temple ceremonies. Mormon Temples could not operate without women.


*click on the titles and links within text to see images of Mormon women serving in these capacities.