by

—Because in my ward (and many other wards I know of) there was a big to-do a couple years ago over the question of whether or not it was okay for women (in their capacity as visiting teachers) to pray for the families they teach in those families’ homes.

—Because that controversy was not caused by any policy originating with church leadership, but rather by some women being instinctively uncomfortable with the idea of praying on behalf of the people they visit teach (and telling other women that it was inappropriate).

—Because there are still women who feel uncomfortable and choose not to pray for the families they teach when they visit them.

—Because there is arguably no greater, more powerful, more unifying shared act of worship in the Church than a prayer spoken during a worldwide general conference on behalf of the body of the Church.

—Because prayer, as an act of worship, has nothing whatsoever to do with priesthood authority.

—Because Prophets and Apostles have used the fact that women give prayers in sacred meetings as evidence that women are wonderful and are truly valued in the Church.

—Because excluding women from praying in conference causes real pain (whether or not it causes you or some women you happen to know pain).

—Because sometimes calling women to pray in conference causes no-one any pain at all.

—Because to claim, on the one hand, that conference prayers and who gives them is so important that it is a matter of revelation straight from the prophet (and from the Lord) that no faithful Mormon should question while simultaneously, on the other hand, claiming that giving a prayer at a meeting is so trivial that you can’t imagine why women are “lobbying” for the “right” to do it and they really shouldn’t concern themselves with such unimportant things is to speak in incredibly bad faith about extremely sacred things.

—Because when we, as a Church, are confronted with the realization that we are needlessy and painfully excluding people from full participation in our collective worship with absolutely no doctrinal basis for it, digging in our heels and speaking derisively about/toward those hurt by the practice is unbecoming disciples of Christ bound by covenant to mourn with those that mourn.