My mum was born and raised LDS, as was her mother, my nanna. My great grandmother was baptised, with her twin sister and my great, great grandmother on the same day in what was known as the Sydney district. So it’s no surprise I guess, that my testimony of the gospel was instinctive and determined from a very young age. Another advantage of ‘our corner’ was that, from as little as I can remember, and as young as my mum would let me, I would walk to church early by myself—because everyone else was so slow at getting ready of course! (Although I have no recollection of what I did when I got there!) My dad was not a member till I was 8 years old, but he didn’t openly object to us going, although probably resented it at times. As long as mum was home to make him lunch on a Sunday and made sure she was available to go on frequent weekend camping trips, peace remained in the home. I saw and experienced a disparity in their relationship as a result of the different religious views within the family. As a result, I grew up determined to marry a Latter-day Saint.
I believe and sustain the priesthood leadership in the church and I have only ever had good experiences with it. I definitely feel it is the right structure and that men and women have been given the correct roles. At times though, I do feel a longing for women to be more prominent during general conference addresses and other such occasions. I remember while on my mission, the Assistant to the President asked my companion to conduct one of the all day missionary conferences. She did as requested (and did a very good job!) however the mission president wasn’t very happy. I understood why it wasn’t in standing with church organisation, but felt it was a shame that sister missionaries weren’t given similar opportunities as the elders. To be honest, I wouldn’t want the priesthood but would like to see women to be more visible.