Episode 115: A Woman’s Influence on the Delivery of The Family Proclamation (Barbara Morgan Gardner and Olivia Osguthorpe)

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BYU Religious Education

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4.8 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 November 2024

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

Reflecting on the first public interview with Relief Society General President Elaine Jack regarding “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner, professor of Church history and doctrine, and Olivia Osguthorpe uncover and clarify truths and perspectives never before documented and critical to historical accuracy. In the months leading up to the general Relief Society meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday, September 23, 1995, then-General Relief Society Presidency Elaine L. Jack, Aileen H. Clyde, and Chieko Okazaki likely had no idea this meeting would become one of the most impactful and memorable of the twentieth century. For it was in this meeting that President Gordon B. Hinckley presented “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which outlines the Church’s doctrinal beliefs concerning the family, gender, and marriage. What was the Relief Society President’s role in this critical meeting and decision-making process? Why was the family proclamation delivered at this time, in this meeting, and to this audience? In this episode Dr. Barbara Morgan Gardner and Olivia Osguthorpe discuss answers to these questions and more. Through analysis of the journals, personal writings, and interviews with President Jack, Gardner and Osguthorpe provide much needed clarity on the inception and presentation of The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

Barbara Morgan Gardner Publications:

“Delivering the Family Proclamation: Insights from Former Relief Society President Elaine L. Jack” (Religious Educator, 24.2, 2023)
“Reanchoring Our Purpose to Jesus Christ” (Religious Educator, 23.2, 2022)
“Using Section 84 to Emphasize the Priesthood Power of Women” (Religious Educator, 22.2, 2021)
“‘Line upon Line’: Joseph Smith’s Growing Understanding of the Eternal Family” (in Raising the Standard of Truth, Religious Studies Center, 2020)

Click here to learn more about Barbara Morgan Gardner

Olivia Osguthorpe Publications:

“Delivering the Family Proclamation: Insights from Former Relief Society President Elaine L. Jack” (Religious Educator, 24.2, 2023)
“Mentoring: Covenant Women’s Leadership” (Review Magazine, Fall 2024)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, my religion friends. John Hilton here. One of my vivid memories from my freshman year at BYU
0:06.2	occurred on a Saturday evening in September when there was a general relief society meeting.
0:12.3	Obviously, I didn't attend the meeting, but members of our ward gathered together afterwards.
0:17.5	I still remember talking with Ondelin, a woman in my ward. She was so excited about a
0:23.2	proclamation that had been read at the meeting. It was the coolest thing, she told me, and I was
0:28.2	excited to learn more about it. I later learned that what Andalin was so excited about was the family,
0:34.4	a proclamation to the world. When I first read it, I didn't understand how significant
0:39.3	it was. For example, phrases like, marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God seemed obvious
0:46.2	to me, and I thought to everyone else. As a young college freshman, I had not foreseen what the first
0:52.1	presidency and Quorum of the Twelve had foreseen.
0:55.0	These watchmen on the tower had seen danger where I had not.
0:59.0	In fact, just before reading the family proclamation, President Hinckley stated,
1:04.0	with so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth,
1:08.0	with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much
1:12.4	of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and
1:20.2	forewarn. As I think about Andalind and her excitement at hearing this proclamation, I feel so happy
1:26.8	that this was read in a general
1:28.7	release society meeting.
1:30.6	The prophet was showing the women of the church how absolutely important they were.
1:35.6	They were validated.
1:36.6	They had a voice.
1:37.6	They were visible to the world, and he wanted that proclamation read at that meeting. And to me it's interesting now looking
	...

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