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LDS women have a new mission statement that basically is a reiteration of traditional Mormon values.
Leaders of the Relief Society, the organization for adult women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, introduced the declaration at the church's annual women's meeting Saturday night, where more than 5,000 women gathered in the Tabernacle on Salt Lake City's Temple Square to hear their leaders. Thousands more watched via satellite in meetinghouses across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.
Mary Ellen W. Smoot, president of the 157-year-old, 4.4 million- member organization, read the statement and explained that it is part of "an effort to respond to the inquiries from outside the [LDS] church, and to remind ourselves of the grand blessings of womanhood."
She urged the women to fulfill their missions as "beloved spirit daughters of God" by strengthening testimonies of Jesus Christ, seeking inspiration from the Holy Ghost, rededicating themselves to home and family, performing community service, sustaining the faith's all-male priesthood and worshiping in the church's temples. Smoot also...