Mormon Women Muse about the “Mormon Moment”

With the recent “Mormons in America” survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, and with Mitt Romney moving forward in the U.S. presidential election process, at least in the United States, it seems this “Mormon Moment” may be sticking around for a while.

The Pew Survey highlighted some trends among a sample of over 1,000 self-identified members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (“Mormons“). But what do individual Mormons think about the “Mormon Moment?”

Following are some snippets of thoughts about the Mormon Moment from a couple of Mormon women:

(Image from We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ)

Kathryn Skaggs is a self-proclaimed Well-behaved Mormon Woman, and she may very well be part of history, as she joins other Mormon bloggers at the Washington Post. Kathryn talks about how “For Mormons, this moment is personal.” With all the media attention out there about Mormonism, there is a lot of misinformation, and Kathryn talks about how Mormons are responding by trying to talk more about our lives and beliefs:

Mormons are counteracting misinformation with their own messages. For instance, when the LDS Church was recently referred to as a cult by a prominent Baptist minister, many members took the opportunity to respond through the use of social networks, social media and blogging to let people know that Mormons follow Jesus Christ, and indeed believe themselves to be Christians….

And this “Mormon Moment” post by Jocelyn sums up in a different way what the “Mormon Moment” can mean to us as Latter-day Saints. The Mormon moments she talks about are the reason this website exists.

What do Mormons want to get out of “The Mormon Moment?” … [A]ll we want is what every member of any religion, nationality, or group wants: a fair shake.

We want to be seen and heard and understood for who we really are….

[T]he Mormon Moment didn’t happen in 2011 or 2012. And there isn’t just one of them.

The Mormon Moment happened in 1820, when a 14 year-old boy dared to defy the religious clerics of his day by seeking out a testimony of his own.

Instead of taking their word about which church was true, he went straight to God and asked Him which church he should join. As a result, he was visited by God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ and was told to join none of them.

That was the real Mormon Moment….

And every moment since then, when someone has decided to take the questions that they have in their heart directly to God Himself, and received their own personal answers, those were also Mormon Moments.

These Mormon moments continue to happen quietly each day in homes around the world: every time that someone prays for answers, reads scriptures, nurtures a child, strengthens a marriage, decides to follow God, enters the waters of baptism, or serves their neighbor.

Those are all Mormon Moments.