Abstract

Members and Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have assigned meanings to “priesthood” that diverge dramatically from standard definitions. These meanings have also shifted over time within the tradition. This chapter reviews several analytical and definitional frameworks that address the incompatibility of these usages when focused on the study of Latter-day Saint women. Women have variously been included and excluded from priesthood in the church. This study reviews the most significant historical and religious trends in these relationships during the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries.