Announcement Regarding MWEG’s Name

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT–December 11, 2018

Beloved sisters,

As you know, last August the Church released a new style guide requesting that the full name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints be used upon first reference in all news stories and broadcasts and that “Mormon” no longer be used to reference the church or its members. And in October General Conference, President Nelson again emphasized that “the Lord impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He decreed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

In the months since these announcements, we have spent many, many hours grappling with the question of whether or not we should change the name of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. This is not a decision that we have taken lightly. We have truly wrestled with the Lord in mighty and earnest prayer in an attempt to discern His will. We fully sustain President Nelson as a prophet, seer, and revelator, and recognize the rightness of following Jesus Christ’s own commandment regarding the name of His Church. The greatest desire of our hearts is to be true disciples of Christ and to act as ambassadors for Him. Because of this, we deeply feel the importance of this re-emphasis of the Church’s true name.

The course of the Church is understandable and clear. But the question of our own name has felt less clear, and even problematic, precisely because Mormon Women for Ethical Government is NOT the Lord’s Church. We have considered many alternative names, but none of them felt right to our collective minds and hearts. Our name needs to represent our unique community, speak to the broader public, focus on ethical government, and be concise. We also feel strongly that the name of our organization must not politicize Christ’s name, imply that we claim to speak for all female members of our faith, or give any impression whatsoever that we presume to speak officially for the Church.

In addition, it has become increasingly clear that MWEG has become a bridge of sorts, connecting individuals and groups whose ties to the Church are varied and complex. MWEG has also been a vehicle for teaching others about the Church and sharing the gospel of peace far beyond our own membership. The name Mormon Women for Ethical Government has played an unexpected and beautiful part in both of those things. This has in turn given us a unique opportunity to testify of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, and to help others find peace in Him.

And so, after months of intense prayer, scripture study, discussion, consultation, and pondering, we have come to the conclusion that for the foreseeable future we will keep our name, Mormon Women for Ethical Government. However, our membership in the Church has taught us the importance of being open to forward movement and the need to adapt to divine light and knowledge as it is given, and so we remain open to the possibility of changing our name at some point. In the meantime, we will continue to make every attempt to fully honor the Church’s style guide and will respectfully use the full name of the Church whenever referring to it.

We feel strongly that God wants us to care as much about what our organization IS as we have about what it is called. That will be our goal moving forward, and we hope that every additional inquiry about our name will serve as a reminder to ask ourselves whether MWEG’s work speaks to our discipleship and our efforts to be ambassadors of Jesus Christ in the ministry of reconciliation and peacemaking.

Thank you for your patience, your input, and your prayers as we have struggled with this decision. We love you, and we look forward to continuing to work together as sisters united in the cause of peacemaking and ethical governance.

With love and gratitude,

The MWEG Board of Directors