Women in Council Meetings | An Interview with Wendy Ulrich

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in July 2019.
Wendy Ulrich is a psychologist, educator, and writer. She holds a PhD in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. A former guest on the podcast, Wendy is the founder of Sixteen Stones Center for Growth and has been a practicing psychologist for over 25 years. She is a former president of the Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists and a visiting professor at Brigham Young University. Wendy and her husband Dave Ulrich presided over the Canada Montreal Mission and have three children and eight grandchildren.
Links
Live Up to Our Privileges: Women, Power, and Priesthood
The Why of Your Calling | An Interview with Wendy Ulrich
Sixteen Stones Center for Growth
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Highlights
00:48 Wendy’s background as a psychologist
01:21 Her book Live Up to Our Privileges discusses “What does it really mean for women to have priesthood power”? How do we get it in our lives and use it effectively?
03:49 How can leaders better understand the experience of women in the Church? What can Wendy share about the female experience of feeling dismissed at church?
04:47 The work of women is often invisible and misunderstood.
05:05 Women and men have different styles of communication. Women may find being talked over (a male communication pattern) to be dismissive.
06:21 Women can feel dismissed by the structure of the Church or even the text of the scriptures.
07:02 The book is structured after the organization of priesthood offices. Why?
07:44 The work of women is also captured in the work of priesthood offices.
08:39 In many cases women do more of the work of priesthood offices during the natural course of their lives than men.
09:12 Christ was not a priest. He did not hold the priesthood of his day.
09:50 Women who may not see themselves as holding priesthood may find something to learn from the Savior’s example and authority.
10:39 Women can say I am doing what I’m doing because of the authority I’ve been given in my calling, my temple endowment, my home, my assignments … I have been given authority.
11:17 We sometimes project secular perspectives on women and the priesthood and fairness. What can we understand about this topic?
12:49 We are not going to be the same or have the same opportunities.
13:33 Wendy believes Church doctrine emphasizes the reason we are here on this earth is to become empowered with the power that God has. We believe the most important thing God is trying to do is to create eternal relationships.
14:45 What women do and goes unseen may be just as important as what men do in the eternal scheme of things. Even in secular society family is essential, and women are the key “resource” for keeping society functioning
17:17 The Lord’s priority is raising the next generation of gods.
17:20 We think God is someone who gives power away. We believe he wants to empower us to be joint heirs—to give us all He has.
18:59 At times it does seem like some roles are inflated. Kurt shares his experience while all three of his brothers were serving as bishops and the difference in attention his sister received, who was serving as a Primary President at the time. As we consider this, women will have less of that experience of being dismissed.
20:40 Chapter 8: Governing with Power and Compassion. How to rise to power in organizations.
22:00 Kachner’s research shows how people get into power, but once they get into power people actually lose the skills that got them there. They become more self-serving, less empathic. They are less likely to listen to others, less able to read other’s emotional states.
23:40 Research shows teams with women are more effective because women naturally have ski...