Do Mormons opposed the Equal Rights Amendment?
(asked by Christina on 01/23/00) The First Presidency endorse equal rights for women but opposed the Equal Rights Amendment as an improper means to a desirable end. In 1976, after years of silence on political issues, the Church issued a statement opposing the ERA: “We recognize men and women as equally important before the Lord, but with differences biologically, emotionally, and in other ways. ERA, we believe, does not recognize these differences. There are better means for giving women, and men, the rights they deserve” (“First Presidency Issues Statement Opposing Equal Rights Amendment,” Ensign 6 [Dec. 1976]:79).
