Women At Church stories are submitted by church members and shared anonymously.
One thing I love about our ward is that (at least during the 8 years we’ve lived here) men & women (not married couples) are called as Gospel Doctrine teachers who teach on alternate weeks. As a young mother who has been teaching Gospel Doctrine for the past few years, my current counterpart is a lovely older gentleman (several decades older than I). We bring differing perspectives, life experiences, and teaching approaches to our callings, and I love the balance this creates! I have also been especially appreciative of this good brother’s sensitivity to female roles in the Church. One year at Christmas we were discussing how we would adjust the teaching schedule to accommodate travel absences. He said to me, “Well, I’d just offer to teach the whole time, but I don’t want to be chauvinistic! You tell me when you’d like to teach and I’ll fill in the other weeks.”
I have also been especially grateful for wonderful brethren who discuss doctrinal points from my Gospel Doctrine lessons with me afterwards. I live in a ward that includes past and present members of the stake presidency, our current stake patriarch, and members of the mission and temple presidencies. These good brethren–an intimidating bunch to address on a weekly basis!–have been endlessly supportive in promoting not only good discussions during Sunday School classes, but have quietly bolstered my own confidence through their comments to me after class.