Due to the changing times and expansion of the LDS Church overseas, the presidents of the Young Women, Primary and Relief Society presidencies are introducing international board members to meet the global needs of the Church, announced in a press release Feb. 7, 2014.
Leading these changes in leadership, the Young Women organization “will now have five board members who live outside of Utah, four internationally,” according to the press release.
Sister Bonnie Oscarson, general president of the Young Women organization, explained in the press release that these new international members are to be “the eyes and ears for us in the different parts of the world.” It is reported that these members will be located in Africa, Brazil, Japan, Peru and New York City.
Advances in technology, making it easy to communicate world-wide, played a role in allowing the Church to expand overseas to communicate with sisters throughout the world.
“This is no longer a Wasatch Front church or even a church in the United States,” Oscarson emphasized in the press release. “It helps make the Church smaller. It helps us address the needs throughout the world, and I think the message that it sends to everyone is important.”
Other changes made are that online training previously only available at Church headquarters will now be available around the world. The training will take place after general conference and will be captured online in video segments.
The presidents also provided more information on the changing semiannual general women’s meeting, which was previously held in two separate meetings for women and young women and will now be combined and inclusive to all girls and women ages eight and over. This change in age admittance is an acknowledgement of the baptismal covenant children commit to at age 8.
“I see one of the values of this meeting is for young women of all ages, from 8 to 88, to see how important they are to one another in mentoring one another,” Sister Oscarson said in the press release.
