The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a letter asking the Ordain Women group to reconsider its plans to protest the upcoming General Conference.
The Ordain Women group wrote to leaders of the LDS Church on March 16 asking for tickets to the priesthood session of the upcoming General Conference on April 5. They were told “no.”
“The priesthood session of General Conference is designed to strengthen men and boys as they receive specific instruction about their roles and responsibilities; therefore we are unable to fulfill your request for tickets,” said Jessica Moody, the representative for the LDS Church in a letter to the group.
The group also asked for tickets last October. The Church responded by broadcasting the priesthood session online and on BYUtv.
Moody said the group’s protest is against the sacred environment of Temple Square and spirit of unity the LDS Church desires at General Conference.
The group was invited to voice its opinion in the free-speech zones that are adjacent to Temple Square and have hosted numerous protesters through the years.
Moody repeatedly invited the group to attend the meeting for women and girls on March 29.
“The women’s meeting is a remarkable gathering of worldwide sisterhood,” she said. “(It) was planned … as a time to focus on ennobling and eternal doctrines relating to women.”
