Mormon women given increased role in 2 key ceremonies

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will allow women to be official “witnesses” at two key ceremonies where they were previously only allowed to observe in the latest small step toward breaking down rigid gender roles in the religion.
Church President Russell M. Nelson said in a news release Wednesday that the policy change allows women to serve as witnesses at baptisms for the living and dead and at a ceremony inside church temples for married