It was a big for Mormonism; it started with Mitt Romney moving away from the pack toward getting the GOP nomination for U.S. president and ended with some women wearing pants to Sunday church services to draw attention to what they claim is institutional sexism within the LDS Church. For what it’s worth, here’s what I regard as the three most significant changes within the Mormon Church the past year.

1) The lowering of ages for missionary service (read). Not surprisingly, lowering the age of full-time missionary service to 18 for males and 19 for females caused a surge in mission announcements. The change, to me though, seems more an attempt by church leaders to maintain church activity among young adults and get more 20-something Mormons married in a church...