My husband came home from General Priesthood Meeting relaxed and in a good mood; he shared with me some of the stories and themes from the talks they'd heard. He got on the computer while I rustled up some dessert for the men (they're all taller than me so I think of them as men now!). He has the ability to stay calm when reading things that make my blood boil. He found an article about the Ordain Women protesters and told me about an interview with a sixteen year old who said she wanted to be ordained because she had skills and talents that she wanted to be useful in the church. (Or something to that effect.)
Herewith are my thoughts about ordaining women to the priesthood.
First: In all of the scriptures I have read, Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, God is absolutely consistent in following the Great Plan of Happiness. At different times and in different places his covenant people have had more or less of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, but never a different gospel. And in all of the scriptures The Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God has been given to men and men only. This is one of those instances where God our Father in Heaven could say "Because I said so," without any other explanation, like good parents can and do, and we should obey without question. At the time we are mature enough and ready we will understand the why.
(I will state right here that I have never questioned and have always "just known" that this was the correct order of things.)
Second: I doubt very much that the sixteen year old girl is currently fully using her talents and skills to build the kingdom of God. Does she hold a calling such as Laurel President? Are all of the Laurels under her stewardship active, temple worthy girls? Is she sharing the gospel with others to the point that they come to church, are taking lessons with missionaries and preparing for baptism? How many generations of family history has she completed? Is her own personal history up to date? Does she reach out to serve others without being assigned or asked? Does she have all the skills and talents she will need to raise and teach children, keep a home, and prepare children to serve missions? Are her prayers effective? She can do all of this and much more without being ordained to the priesthood. When women are perfect in their own sphere, then it might be understandable for them to look at another's sphere, but not until then.
Third: What do those women want to do? Conduct meetings? All presidencies of all the organizations and auxiliaries conduct meetings. Go Home Teaching? What's wrong with Visiting Teaching? (I once thought about having MiaMaids and Laurels serve with visiting teachers, but realized that perhaps it would be inappropriate because of confidentiality issues to have young sisters assisting.) Give blessings? My mother's prayers were heard and answered, sometimes instantly. When she prayed for something it happened. I suppose it was because of her purity, her virtue, her exceeding great faith, whatever it was, it worked! My father's priesthood blessings were no more efficacious than my mother's prayers of faith. I think what the priesthood has done for my father was give him reason to be virtuous and pure so that his blessings would be effective. Mom was that way already. Do those women want to prepare, bless and pass the Sacrament? They remind me of immature children who can't be content seeing what another has until they've taken it away, and once gotten, find it's not so fun after all. Why can't the men and boys have something that civilizes and ennobles them without some female getting in a snit because she can't have it too? Do they want to "run" things? Being a leader is not telling others what to do, believe me, I've learned the hard way. We set an example, encourage, teach and love, but cannot force or punish anyone.
Fourth: The roles and stewardships of men and women are different yet complementary, they complete each other. One cannot be exalted without the other because it takes the two different halves to make a whole. Perhaps men would be more effective and efficient in church callings if more wives were taking responsibility for their homes and allowing their husbands time to study the gospel and leadership principles, serve in callings and spend time fulfilling their duties without having to work to support the family and then come home and be responsible for fixing dinner, doing dishes, cleaning up after the children and taking care of the children "so the wife can have a break." From personal experience of the opposite I would gladly never have a break if my husband was out doing the work of the Lord.
Fifth: This is the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. Through Joseph Smith the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was restored and re-established. Many radically different doctrines were revealed and put into practice. Don't you think that if women were to be ordained to the priesthood it would have been so from the beginning? That it has not must say something about the order of things as they are now. I know that this is the true church of God and His Son on the earth today. We are led by a prophet, Thomas S. Monson, with other prophets and apostles to assist him. The priesthood is God's power and authority to give to whom he chooses after the order set in heaven. One day when all is revealed we will fully understand His order and realize how truly perfect it is.
Showing posts with label equality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label equality. Show all posts
27 March 2013
We hold these truths to be self-evident
Walter Williams has written another brilliant article this week about equality, and as there is much in the blogosphere about gender equality in the church I think it is good reading.
When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence with the phrase We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they were responding to the fact of their life that the King and Parliament held themselves above the law (much like Congress today) in that they would enact laws for the rest of the subjects but exempt themselves from obeying the laws. Our founding document declared that all men are created equal under the law, no one is above obeying the law.
How appropriate for our day. We are all under the law of God given through his prophets. No one is above or beneath the law, all equal. Now when we talk about assignments, responsibilities and authority, also understanding of which is given to us through the prophets, that is a different matter. Who am I to tell God what to do to fulfill His plan for His children? Who am I to whine and beg (something I taught my children was fruitless) when my will doesn't match up with His?
I heard a member of the Relief Society General Board tell a story about her family that has instructed me to this day about accepting no for an answer from God. Her married daughter desperately wanted children. She and her husband did everything they could to conceive but to no avail. Eventually they asked the family to join in a special fast for them. They plead with the Lord to grant them this righteous desire of their hearts. They were so excited to have their prayers answered with pregnancy and to discover it was twins. Until the babies were born prematurely and with such enormous genetic physical defects that the medical costs have beggared the family and shattered their dreams of having beautiful, healthy children. The sister telling the story (forgive me for not writing down her name at the time) tearfully counseled her audience to trust in the Lord's will, to know that His perspective is greater than ours and that He knows what is best for us.
What does this have to do with women wanting to be ordained to the priesthood so they can be equal to men? Everything! It is God's priesthood, He has a plan, He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him. The prophet is not an old, out-of-touch male who needs to get with the times. President Monson, just as all the other prophets before him, knows better than any of us God's plans for His church and kingdom. Those who whine and beg, complain and murmur, and worse, throw a negative light on the church show their lack of faith and trust in God and His Plan.
I've always believed that the feminists lost their way and clamored for the wrong things. Instead of lowering themselves to the level of the natural man, they should have demanded that men rise to the level of spiritual women, in chastity, compassion, peacemaking, and such. How much better the world would be if that had been the case. "Clean-up your act guys!" "Keep your pants zipped!" "Instead of using your strength in gladiator sports, let's build something useful!" "Can we spend more time with our children, rather than so many hours at work?" "Can we keep an Eternal Perspective?"
I've been told that I am handicapped at understanding others because I come from a good family. My parents and grandparents were good examples of righteous partnerships. It never entered my mind to want to be ordained to the priesthood because of their examples of equality. Sadly that is not the case in many homes, but we must continue to look to the ideal and change ourselves to fit it, not attempt to change the ideal to fit our dysfunction, or the isolated problems encountered in individual wards. As our family reads the Doctrine and Covenants this year I'm reminded that the most oft repeated commandment is to repent. Perfect counsel for today.
When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence with the phrase We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they were responding to the fact of their life that the King and Parliament held themselves above the law (much like Congress today) in that they would enact laws for the rest of the subjects but exempt themselves from obeying the laws. Our founding document declared that all men are created equal under the law, no one is above obeying the law.
How appropriate for our day. We are all under the law of God given through his prophets. No one is above or beneath the law, all equal. Now when we talk about assignments, responsibilities and authority, also understanding of which is given to us through the prophets, that is a different matter. Who am I to tell God what to do to fulfill His plan for His children? Who am I to whine and beg (something I taught my children was fruitless) when my will doesn't match up with His?
I heard a member of the Relief Society General Board tell a story about her family that has instructed me to this day about accepting no for an answer from God. Her married daughter desperately wanted children. She and her husband did everything they could to conceive but to no avail. Eventually they asked the family to join in a special fast for them. They plead with the Lord to grant them this righteous desire of their hearts. They were so excited to have their prayers answered with pregnancy and to discover it was twins. Until the babies were born prematurely and with such enormous genetic physical defects that the medical costs have beggared the family and shattered their dreams of having beautiful, healthy children. The sister telling the story (forgive me for not writing down her name at the time) tearfully counseled her audience to trust in the Lord's will, to know that His perspective is greater than ours and that He knows what is best for us.
What does this have to do with women wanting to be ordained to the priesthood so they can be equal to men? Everything! It is God's priesthood, He has a plan, He knows what He is doing and we can trust Him. The prophet is not an old, out-of-touch male who needs to get with the times. President Monson, just as all the other prophets before him, knows better than any of us God's plans for His church and kingdom. Those who whine and beg, complain and murmur, and worse, throw a negative light on the church show their lack of faith and trust in God and His Plan.
I've always believed that the feminists lost their way and clamored for the wrong things. Instead of lowering themselves to the level of the natural man, they should have demanded that men rise to the level of spiritual women, in chastity, compassion, peacemaking, and such. How much better the world would be if that had been the case. "Clean-up your act guys!" "Keep your pants zipped!" "Instead of using your strength in gladiator sports, let's build something useful!" "Can we spend more time with our children, rather than so many hours at work?" "Can we keep an Eternal Perspective?"
I've been told that I am handicapped at understanding others because I come from a good family. My parents and grandparents were good examples of righteous partnerships. It never entered my mind to want to be ordained to the priesthood because of their examples of equality. Sadly that is not the case in many homes, but we must continue to look to the ideal and change ourselves to fit it, not attempt to change the ideal to fit our dysfunction, or the isolated problems encountered in individual wards. As our family reads the Doctrine and Covenants this year I'm reminded that the most oft repeated commandment is to repent. Perfect counsel for today.
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