Priesthood
On mormon.org, the definition of priesthood comes up as,
"The priesthood is the authority to act in God’s name. The same
priesthood authority that existed in the original Church established by
Jesus Christ exists in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
today. The Church is directed and led through this authority.
All male members of the Church who are prepared receive the
priesthood in order to help lead the Church and serve Heavenly Father’s
children. A man with the priesthood might serve in some of the following
ways:
- Leading congregations of the Church
- Performing the ordinances of the Church, such as baptism
- Blessing those who are sick
God expects those who hold this sacred priesthood authority to follow
the example of Jesus Christ and serve with love, gentleness, and
kindness."
For my entire life the priesthood has been there for me. I have the most wonderful experiences and memories because of the power that has influenced my life. Year after year I received blessings.At the beginning of each school year, my father gave me a blessing, and every year it brought me comfort, not to mention a special bond with my daddy.
When I was eight years old, I made one of the most important decisions of my life, that was to be baptized. My father met me in the water and performed a most beautiful ordinance that allowed me to live the way I do, today.
My dad has always been there and always been willing to use his priesthood power to help me with any challenge that will come my way, and not once has it left me feeling anything but comfort.
The point here isn't that my father was there to give me the blessings. It was the power of the priesthood that truly brought me peace. My father simply lived in such a way that he was worthy to hold and use it in the right way.
This gospel has always brought me joy and it's because I know that my Heavenly Father is there for me and has provided a way for all of us to return home to him. The first step is repentance, then baptism. From there, pretty much all you have to do is keep the commandments.
I find it incredibly ridiculous that women are making a stand against the church because of something they want.
To me, the priesthood is so sacred and so honorable that it makes me feel as though these women do not deserve it. Their childish ways of whining about what they don't have makes me feel almost embarrassed to be a woman.
Now, when this whole nonsense started, I flat out got angry. What these women want goes against everything I have been taught since I was a little girl in primary. The church is peaceful and fair in every way, and things I don't understand, well, to be frank, it doesn't matter what my opinion is because it isn't my church, it is the Lord's church and he will run it how he sees it best.
So I just had to go and research this whole fiasco...
I went right to the source, ordainwomen.org.
First of all, I found their mission statement. Here's the first paragraph:
"The fundamental tenets of Mormonism support gender equality: God is male and female, father and mother, and all of us can progress to be like them someday. Priesthood, we are taught, is essential to this process. Ordain Women believes women must be ordained in order for our faith to reflect the equity and expansiveness of these teachings."There are a few things that I can disagree with here. The first being, that no, God is not male and female. God is male and has a wife, our Heavenly Mother. God is not father and mother, he's simply father. Yes, we do progress to be like THEM someday. If he was both male and female, why would they state, "all of us can progress to be like THEM someday"?
Another thing, they want to be ordained for all the wrong reasons. They state that they, "must be ordained in order for our faith to reflect the equity and expansiveness of these teachings." This sentence just set me off. First off, I don't think they quite understand faith. Yeah, faith is like a little seed, and you don't have to see it to believe it. Maybe they could state the primary concepts, but they aren't truly practicing them.
Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true. (Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21)
Their statement claims that their faith can't reflect the equity and expansiveness of the entire teachings of the church, if they are not ordained.
It's not faith. It's a bargaining chip.
Their purpose is to achieve fairness.
I think that is the entire problem with mankind. Heavenly Father knows that and made us this way on purpose.
The very first lesson I learned as a child was that Life is NOT fair.
Doesn't matter who, doesn't matter when, where, or what. Everyone has experienced being treated unfairly at least once in their life.
Can you guess why?
It's because life isn't fair. That's just how it is, and once you accept it, it becomes a great deal easier to deal with.
That is how it's always been. You can't get everything you want, and you truly can't control how people treat you.
Discrimination, hate, anger, fear. These are all qualities of the natural man.
The purpose of life, is to overcome those things and return to our Heavenly Father and BE perfected by Him. He KNOWS that everyone is going to make mistakes, that is how we learn.
By His grace we are saved.
He sent us here but never left us to be alone. He gives us wonderful church leaders that are there to guide us in the right direction. He gave us the priesthood so we could all find comfort in hard times. Most importantly, he gives us unconditional love.
He expects 3 things from us.
1. 10% of our money from tithing
2. To love Him, ourselves, and our neighbors
3. To follow his commandments and do our best, always
He doesn't ask much.
My main point is that I'm astounded. These women are misrepresenting the church and they are making women look bad. It's not our decision to choose who can and who cannot hold the priesthood. I guess what I'm really saying is, who are they really asking for permission? Because if they were sincerely praying about this and fasting, I think we all know what the answer would be.
I really just needed to get all of my frustration out, but now I want to share my testimony of the priesthood.
I know the priesthood is there to help us in our darkest hour. It is there to help us feel peace and comfort in times when we are making huge decisions. It's also there for times of joy, blessing a baby or receiving the holy ghost after baptism. I am honored to be a part of such a great plan provided by us by our Heavenly Father and made possible by his son, Jesus Christ. I know with my whole heart that my purpose as a woman was to come to this Earth and take my own journey back to my heavenly father. I am a witness of the power of the priesthood and it's blessings and I know each man out there that holds that sacred power, is worthy. I am thankful for all that I have been blessed with and I say these things, humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.