Spiritual Sunday - Why I'm not and won't be a part of the "Ordain Women" movement.

I cringed even using their full name in the title of my post, because I don't want to send any more hits to their site than they already get but I wanted to make clear what I was talking about. And I fully expect to catch some back lash on this, so I'm just gonna go ahead and put some comment moderation on.  Or not.  Very few people actually read this little ole blog, and this is more for my children and grandchildren to understand precisely where I stand on this whole issue.

The issue?  In as simple terms as I can :
In my church, men hold the Priesthood.  That is by design and order of God.  However, as of late, there has been quite the movement from some women inside our church to change that eternal principle.  For whatever reason, there are women who feel that they are not as equal to men because they do not hold the sacred power of the priesthood.  The Priesthood is the power to act in God's name.  The same power Jesus Christ held to perform ordinances, heal the sick etc. has been restored and worthy men in my church have the opportunity to exercise that same priesthood power.

Why just men?  Why not women?    I get it.  I understand that some would wonder and question that.

I'm a simple girl.  I'm not a "critical thinker".  I don't analyze and research everything to the minute level.  I'm just not that smart or intellectually inclined.  I am one that goes by my heart.  In virtually everything.  I have always been one that "feels" rather than "thinks".  Religion in and of itself is based really on feelings rather than intellect.  Think about it.  The story of Jesus feeding the thousands with two fishes and a couple of loaves of bread?  You could hurt your brain trying to make that physically happen.  Changing water into wine?  Same thing.  How could the physics of that happen?  I have no clue.  I only know that in my heart, when I read about it and I pray to God for the answers, I FEEL it in my heart that it's true.  That those things happened.  I have no idea how, but they did.

As a young girl, I was raised a Mormon.  A member of  The Church of Jesus Christ of LatterDay Saints.  As a teen, as most teens do, I questioned, I rebelled, I chose to drift away.  When maturity set in, I explored how I felt about the church of my youth.  I had to make a decision as to whether it was for me, or did I want something else.  I knew I wanted and NEEDED some religion, some belief system, SOMETHING in my life and the life of my small children and husband.  My approach back into activity of the church was not something I attacked with intellect.  Again, it's just not in me.  I went with my heart and my gut.  The Book of Mormon promises answers.  I read it, I prayed about it and I got my answer.  From then on, there was no looking back.  Changes in my life were made and I embraced it.

There are some whose approach is different.  They study, they read, they cross reference, they gather all views both for and against.  And then they try to make a decision based on their fact finding.  Sorry, but that's not how religion, or better stated, FAITH in God works.  Faith is things believed in that are not seen.  I have not seen God the Father, His son Jesus Christ nor the Holy Ghost.  But I FEEL them, and in my heart I know they are real beings who love me.  I have not seen Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, the early pioneers, but I have FELT them and I know that even though they were imperfect people (just like me - making mistakes along the way), my heart knows that they were real, and that their efforts to restore the true gospel of Jesus Christ are true.  They did it.  They might have made mistakes, but those errors don't stand in the way of  me KNOWING the church and Christ's gospel is true.  I just don't even need to worry about those things in my belief structure.  It doesn't matter.  Simply, I asked God about it, He gave me the answer.  Done.


So back to the movement to ordain women in to the priesthood.  The Lord has given His answer.  It is established the way it is supposed to be.  Done.  Did Mary Magdalene, or Ruth, or Sarah or Mary the mother of God have the priesthood?  Did they ask for it?  How about after Christ was crucified and His disciples continued to preach and establish the church.  Did women in those days ask for and receive it? I can't find any examples of such.

But what about the purposes that women are saying that they want it for?  A very wise and very good friend stated it better than I ever could:

"All the women I hear talking about wanting the priesthood say things like "I want to hold my baby" "I want to bless my children" "I want to be able to give blessings." It is all very ego-centric. The grand irony is that the priesthood is the antithesis of "self-aggrandizement". It is about serving OTHERS, not about fulfilling PERSONAL wishes. So, basically, all of the women asking for the priesthood to "fulfill" themselves, don't really even understand that very priesthood that they covet." MMM


Maybe that's the problem.  Perhaps the women who are clamoring to be ordained to the Priesthood, 

aren't clearly understanding the very thing they are desiring.




For me?  I believe in continual revelation from God.  I believe it was restored when Christ's original 

church was restored in the 1800's through Joseph Smith.  I believe that if women were designed to 

 hold the priesthood and those responsibilities, God would tell us.  He hasn't.  I know from personal 

experience that when I "counsel" the Lord (tell Him what I think should happen because I know best), 

I'm usually schooled pretty well on the fact that I DON'T know all, and the HE does and that I shouldn't 

be telling Him what should happen but rather, I should faithfully pray to know what I should do to 

better serve Him.

My heart goes out to those women who feel such a need to push the prophet and other church leaders to 

change the order of God's church.

My friend Viki articulated it best, click here and read her words, for they are better 

than mine. 


*taps fingers and waits for you to come back*


But know this, I don't support the movement.  I won't ever support the movement.  I am grateful for the 

special gifts God has given me and I have plenty of responsibility and duty to serve Him with those 

talents that if He wanted me to have more, He would have given me more.  As a daughter of God, I 

find myself revered and loved by Him in a way that cannot be verbally expressed.  

But I know it in my heart, and that is enough.  My heart and my Spirit.  And for this simple girl.  It is 

enough.