I’ll start out by saying, I am not a feminist. But I am a daughter of God, who loves me very much. I believe that, I know that, and I am not disappointed in this. I’m not going to try and convince anyone that what I’m going to write about today is right either.
Yesterday I made a comment on a Facebook thread. The topic of the tread had to do with the planned protest by Mormon feminists and the Ordain Women group to demand entrance to the Conference Center for the Priesthood Session of the Conference. For some background, these women wrote and asked Church headquarters for tickets to the session, and were politely turned down. Their plans now include marching to the Conference Center to make a scene. This is exactly what they want, a scene to be blown up in the media and online.
In response to my comment, another friend contacted me privately and asked me why I opposed what these women are doing, and gave me several examples of how people had asked the Lord for a change and it was granted, so why not this? I was direct in my answer to him, and will be here as well. I am opposed to what these women are planning because it will cause contention, and because their protest is disrespectful of the leaders of the Church and the council system of the Church. The Book of Mormon is very clear in 3 Nephi 11:29, that “Contention is not of me, but is of the Devil, who stireth up the hearts of men to contend one with another.”
Because we believe in modern day prophets, our Church receives revelation and our Church can make changes as the Lord sees necessary. I welcome the changes that happen in the LDS Church, when they come thru the proper channels, and way. We have a system in place for change to happen, and that system has been set up and organized by the Lord, in his wisdom. We must remember he sees the whole picture. We need to trust that things are how he wants and needs them to be. I have a strong testimony of prayer and the power of prayer and of asking the Lord for the things we need and want. But, I also know that many times the answer is, “No”, “Not right now”, “Be patient and wait” or “This is not worth the worry”.
I have my own answers to why women do not hold the priesthood in the LDS Church. They have come thru thoughtful study and prayer. They have also come, because I’ve been willing to receive the answer the Lord had for me. If anything, those answers lead me to rejoice in the fact that I am a woman, that I belong to the Relief Society, and that I get to be a Mother in Zion. I am thankful beyond words for the ordinances of the temple that allow me to have the same access to salvation as my husband, sons, brothers and father. I am happy and content letting the men take care of their responsibilities too. That is not to say, that I have never had issues with men in the church. However, I feel that these issues were the fact that they were just men with weaknesses making themselves manifest, and not because they were men exercising their priesthood wrongly. Sisters, the men do not sit around thinking up ways to exclude us, nor does the Lord. The blessings of salvation are available to anyone who is willing to humble themselves, to participate in the ordinances of the gospel and to endure to the end. As Sisters in Zion we have so much to do, there should be little time left to protest and complain. The Lord needs us to work in his vineyard.
As I mentioned, it is the contention and controversy that surrounds what these sisters are doing, that troubles me the most. The Lord does not use division to save his children. He needs us to be united; he needs us to embrace the path that he has for us. Men and women are both vital in The Plan of Salvation and we all have our unique and distinct roles. Instead of adopting the ways of the world, by agitating protesting, and causing contention, let us look for ways to magnify our callings, and to serve and love one another. Let us support and love one another no matter who we are, or what callings we hold.