Thoughts from My Young Women's Lesson: Women and the Priesthood

I'm the Young Women's Secretary, so I don't have a Sunday teaching assignment.  However, I do always have a lesson in my bag in case I need to teach. This is easier with the Come Follow Me curriculum because there are outlines for each month, and the order of these is not prescribed, and if you don't teach all of them, and teach one of them three times, that's within the curriculum.  So, I actually got to use my lesson today, and it was a lesson that I really enjoyed and valued.  I thought I would share some of it here.

The lessons this month are all on the Priesthood.  This outline titled, "What are my responsibilities in the work of the Priesthood?"  It is an outline that was probably much inspired by the Ordain Women movement. For those not familiar with this all, a little background.  In the LDS faith, women do not hold the priesthood.  There is a movement within the church that seeks to have women ordained.  My opinion as an LDS woman?  They don't understand several things, including:  The priesthood, the nature of prayer, the nature of prophets, humility before God and much more.  Three things I would tell them:

1) Why do you want the priesthood if you are saying that the priesthood brethren are wrong in denying your ordination?  If they are not speaking for God, then the priesthood is a worthless and wordly accolade.  Why do you want it if it has no validity?

2) If you tell God what you want too many times, and don't listen to no, eventually He'll give you want you want.  Along with its consequences. And we know how well that worked out for Martin Harris.

3) May I reference you to the story of Uzziah?  He wanted to burn incense in the temple.  He thought it was a righteous desire, just as the women of Ordain Women say they have a righteous desire.  But he was trying to do something that Levites did.  He was not a Levite.  He did not have that role or authority from God. And he didn't fair well when he insisted on doing that.

However, to my thoughts.  The lesson really talked about how women are sharers in the Priesthood.  The Priesthood is a power, it is not a thing that the men are.  The power is the authority from God to administrate in the Church, and carry out the ordinances of the gospel.  It is how men take part in God's plans by serving, teaching and "bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39).

But how is that different from women?

In Luke 8:1-3, it acknowledges that there were women who traveled with Christ and His Apostles, serving with them.  It mentions Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna, but there very well may be others.  In Romans 16: 1-2, it records Paul exhorting the Romans to listen to his representative who administrates the Church there. Her name is Phoebe.  And while I was preparing the lesson, I realized with excitement that there were sister missionaries back in the Early Church!  Women have always served in the Church.

Alma 56 details the Stripling Warriors who were taught by their mothers.  Emma Smith is ordained to be a teacher and companion to her husband's work in D&C 25.  Women have long testified of Christ and His mission, from Anna prophesying of Christ, to Mary Magdalene crying His resurrection to the apostles.  Abish cries the gospel of Christ from door to door.  They have always taught and they continue to teach.  I did today.

And they "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" in the most beautiful way.  We cannot return to our Heavenly Father without a body, and the bodies of man are made from the divine gifts of women.

It also points out that in Moses 5, Adam is given the whole gospel.  The higher covenants.  Essentially, Adam receives his temple endowment.  In Moses 5:11-12, it details that everything that Adam is given, Eve also receives.

Dallin H. Oaks clarified in conference that the temple endowment is the priesthood.  Which men and women both receive.  So, why do only men bless the sacrament?  Well, that's what they are authorized to do by priesthood keys.  But whenever women fulfill their callings, they are exercising authority as well (Dallin H. Oaks).  When a Young Women's President, or Relief Society President or Primary President uses the measure of God's authority they are using, they are using the priesthood.  He quotes President Joseph Fielding Smith, "“You can speak with authority, because the Lord has placed authority upon you....[The Relief Society has] been given power and authority to do a great many things. The work which they do is done by divine authority....[The Lord] has given to them this great organization where they have authority to serve under the directions of the bishops of the wards … , looking after the interest of our people both spiritually and temporally.”   As Dallin H. Oaks sums it up, "Thus, it is truly said that Relief Society is not just a class for women but something they belong to—a divinely established appendage to the priesthood." It's really a great talk from Dallin H. Oaks.  It's called "The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood."

Anyways, I just really liked the lesson.  Women are just as active in God's plan. Our roles are merely different.  And just like Uzziah couldn't accept that only Levites burn incense, some women can't accept that.  I think it's beautiful.

Comments

Amy R said…
I agree with your statements. I like your scriptural tie ins.

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