women & the priesthood

~ in case you didn't know by now ~

i'm a mormon

& i love it :)

one of my absolute favorite things recently has been modern revelation

or the idea that Christ lives & leads His Church through His authorized servants

{same as in Bible times}

this has offered me a lot of peace & clarity

especially as I've watched the Christian world struggle with enormous & important issues

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints {aka mormon church} has not been exempt from a lot of these issues

women and the priesthood

gender roles

same-sex attraction & marriage

but an advantage I feel is that this is not a church led by humans

but by God acting through humans

and yes, imperfect people make mistakes

& mortals are an imperfect filter through which the perfection of the gospel must be poured

& there is a lot of cultural imperfections & things i would change in the Church

because that's just what happens when a bunch of humans get together

but to be led by the Living Christ

& not carried about by every wind of doctrine

swept about by the whims of men & society

brings peace to my soul

my job is to go directly to the source - to pray & ask God to confirm to me the words of His servants

& then to act in faith.

this is why my feminism differs when it comes to my faith

i believe that this is Christ's church

& He gets to make the rules

I believe in asking questions in a faith-filled way

I believe in revelation.

~ all that being said ~ 

about a year ago [10.16.13] i was serving in wisconsin as a mormon missionary

& thinking a lot about women & the priesthood

& this is what i wrote in the middle of the night one night

"aspiring for/demanding the priesthood is really degrading to womanhood -- 

you're basically saying that womanhood, 

with all of it's attendant rights & privileges, 

is somehow inferior to/not as great as manhood, 

with all of its attendant rights & privileges. 

God knows what He is doing. 

He knows me 

& He knows you, 

& He knows what each of us need to progress towards perfection. 

i do not believe that God gave men the priesthood because they're naturally horrible stinkers who wouldn't serve otherwise, anymore than i believe God gave women motherhood {which, you don't have to be a birthmother to possess the qualities of & be a mother... it's inherent, foreordained like the priesthood} because women are naturally horrible & wouldn't serve otherwise. 

Women are great leaders, & men are great nurturers, & each of us is different. 

God knows us individually. 

He knows our needs, & He knows our talents. 

He has designed men & women to need one another, in beautiful similitude of all mankind's desperate need for a Savior <3 

There is no greater advocate of women than Jesus Christ, whose church this is. 

Trust Him who knows & loves us best. 

Trust that He loves you & knows what He's doing :)" 

since then, my thoughts have evolved & grown & been added to, but the basis remains the same. 

God knows me, He loves me, & He leads His church in the way that I need. 

:)