Ordaining women to the priesthood

[MikeWaters]

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56...h-lds.html.csp

In a survey of U.S. religion, authors Robert Putnam and David Campbell, in their 2010 book, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us, found that 90 percent of LDS women opposed female ordination in their church (ironically, only 52 percent of Mormon men were against it).

http://ordainwomen.org/

http://ordainwomen.org/project/hi-im-jonathan/

Oh boy.

I’m a Mormon physician-scientist. I’m proud to say that I think Mormon women ought to hold the priesthood.
About me:
I’d have to say that being a Mormon is the single most important part of my identity–more than nationality, profession, or anything else for that matter. BYU was the only college I ever considered attending. I have fond memories of playing church ball while I was growing up in Utah County, and less fond memories of Scout campouts in the snow. Somehow I avoided rabbit hunting with the Scouts, but everyone was cool about it. I served a mission in Russia. It was great–cold, but great. Being a Mormon is very important to me although my job has interfered with my church activity at times. I am horribly imperfect, but I try to make the world a better place.
Why I think women should be ordained:
The Mormon Church is great at empowering its members, and the priesthood serves as a vehicle for that empowerment. It’s not the people’s decision as to whether women should hold the priesthood, just like it wasn’t the people’s decision to end polygamy or lift the ban on black men holding the priesthood, and so I write this without any illusion as to whether the people hold influence over revelations received by Church leaders.
Throughout history, religion has consistently served to inspire people and bind them together, making bad people good and good people better. Unfortunately, religion also frequently ends up on the wrong side of history. At times our faith has been no exception.
I’ve heard a broad variety of explanations for why women don’t have the priesthood yet. I find those explanations to be bizarre. I fail to see why gender ought to determine whether a person should hold authority in a church.
Fortunately, we have a living faith, led by good, inspired men who strive to do what’s right and seek the Lord’s guidance.
We also have a faith that teaches great principles like eternal progression. For women to receive the priesthood would be just one more indication that we are progressing.

[ChinoCoug]

Holy crap, I home teach one of these ladies. She asked me for a blessing a couple of times. I never knew she was into this movement.

[MikeWaters]

Setting aside female ordination, this change in mission ages for women is a step towards something very new and different in the church.

We're going to have stronger women than ever before, and they are going to someday serve in ways that they didn't previously as their lives go forward.

It may give the church a real shot in the arm.

[MikeWaters]

and like clockwork, we can already see how the traditional male leadership structure is breaking down.

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/articl...ership-council

Missions will now have leadership councils with sister missionaries who are "sister training leaders."

Tip of the iceberg here.

[ChinoCoug]

That is awesome. I hope women can put the church back on its growth path.

[realtall]

I think that some of it's members mistake the Church for a democracy.

[Archaea]

It is governed by an oligarchy patterned after a theocracy.

However, the bottom up does impact even the Church. Do you believe that membership concerns as well as the Civil Rights movement had NO impact on the Priesthood issue and how it changed?

[MikeWaters]

Would it be inappropriate to ask God to grant women administrative duties in the priesthood? God asks us to approach him with questions and the desires of our hearts.

If it's okay to privately ask God, is it then okay to privately ask God's human representatives?

And then is it okay to ask these things publicly?

One of the interesting things here is whether the church is going to seek to punish the leaders of this group. My initial feeling is that they will not. But we shall see.

While the church isn't a democracy, it is not without its democratic elements. "By common consent." We vote to sustain or to oppose people in positions. I used to say "this church doesn't have a suggestion box." But that may not be entirely true. People do make their opinions known either explicitly or implicitly. In other words, sometimes people vote with their feet, and I do think the leaders pay close attention to that.

The church is facing a number of challenges. Keeping young people engaged. Keeping younger women engaged. These recent policy shakeups are not a coincidence.

My ward doesn't have a single person out on a full-time mission despite having several active males in the 18-22yo range. I don't draw a trend from this, but it is a little bit puzzling to me.

[realtall]

Originally Posted by Archaea

It is governed by an oligarchy patterned after a theocracy.

However, the bottom up does impact even the Church. Do you believe that membership concerns as well as the Civil Rights movement had NO impact on the Priesthood issue and how it changed?

The general membership? Maybe, some. The general public? Probably, some. We are just guessing in circles here and I don't really think that the women's rights movement, if there is such a thing anymore, really moves the needle for them. They might just feel that they are the leaders for a reason. Ditto that times 50 for certain other subjects.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by realtall

The general membership? Maybe, some. The general public? Probably, some. We are just guessing in circles here and I don't really think that the women's rights movement, if there is such a thing anymore, really moves the needle for them. They might just feel that they are the leaders for a reason. Ditto that times 50 for certain other subjects.

It might be as you say. But didn't a woman pray in Conference? If they were insensitive to internal pressures or public opinion, would that have happened?

It is clear the Church does not operate on democratic principles. But, I don't perceive it operating indifferently to public opinion either. There is obviously some intransigence of not doing something just because others might wish leadership to do something. The Church is extremely image conscious, so public opinion matters to it.