I only have a few minutes before we head to Jon's sister's baby shower... Lets see if I can get this thought out.
I'm a feminist... a lot of people in the church and on the right in general think its a bad word... its not. Feminists just want equal rights for women as men. I'm not a Third Wave feminist, who have branched out to equal rights for all the genders... I'm a bit more classic. I think women still have too far to go to start focusing on other things... we're still not where we should be.
Anyhow, there's a phrase I hear all the time in the church and I think its ridiculous!
Well, let me start out by saying that when I first was introduced to the church, my biggest issue, excluding giving up my lifestyle, and being called a "Mormon" was that women couldn't hold the priesthood. But I prayed about joining the church and I received a hearty confirmation that this was what I was supposed to do... I told my friends I'd still party hard on holidays and I told the missionaries that I was not going to be a "Mormon." But needless to say, I stopped partying all together, and the first words out of my mouth after coming out of the water was... "I'm a Mormon!"
Anyhow, a few months... maybe a year into my conversion I went to the bishop. It was really bothering me that women couldn't hold the priesthood. He said "well, women were just more righteous in the pre-existance and therefore they don't need to perform those outwardly ordinances like the men do... a constant reminder to them, who need it.
I didn't buy it but I didn't know why.... then a few years ago it finally hit me... God is the same today and forever... God created worlds without number...
So what they're telling me is that whoever gets the priesthood is like a coin toss... kind of un-orderly for a God of order... and what, in some other world where the women are less righteous, the women have the priesthood...
I seriously doubt it!
No, God is a God of order... Men have always and will always have the priesthood and the Women never will... and I'm okay with that... here's why...
I've heard more than one female, in my 11 years, say that they felt like less than men because they didn't have the priesthood, like Adam or Man is the ruler over the earth and women are just their sidekick on this magic carpet ride... not the case...
Men and Women are equal! Let me ask you... how is a person going to get to this earth without a woman? I don't have kids and it scares the crap out of me at the though of having a human being in me, but I see that the "Motherhood" is equivalent to the "Priesthood." Women perform the ordinances to help spirits gain a physical body, and Men perform the ordinances that allow them to return to Heavenly Father.
What's not equal about that? The problem is the world... and its ideologies... Man, I have so much more on my mind but I have to go... its 12:30... Anyhow, thanks for listening to my rant. :) Have a good day!
I think my aunt is or was going through something similar even though she and I are both Catholic. She's probably the most religiously devout person I've met (good and bad) but I noticed her acting differently when there was a backlash that women can't become priests in Ireland last summer. I saw a glimmer of hope in her that I hadn't seen before. I don't know if the debate is still going on but it hasn't changed yet. The thing is she's in her mid fourties without a husband or kids. So motherhood is out of the question right now for her. I think that the churches, both mormon and catholic, should allow women to be ordained ministers. I think that the reason they aren't is simply because beliefs are so strong in both religions that they don't easily change through time. With protestants its different. Women can be ordained, and nothing disastrous has happened there. However, the Protestant church was founded based on disagreeing with the Catholic church so it makes sense they would be more "modern" if you would. Wow this was a long response. lol.
ReplyDeleteTony your response was too long. LOL. Just joking. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I felt her pain man. Not to get all spiritual on you... but I'm good now. I think it makes 100% perfect sense (to me), that excluding the worldly ideology of motherhood... eternally, it makes sense... the separation of responsibility.
Not like... women belong in the home sort of way... because I'm totally anti that concept... but like... if someone believes that you do have to be baptized to follow Christ's example, and if someone believes that its the priesthood's job to baptize, then that's kind of like an ordinance that opens the door to eternity here after... well... that and a bunch of other stuff... but without women... there would be no way to open the door to the here and now...
Its like... ones at the entrance and one's at the exit... :)
Ya know... Anyhow... Thanks for reading my weird feminist rant. :) I was like... no one is going to read this if it says "Feminism" at the top. LOL.
PS. Again, not to get all spiritual on you. But regarding your aunt and her not being married. There's a scripture somewhere in the bible...
ReplyDeleteand I guess regarding all women who don't have kids... me included...
Anyhow, it says that women who don't have kids are a mother to all... something like that...
Anyhow, just thought I'd share. :)