Seven wrote:
Elder Holland believes they are and offers it as the reason for polygamy in the CK:[Polygamy] was a spiritual principle. ... It was not licentiousness run amok. ... It was higher and holier than that. It may not in every instance have been practiced as appropriately as it should have been. ... Why it would have been a principle of exaltation and of eternity I'm not sure I know, and I'm not sure anybody knows. ...
All I can offer at this point, I think, is the feeling that belief as I see it in my own wife, as I see it in my own mother and I see it in my daughters. This is not to disparage men in any way, but there is something more given to spirituality in most women than I think there is in most men. ...
I don't know that that's documentable or if that's defensible. I don't know if you can get any data on it. But I know women; I'm married to one; I'm the son of one; I'm the father of some. ... I know there is something holy, if you let me use that word, about a woman's faith, about a woman's heart, about her spirit. And I am only wondering with you -- on record, but still wondering -- if somehow in the final equation of this, it was a way to account for the eternal possibilities and blessings and promises of all women, as well as all men, who qualify -- whatever it is to qualify -- for exaltation and eternal life and the promises of the future.
We believe that marriage is eternal. One of the fundamental premises of this church is that family is forever. I know, in my life, that it won't be heaven without my wife, and it will not be heaven without my children, because that's true, and if that's some eternal principle, and if there's something eternally splendid about that, then God in his goodness must have some way to let everybody share in as much of that as possible. [i.e. polygyny] And I believe that our doctrine points toward that. ...
Women are not more spiritual.
It's insulting to men when this is repeated as a reason for polygyny in the plan of salvation.
Are they saying this to make us feel better about not having the Priesthood and female Prophets?
It's important to not confuse emotion with the spirit.
I think LDS men perceive us as more spiritual because we are more emotional and cry easier. (especially around a certain time of the month) We were designed with higher voices for example, because babies respond better to that pitch. Change the hormones in these "spiritual women" and they will act more like men.
Anyone can tell you how mallicious and cruel women can be through their gossip, jealousy, control, revenge, worldliness, selfishness, etc. Men just express their feelings differently. in real life, I have rarely seen a man who gossips and judges others the way women do.
LDS men also misperceive that women are more spiritual because of their devotion and service in the church. Women tend to be more zealous in their callings because it involves creating, nurturing, and socializing.
That has nothing to do with spirituality.
I know many TBM women who do not care if Mormonism is true or false because of the friendships, programs for kids, and social gatherings in the church. in my opinion, this is why there tend to be more active LDS women in most Wards.
Great Post! Thanks, Seven!