Something Troubling in Sunday School

[_bcspace]

We seem to forget that in Joseph Smith time, women routinely gave blessings, annointings, and spoke in tongues. While Christ was ministering, he had women traveling to other towns to share the good news, as well as other duties.

None of these things seem to be denied LDS women today.

[_just me]

So, a lot of members act like the priesthood is nothing but a burden and horrible responsibility.

Well what else is it if not that? Ok, so a few select men get to live well as church officials. The vast majority of men don't. Similar to the fact that most men don't get to have plural wives. It becomes pretty apparent to any priesthood holder that you can't act in any way God would not act. So in my view, I really don't see any power to it at all. The only claim Mormonism has in my mind is that the priesthood is an authority. I had hard time making sense of the phrase, "power and authority." Authority maybe. Power? What power do you have that is not given to anyone who says a prayer?

Ok, so I'm really tired right now, just to warn you.

Power to bless your children and others.. Power to baptise your children and others. Power to confer the gift of the HG on your children and others. Power to ordain your children and others to office in the ph and confer ph on them. Power to dedicate graves, name & bless children, dedicate your home, etc, etc, etc.
Power to officiate in the ordinances of the gospel such as sacrament, initiatory (oh wait, somehow women are able to officiate in that, hmmmm), endowment, to seal on earth and in heaven, to give patriarchal blessins, etc.

But yeah, I can see how that could look like nothing.

What good would it do at this point if women were conferred the priesthood? I still hear as many or more complaints about when blacks couldn't have the priesthood as I'm sure ever existed when the ban was in practice. So if you don't believe in the priesthood, why on earth do you care that you can't have the authority to run the show? Even if you had the priesthood not every woman in the Church would get to be the boss. And as soon as it is conferred on you, you'd realize real quick that you gained no magical powers that you still might have the perogative of using for any personal desire. You'd have the right to do another job and bear another burden and that is it. Making it onto the payroll as a GA would never happen for the overwhelming majority. And whose to say you wouldn't find yourself in the same shoes as Hillary Clinton, forever craving power and authority with a minority victim mentality only to have been supplanted by another minority before you ever got started.

This is a very random rant on women getting the priesthood.
Who said anything about "running the show?" How 'bout equal treatment and equal opportunity?

It would send a very powerful message to the membership if women were ordained to the priesthood. I may not care about this for myself anymore, but many LDS women still do. I have a daughter who DOES care. What a wonderful thing it would be to see teenage girls passing the sacrament on Sunday beside the teenage boys.

I think it is telling that you bring up Hillary Clinton as a power hungry woman who will never be satisfied. What is to say a MAN won't have the same attitude (not saying I agree with your caricature of HC)? I seriously can't understand what you are thinking. Why is it a problem? Some people will want more power/authority...men and women. Why don't we deny all men power and authority based upon the same principle?

OMG, and imagine what it would be like to spread out all that burden among more people!!! Imagine what it would be like for a sister to be able to get her temple recommend interview from another woman!!! Imagine what it would be like for a mother and father to place their hands upon the head of their child and pronounce a blessing. Imagine what it would be like for a single mother to have the power of the priesthood in her home! Imagine for just one minute what that would be like.

[_Yoda]

We seem to forget that in Joseph Smith time, women routinely gave blessings, annointings, and spoke in tongues. While Christ was ministering, he had women traveling to other towns to share the good news, as well as other duties.

None of these things seem to be denied LDS women today.

The key word in Polly's quote is routinely.

I would also add openly.

You are correct that LDS women today do give both blessings and annointings in the temple. However, this is the only place women are allowed to do this.

In Joseph Smith's time, women gave blessings to the sick. Also, the Relief Society was on a much more equal footing with the priesthood than it is today. Emma was ordained to the office of Relief Society President...not merely set apart. There is a difference. Joseph's vision of women and the priesthood role differed from Brigham Young's.

I think that the Church is slowly coming full circle in that regard. My feeling is that the priesthood will, eventually, be given to women, just as it was given to blacks.

[_why me]

It is a script. It is an affirmation of ones status that has to be repeated often in the face of something so obviously sexist and wrong.

There seems to be a whole Relief Society class devoted to this type of thing at least yearly (When we have a lesson about priesthood).

.

I don't think that this is true. I think that most women do not want to hold the priesthood because they see the responsibility that it has. I think that for most women not having the priesthood is actually a blessing. Now of course, there are women that would like the priesthood. But by and large they are a minority.

[_why me]

(And also to Analytics for the apropos Aesop's fable. Spot on!)

I know that in the last few decades it has also become popular in LDS circles to laud Eve over Adam in the Garden of Eden--to say that Eve was the wiser of the two because she did what needed to be done, and even going so far as to say that Eve realized that it needed to be done and why it needed to be done before she did it.

I am not saying this reading is incorrect, but I think we can all agree it is definitely reading elements into the story in order to elevate Eve's position from what a straightforward reading would indicate.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Or it could be that the LDS just like to laud over women in the church. I don't get the impression that women are looked down upon at all. In fact, just the opposite. Their position in the home is well documented and their responsiblity for raising the next generation is well lauded over. Also, there are plenty of Mormon women who make wonderful contributions in church callings. Without LDS women the LDS church would fall very fast.

[_Darth J]

(And also to Analytics for the apropos Aesop's fable. Spot on!)

I know that in the last few decades it has also become popular in LDS circles to laud Eve over Adam in the Garden of Eden--to say that Eve was the wiser of the two because she did what needed to be done, and even going so far as to say that Eve realized that it needed to be done and why it needed to be done before she did it.

I am not saying this reading is incorrect, but I think we can all agree it is definitely reading elements into the story in order to elevate Eve's position from what a straightforward reading would indicate.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Or it could be that the LDS just like to laud over women in the church. I don't get the impression that women are looked down upon at all. In fact, just the opposite. Their position in the home is well documented and their responsiblity for raising the next generation is well lauded over. Also, there are plenty of Mormon women who make wonderful contributions in church callings. Without LDS women the LDS church would fall very fast.

Similarly, I have often noticed how much farmers value their livestock.

[_why me]

It is an interesting thought that we pay lip service to the superior moral attributes of women in order to justify their actual subservient position.

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Well, there is a solution here. As a man, give a talk about the subservient position of Mormon women in the church. And see what kind of reaction you get from the women present. Or make a statement in sunday school where both sexes are present. And see how it goes over with the women.

I am serious about this. You need to get some balls and speak up and let the feathers fall where may.

Now of course, I don't agree with you at all. I think that you are trying to catch dust in the wind and you are trying to find ways to talk yourself out of the LDS church. The women I know would be insulted by your and just me assumptions about the position of women. I also think that there would be many men who would give up their priesthood in a second if they could. The responsibilities of having it can be daunting and challenging. Not to mention the problems when a guy breaks the commandments. They are treated differentl than a woman who doesn't have the priesthood.

[_why me]

Similarly, I have often noticed how much farmers value their livestock.

Or how the dog values his master. So what does this mean? Are you saying that women in the LDS church are livestock? You are more than free to say this at church to the women present in meetings as a research statement and see the reaction. Nothing to lose really.

[_Darth J]

Similarly, I have often noticed how much farmers value their livestock.

Or how the dog values his master. So what does this mean? Are you saying that women in the LDS church are livestock?

When's the last time you heard of a cow making decisions as to how the farm will be run?

You are more than free to say this at church to the women present in meetings as a research statement and see the reaction. Nothing to lose really.

I think the OP already demonstrates what would happen.

[_why me]

Similarly, I have often noticed how much farmers value their livestock.

Or how the dog values his master. So what does this mean? Are you saying that women in the LDS church are livestock? You are more than free to say this at church to the women present in meetings as a research statement and see the reaction. Nothing to lose really.