Differences Between the Relief Society and the Priesthood

[_Yoda]

I was having a discussion with some friends on another message board, and I thought I would bring a similar discussion here. The friend I was discussing things with is staunchly TBM, and stated that he didn't see that there were huge differences between the Relief Society and the Priesthood, and didn't understand why there was such a fuss made about there not being equality within the Church's current organization. This was my response to him:

The Relief Society, in its current state is, indeed, a lesser organization than the Priesthood. It is considered an auxilliary organization, just like the Primary or Sunday School is.

However, when Joseph Smith originally established the Relief Society, he designed it as a companion organization to the Priesthood; his original intent was to make the organizations equal. Women administered blessings to the sick, and operated in many other ways which were equal to the priesthood.

When Brigham Young became the President of the Church, he changed the focus of the Relief Society, and made it more of an auxilliary.

It is my personal belief that someday the Relief Society WILL be restored to its equal status at some point. It might happen during the Second Coming, but hopefully before.

He went on to say that since women could hold leadership positions in presidencies, committees, etc., he was still unclear as to why women should feel less important.

My response was the following:

This is true; however, the priesthood has stewardship over the Relief Society, as it does every other auxilliary in the Church. Name me ONE situation where women hold stewardship over men. There are none. Yes, women can lead committees, and boards, and serve in presidencies. However, a priesthood leader ALWAYS ultimately presides over ALL of these callings. There are no female bishops. There are no female Stake Presidents. There are no female prophets. Women, also, under the current organization in the Church, cannot give blessings to the sick, or bless babies.

I do believe that this will change, but until it does, there is an unequal setting between men and women in the Church, and the current Church is definitively run under a patriarchial order.

Thoughts?

[_sock puppet]

I was having a discussion with some friends on another message board, and I thought I would bring a similar discussion here. The friend I was discussing things with is staunchly TBM, and stated that he didn't see that there were huge differences between the Relief Society and the Priesthood, and didn't understand why there was such a fuss made about there not being equality within the Church's current organization. This was my response to him:

The Relief Society, in its current state is, indeed, a lesser organization than the Priesthood. It is considered an auxilliary organization, just like the Primary or Sunday School is.

However, when Joseph Smith originally established the Relief Society, he designed it as a companion organization to the Priesthood; his original intent was to make the organizations equal. Women administered blessings to the sick, and operated in many other ways which were equal to the priesthood.

When Brigham Young became the President of the Church, he changed the focus of the Relief Society, and made it more of an auxilliary.

Well, one big difference is that the Relief Society played a part in the first half of 1844 in exposing the Nauvoo polygamy that JSJr and its other practitioners vehemently denied (even though they were in fact 'practicing polygamy)--I guess you could call that Lying for the Libido.

In any event, in the 5/26/1844 sermon aboard the Maid of Iowa, JSJr rued the role of the Relief Society in revealing polygamy--which was when Smith's Mormon yarn ball really began to unravel, he began using his official role as mayor to trample on others' constitutional rights of free press, and led to his arrest, incarceration and then murder while in the Carthage Jail. "I never had any fuss with these men until that Female Relief Society brought out the paper against adulterers and adulteresses." HoC, Vol 6. "[T]hese men" of whom JSJr was speaking? William and Wilson Law, dissenters who were two of the owners of the Nauvoo Expositor, that within two weeks issued its one and only paper.

I don't think that the Priesthood can boast of an accomplishment as significant as playing a pivotal role in the take down of a prophet.

It may have been part of BY's power grab and need for self preservation to demote the status and influence of the Relief Society.

[_Yoda]

It may have been part of BY's power grab and need for self preservation to demote the status and influence of the Relief Society.

I very much agree with this, Sock. I believe that Brigham Young did demote the Relief Society status based on his own prejudices. He did this in the same way he made the decision to ban blacks from the priesthood.

[_lulu]

It may have been part of BY's power grab and need for self preservation to demote the status and influence of the Relief Society.

I very much agree with this, Sock. I believe that Brigham Young did demote the Relief Society status based on his own prejudices. He did this in the same way he made the decision to ban blacks from the priesthood.

He didn't demote it. He flat out did away with it, telling women to go home and stay there, if and when he needed him, he would call them.

After a while in UT, some women started ward organizations and latter, BY asked Eliza R. to start a church wide Relief Society. But it had no real ties with what the women in Nauvoo had started and Joseph Smith had tried to co-opt.

The UT Relief Society was really a different organization, dispite what the official LDS church histories try to tell you.

[_RockSlider]

Hey, Adam was good to hang out in the garden … forever … it was that damn Eve that just had to be the mother of all living. And good heavens, why not? As JFS confirmed in Doctrines of Salvation, the woman is "saved" in child birth. Literally.

And what did us men get out of the whole deal? Briars noxious weeds, and by the sweat of our brows shall we earn the bread, all the days of our life. The women, clean every wit, the man seven righteous women to every dirty, sweaty one of us!

And of course the women's righteousness is just too precious princess to be put out there and defiled by the cold cruel world.

Now what the heck are you women moaning about???

Hello, have a child, be saved … shut up.

[_LDSToronto]

What does an equal Relief Society look like? My guess is that it looks pretty much the same as it looks today.

H.

[_Yoda]

What does an equal Relief Society look like? My guess is that it looks pretty much the same as it looks today.

H.

An equal Relief Society would have some elements that it has today, but would also have the following differences:

Women would hold the same priesthood offices that the men hold, with the same types of power and presiding authority. Funds for the Relief Society would be COMPLETELY governed by the Relief Society President, and there would be no "Priesthood authority" needing to "preside" over Relief Society functions.

Women would be just as capable as men to administer blessings to the sick, and be the voice in blessing babies.

Female bishops, Stake Preidents, Regional Representatives, members of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Prophets would be as prominent as men.

[_LDSToronto]

What does an equal Relief Society look like? My guess is that it looks pretty much the same as it looks today.

H.

An equal Relief Society would have some elements that it has today, but would also have the following differences:

Women would hold the same priesthood offices that the men hold, with the same types of power and presiding authority. Funds for the Relief Society would be COMPLETELY governed by the Relief Society President, and there would be no "Priesthood authority" needing to "preside" over Relief Society functions.

Women would be just as capable as men to administer blessings to the sick, and be the voice in blessing babies.

Female bishops, Stake Preidents, Regional Representatives, members of the Quorum of the Twelve, and Prophets would be as prominent as men.

So you don't want an equal Relief Society, you want women to hold the priesthood. And if you want that, the CoC has it.

H.

[Guest]

Women presiding over men.

Check out Lucy's account of her leading her company on the Erie Canal and then on Lake Erie from NY to OH.

She was American Moses before BY was even a Mormon.

They don't teach it in the correlated Relief Society manual though.

[Guest]

The Priesthood have the authority to preside over men and women.
Relief Society and Primary Presidencies have the sub contracted authority to preside over women and minors as long as they do it in the way the Priesthood tells them.