Women and Priesthood

Women and Priesthood. Authority, keys, and women. Women in the Church. It’s all a sensitive and touchy topic for feminist activists, including me. I believe that the Church and its leaders are directed by Jesus Christ, whose church it is, and that the Lord will not allow His servants to lead His church astray. I also believe that I am the equal of my husband and any man alive. God gave me a brain and a soul and a heart, and the ability to use them. I cannot help but wonder why the priesthood keys and authority are reserved for men.

A few weeks ago, just as I am wrestling with this issue, one of my Primary kids asked a question in sharing time: “Why don’t moms have the priesthood?” to which the Primary president said, “Maybe Sister Bishop can talk about that in your class.” I spent the next twenty minutes alternately praying that I would have an answer for this child, or that he would forget he had asked the question. He did not forget. The minute we closed the classroom door behind us, he asked again. Luckily, I had an answer.

I’ve heard many answers over the years that are supposed to make me feel better about not having the keys and authority of the priesthood. None of them actually make me feel better. I’ve often heard, “But women can have babies, so what are they complaining about.” This is not the same thing at all. Every worthy man can hold the priesthood, with or without a wife; not all worthy women have babies, and many drug addicts do. Babies obviously don’t depend on worthiness, as priesthood ordination does. I’ve also heard from women, “I don’t need the priesthood,” with the accompanying implication that men are less capable and therefore need some guiding power to keep them in line. This is a subtle insult to my husband, who is a good, faithful priesthood holder and would still be a good man if the priesthood keys and authority were not on the earth. My husband is not second-rate in the eyes of God, either. The answers of the world hadn’t worked for me. They obviously wouldn’t work for a six-year-old earnestly seeking wisdom.

I was blessed with an answer that worked for him and my little class. I asked my class if they knew that we have a Heavenly Mother. We don’t know much about her, but She is there. Whatever power and authority She has is reserved for women, who can become like Her just as men can become like Heavenly Father. My class was satisfied with this answer.

The answer still felt incomplete for me, though. My brain and soul wanted to know more, so I thought and prayed and studied, and am slowly arriving at a more thorough understanding of my role in eternity. I may already possess the entirety of my power and authority, and just don’t recognize or understand it yet. There may be additional power granted in Heaven (just as the power to create worlds and the power of resurrection is not currently available to priesthood holders here, but may be granted later. See Elder Oaks’ talk from the April 2014 conference) that I am not aware of yet. Whatever that power is, it matters in the grand scheme of the universe.

It is clear to me that women matter in the eternal plan. Heavenly Father loves His daughters and we are not secondary or lesser in His eyes. We, the daughters of God, have eternal potential for growth and progression. Our potential is infinite, as it is for men. Our worth is infinite, as it is for men. Our power, whatever it looks like, is eternal, as the keys of the priesthood are for men. I do not claim to understand God’s plan for me, or for any of us. I trust God to do what is best for me, because He loves me. I have faith that my mortal brain can learn, line upon line and precept upon precept, until I come to a full understanding of my role, both here and in eternity. I am important. I am of infinite worth. I am content with my limited understanding, for now.