My understanding of the roles of men, women, and the priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was expanded this week after listening to two different conversations on the subject.
The first was an interview with a young woman who is a convert to the church. Her life experience and point of view are so different than my own, that I found her opinion to be insightful. Before learning about the LDS religion, she had wanted to become a minister, and had consequently begun a serious study of religion and theology as a teenager. She disliked the idea of strictly male deity found in some religions, and was drawn to the Mormon view of male and female gods. As a new convert she found herself mostly on the receiving side of teaching and service, but over time she gradually became a contributor, teaching and serving others. As she grew in testimony and confidence, she developed a renewed desire to hone her ministering skills.
Unfortunately she felt “under-utilized” as a woman in the church. She bemoaned the fact that there were so many more leadership roles for men in the church, and also more “opportunities for advancement”. She pointed out that the only callings for women to teach other women were the Relief society instructors and presidency, while the men had twice as many of these positions because they were divided to the high priest and elders quorums. I had never considered this before, probably because I’ve never been particularly anxious for callings that involve public speaking. I could see that she was correct, however, and sympathize with her disappointment that fewer women were able to serve in these roles.
I can understand that if someone has the desire to preach and lead, knowing that all the members of bishoprics, stake presidencies, and high councils are men could seem unfair. Again, I’ve never been concerned about this because I’ve never wanted one of these higher profile jobs, but I can acknowledge that these callings are only given to priesthood holders, and only men are ordained to priesthood offices.
The second conversation took place Sunday in Relief Society (the adult female organization in the LDS church). The lesson was on the priesthood, and even though I am a lifetime member of the church and have heard numerous lessons on the priesthood, I connected differently with this one.
One sister spoke of the connection she saw between the priesthood and Christ washing the feet of the apostles. She saw the priesthood as primarily a call to serve and bless others as Christ did. Far too often, even among church members, the way we view priesthood leaders is influenced by our observations of leadership in business or civic settings. In the world we seek for opportunities to lead and advance, but in the church we are called to serve.
In this past general conference, President Uchtdorf instructed that priesthood holders that
You can’t get honor in the kingdom of heaven by campaigning for it. Nor can you “power lunch” your way to eternal glory.
He went on to say:
In the eyes of God, there is no calling in the kingdom that is more important than another. Our service—whether great or small—refines our spirits, opens the windows of heaven, and releases God’s blessings not only upon those we serve but upon us as well. When we reach out to others, we can know with humble confidence that God acknowledges our service with approval and approbation. He smiles upon us as we offer these heartfelt acts of compassion, especially acts that are unseen and unnoticed by others.
Christ himself taught:
But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Another sister related a story of being a young widow and having sick children who needed a priesthood blessing in the middle of the night. She felt prompted to call her home teachers, who came and gave the blessings. My thought as she related her story was that many people in the world would see the inefficiency in this arraignment. After all, if this sister had been ordained to the priesthood herself, she could have just given the blessings, and the home teachers could have stayed in bed and saved themselves the trouble. I don’t believe the Lord sees efficiency as the priority, however, but instead values the humility, gratitude, unity, and charity inherent in such circumstances. Having different roles and callings requires us to depend on each other.
Throughout this Relief Society lesson I was impressed by the way that priesthood responsibilities molded the lives of boys as young as twelve and required, taught, and inspired service. I was reminded of the many examples of men I have known throughout my life who became extraordinarily compassionate, humble, and empathetic through priesthood service.
If priesthood is viewed as a calling to serve rather than an opportunity for authority, our outlook is changed. I can understand the feelings of the woman who feels under-utilized or less respected in the church, and I believe that it is inevitable that the attitudes and behaviors from other aspects of our lives will impact our behavior and experiences at church. I am certain that there are men who misunderstand the priesthood and behave in ways that the Savior would disapprove of.
I question whether part of the problem comes from our use of the term priesthood power, with its obvious connotations of strength, dominion, and might. I did a little research and discovered that the words priesthood and power are never used together in The Bible or Book of Mormon. Instead I found that in The Book of Mormon the word priesthood nearly always appears with the phrase the holy order of God or something similar. I searched the term holy order, hoping to better understand it, and learned that it is commonly used in Catholicism. When used in this phrase, they define holy as “set apart for some purpose“, and order as “a hierarchical structure used in the ministry“. Those meanings actually work quite well for Mormonism, too, where it seems that priesthood power is often associated with administration or ordinances, both acts of service for others. Would thinking of it as priesthood service or priesthood responsibility fit better than priesthood power?
In The Doctrine and Covenants we read:
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
My personal opinion is that having men hold the priesthood in this life gives order and balance to families, wards, and the church. I don’t believe that the Lord values his daughters any less than His sons, and I trust that in the next life…well, i think President Uchtdorf says it better than I can:
I have confidence that we will not only be satisfied with the judgment of God; we will also be astonished and overwhelmed by His infinite grace, mercy, generosity, and love for us, His children.
