Because this is something that is going on in the country I live in, I will write this in English.
To make it clear, before I start, the purpose of this post is to share my feelings and thoughts as I sat on the fence on this very topic, Ordain Women. Honestly, I was way against it, and then I got on the fence. And then at that point, I really needed to decide where I was going to stand. So, I thought a lot about it and I want to share the thoughts I had and how I chose where I now stand on this subject.
Well, I guess I need to start from the beginning. I didn't know much about it, I just knew that it was someone that thought that women should have the Priesthood. To me, that was absurd and I didn't even want to have anything to do with it. Then I read a blog post by c.jane where she
wrote a letter to her daughters explaining how she got involved and how she felt. It was very heartfelt and I appreciate her thoughts. She made me understand where the Ordain Women and its followers were coming from. But it only felt informational, if anything. Later, her sister, Stephanie Nielsen, wrote a post about
Mormon Women and where she stood regarding this topic. Then my heart stirred - I felt the Spirit. So I thought, ok, I guess I'm good...
So, how did I get on the fence? When I found out that a really good friend of mine supports it - or at least seems to. She's a good friend and I look up to her, a lot! She has motivated me to be a better person. Because of that, I had this horrible feeling inside me and the thought "what if I am on the wrong side of the fence?" "What if I am supposed to be praying for this too?" "If she does indeed supports it, should I support it, too?" - side note, I don't know if she really supports it but it seemed to.
But, at the same time, I couldn't grasp why I needed to support something if the person that led it was excommunicated and had all of her eternal blessings taken away from her because of it. In a logical sense, it didn't make ANY sense... If A=B, B=C, then A
has to equal C, right?! Well, based on her followers, that's not the case, the movement is going forward. Then I thought, perhaps it's not the belief that got her in trouble, it's how she went about because of it. Well, I needed to research.
I talked to another friend and she told me that her
excommunication letter is available online and it explains why she was excommunicated and what she needs to do in order to be able to re-join the Church. So I found it and read it.
Then I thought about it all morning long. These are the thoughts that played and played in my mind the whole time.
1. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. You find this line in the scriptures ALL THE TIME. On my mission, that's the first thing we taught people in order for them to understand why we have a living Prophet today (because we've ALWAYS had one, why would God change it?). So, why is it that I never heard of women in the scriptures with the Priesthood? Why is it that women in the scriptures always had a Prophet to help them, whether it was their husband, sons, or someone else? (Sariah, Sara, Maria, Ruth, Emma, Marta, etc etc). Was it omitted from the scriptures?
2.
Matthew 7:15 (16-20 is good too)
3. My dad said this many, many times while I was growing up - If your priesthood leader tells you to do something, even if you don't agree, be obedient because you will receive the blessings of obedience and, if what your leader is telling you to do is unreasonable in the eyes of the Lord, His judgement will be upon that leader. But, the Lord will still always bless you for your obedience.
4. There is a Conference Talk by Elder Groberg that I can't find, that he says that the first step to personal apostasy is to criticize and go against your leaders
5. Elder Oaks' talk about the priesthood this last conference and how many talks we had in conference about it, explaining the order and importance
6. Questions they ask you when having a Temple recommend interview regarding affiliations with different groups
Seriously, these thoughts would not leave my mind as I struggled to know which side of the fence I should be. Then that moment of peace came.
These thoughts flowed in my mind after the above thoughts were pounded on me.
It's not up to how much I ask for something that the Lord will give it to me. To be honest, all the big blessings in my life came when I wasn't asking for them (like having children). If it's not the right time, it's not the right time and I can keep on asking until my face turns blue and the Lord will not give it to me.
If this series of events was what the Lord really wanted, why would the leader of this movement be excommunicated? What are the fruits of her labor? What happened to her membership in the Church? What happened to some of the women that believed her? Are some of them not active anymore? Is the Church more united because of her?
Based on the letter from her Bishop, did she heed to their counsel? Was she humble to be obedient? Was Emma humble when the Lord told her that her husband needed to have multiple wives? Was Sariah humble when the Lord told her husband they needed to leave everything behind because the city was going to be destroyed? How does the Ordain Women's leader compare to these women? Was the founder of Ordain Women humble to leave her website and her group in order to enjoy the blessings of the gospel? What was and still is more important to her?
Why would the Lord inspire the general authorities to talk about the Priesthood and explain its order all the time?
Because of the answer to these questions I cannot support the ideals of Ordain Women. I love the gospel, the Temple, partaking the sacrament too much to jeopardize it. If the Prophet tells me I have to have the Priesthood, I will accept it and be humble about it. But while he doesn't, I will follow him, honor him, and obey his counsels. And, under his authority my local leaders are called and sustained so I need to honor them too. If I stop living up to all of God's commandments, I cannot be protected by Him, prepared to be what He wants me to be, trusted - if I break commands I made with God how can I be trusted with promises I made to other people, or empowered with His spirit to be a strong and faithful person.
God lives and He is an active God. He leads this Church through Prophets, Apostles and other leaders. There is an extra chair where the first presidency meets, and where the Apostles meet in the Temple. I've seen it, I've been in the very room. I know their counsel and revelations come from Christ Himself. I have no doubt and never will. My love for my Father in Heaven and for His son Jesus Christ is great and I hope I will never put myself in a position that, at the last day, I'll feel how I felt that morning I was terrified that I might be on the wrong side of the fence. Yes, my leaders may one day be off, but I rather receive the blessings of obedience than of being cast out of eternal blessings.
I am updating this post and adding this video I just watched from Mormon Channel. I think it sums up well what I should be doing as a member of Christ's Church.
Momentos são eventos que fazem o meu amor por meus filhos crescer mais e mais. Momentos em que vejo um sorriso. Momentos em que eles querem morder a minha bochecha. Momentos que o Thomas abraça o seu Elmo para dormir. Momentos em que o Lawrence me dá um abraço. Momentos em que eu sento no chão e dois bebês vem correndo para a minha direção.
Isso me fez pensar nos meus filhos. Nos momentos que as vezes passam despercebidos. Ou no que fica depois dos momentos e como o depois existe porque meus filhos existem. E cada momento é importante ser vivido, mesmo quando ele é constuído de berros e choro. Momentos passam mas, para alguns, eles nunca nem chegarão.
