Listen, I could go off and do a point by point rebuttal to Kate Kelly’s recent remarks about the new church essays being “lies”. However, ultimately it’s her prerogative and perspective. We all know by now where she is coming from. Now it’s not the only viewpoint that matters and clearly there many individuals like myself who view things very differently. Many around the blogosphere have either lambasted Kate Kelly or conversely have taken the other side of the issue about female ordination to the priesthood. In this post I’m going to neither. I’m simply going to tell you what matters to me when it comes to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Do I believe God is running the church today through living prophets and apostles? This is the fundamental question I ask myself and one that ultimately will decide where we tend to fall on the spectrum when it comes to female ordination of the priesthood. I absolutely believe that men and women are equals when it comes to the church. As President Hinckley stated:
In this Church the man neither walks ahead of his wife nor behind his wife but at her side. They are co-equals in this life in a great enterprise
I have no problems should the Lord reveal to his prophet and apostles that starting tomorrow, women will be allowed to have the priesthood moving forward. I’m completely agnostic to the idea of female ordination to the prietshood itself. My only concern is “are the brethren aligning the church to the mind and will of the Lord”. Simple as that and yes, I do believe that God continues to speak to His living prophets and apostles and that they are aligning the church to the mind and will of the Lord.
Now should I ever feel that this is not the case, well I would have much bigger issues than simply whether or not women have the priesthood. Ultimately it comes down not to this specific issue of whether or not women should have the priesthood but the much bigger question of whether or not you believe that God directs and guides His church through living prophets and apostles. If you do, well the answer is quite clear as to what the mind and will of the Lord is when it comes to female ordination to the priesthood at this time. If you don’t, once again, you’re going to have much bigger issue with the church than simply whether or not women should hold the priesthood.
I honestly have no ill feelings against Kate Kelly. My hope for her, just as it is for everyone else who is in a similar position that she finds herself in, is that ultimately she will return back to the fold.
