I watched General Conference and specifically listened for any responses to the Ordain Women movement, or any mentioning of gender roles actually. I, of course, had my own opinions from the very beginning, but I was interested to see what attention, if any, would be given on the topic. The main message I got from conference is men and women have their own, distinct and equally important, roles to fulfill in God's plan.
I am totally cool with that.
Let's go over a few reasons why.
A. The Priesthood does not give men some sort of dominating rule over me. When I am married, my husband and I will work as equal partners making decisions in our home. We both will pray for our family, we both will receive revelation, and we will work together, relying on our Heavenly Father for guidance, to make our home a place where we can raise our children in an environment of love. Additionally, the Church relies on the talents, intellect, and willingness of many women to operate as the world-wide Church that it is. Guess who President Monson counseled with when making decisions about the change in missionary age. The Relief Society Presidency, the Young Womens Presidency, the Primary Presidency, women! In this church we are heard, we are respected, we are loved.
B. I realize that as a woman, I will use my own talents to perform my own role. I get to be a co-creator with God one day when I have children. While I don't fully comprehend the magnitude of this role, because I have a mother, I can at least start to understand the profound influence and responsibility it is.
C. God has a plan, and he knows what part he wants me to play. He is going to use me where I am most valuable. Isn't that such a comfort? He knows me so well that He will place me where I can do the most good.
When I was younger, I was confused why men got to hold the Priesthood, and all I got was the joke "Get married and you can hold the Priesthood whenever you want." How many times have you heard that one, ladies?
But now I understand that God has designed a plan that will result in my eternal happiness. And I trust him. As a part of this plan, he has designated different roles for men and women that are equally important, though vastly different.
To illustrate my point, I have come up with an analogy. In the human body, we have both a heart and a brain. Both organs are vitally important, and they need the other in order to keep the body alive and healthy. If the heart is not present, no blood will flow to the essential organs in the body, including the brain, and the brain will not be able to function. If we are without a brain, the body will not receive the direction and instruction it needs in order to perform as it needs to, including the heart. Both are necessary.
Cardiologist Penn Laird Jr., M.D., in an posting you can read here, said the following:"When you get down to the question of which is more important, obviously they both are. In fact, I think it’s probably a useless argument to try to rank one above the other. In fact, it may be useless to try to rank any organ in the body above another-we need them all!"
Additionally, you would not expect the brain to function as the heart, because that wouldn't help the body. No matter how you slice it, two hearts will not make up for the lack of a brain. Conversely, two brains will not be able to perform the function of a heart. It's not because one is more important than the other, but there are simply different functions that need to be performed.
So it is with men and women. We have equally important, and distinctly different roles to play within the church. In fact, we rely upon each other to perform these roles well in order to support each other.
Sister Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, in her address "Do We Know What We Have?"said:
"We all need each other. Sons of God need daughters of God, an daughters of God need sons of God. We each have different gifts and different strengths. First Corinthians chapter 12 emphasizes the need for sons and daughters of God, each one of us, to fulfill our individual roles and responsibilities according to the Lord’s plan, that all may benefit."
I don't want to go into a long list of men's roles vs. women's roles, but if you want to read any information from this past General Conference, I recommend Elder Christofferson's talk, Elder Andersen's talk, and Sister Stephens' talk. What I do want to touch on is the importance of the individual roles.
God, in his infinite wisdom, knows that in order for us to become exalted like him and his companion, our Mother in Heaven, we each must play our part. God has given me a role. He doesn't need me to hold the Priesthood, not because he doesn't think I'd do a great job, but because he has something entirely different he is entrusting to me. Just as he doesn't ask the brain to perform the heart's role, he hasn't asked me to perform a role he has given to the men.
I know that our Heavenly Father is real, and I know that he has designed a beautiful plan, in which we each have been trusted with a unique role to play. And praise be to God for his love and wisdom in this.
