Today's Women in the LDS Church

Background

An article I read this weekend has really had me thinking. I have read several articles about the Ordain Women movement the past few weeks. Many of them pro, and others against. It is an interesting topic to me, and I wonder about all of the drives for it and the intense anger against it. Many of the articles I have read have been kind. People are simply trying to express their views on one side or the other. Each side will give reasons for why women should be ordained to the priesthood, or why they should not. Although most of the articles are nice, the comments are often nasty and unbecoming of members of the LDS Church.

There are other feminist movements of the church, this just happens to be the one I have seen the most about. I believe it is simply because of the LDS Church's General Conference happening this weekend, and the Ordain Women supporters going to see if they can be admitted to the Priesthood Session. It makes this a very current issue.

But a further discussion on that topic can be held at another time. That is not what I want to comment on today. Today I want to comment on an article called "Why Aren't the Women Included in This?"It is from a website called rational faiths.com, which raises my eyebrows a bit. I don't believe that Mormonmism can really be called rational in many ways... Yet the article was still interesting to me. It can be found here.

Summary

The article highlights an interview from Sister Chieko N. Okazaki who has served in all three women's general auxilliary presidencies, most notably as the First Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency from 1990-1997. The author highlights points of the interview where this highly ranked sister admitted that women of the church are often not consulted and sometimes not even informed about things going on in the general councils of the church.

For instance, the Relief Society presidency felt that a curriculum change needed to be made in Relief Society. Sister Okazaki worked hard, prayed, and put together a draft of a new manual that could be used instead. When she presented it, she was told that the brethren had already considered that a change needed to be made, and they were almost finished with the new manual for Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood quorums. Interesting that no one even in the General Relief Society Presidency knew that this was taking place.

A few smaller examples were also included, such as the fact that the Relief Society President at the ward level is only included in Ward Council meetings, while her presence in Bishopric meetings was suggested as a very needed and helpful possibility for change.

Also mentioned was the fact that The Family: A Proclamation to the World is often cited as doctrine, but the article argues that this is incorrect. Any new revelation that is truly doctrine should be canonized as scripture. The Proclamation has not. In fact, the official word on the document is that it is a "guide that members of the Church would do well to read and follow." (See "Cleansing the Inner Vessel" by Boyd K. Packer in the October 2010 General Conference).

The author then mentioned some of the movements within the Church, such as Ordain Women and Young Mormon Feminists. She pointed to some historical data that she feels proves that women's roles within the church have been diminished. For instance, when Joseph Smith, Jr. organized the Relief Society, they were much more autonomous and he referred to them as a "Kingdom of Priests." Women were also anointed with oil and provided blessings by the laying on of hands for those who were ill.

The movements mentioned above are defended as the sisters are explained to be faithful women who are aware of their history and simply want to be included in the church that they love so dearly.

My Two Cents

This article had a big impact on me. While I still would not wear pants to church in protest or affiliate officially with any of these organized groups, I have had my own moments of feeling down as a woman in the church. It can be very difficult. And I have seen it on so many levels- in families, in wards, as I have served in "higher" positions, from other things I have heard, and now at the general level from Sister Okazaki. The fact that I am a woman has probably tested my faith more than any other piece of doctrine or personal experience.

When I first read this article, I spent a day reliving some of the strong hurtful emotions I experienced as a youth. I still remember driving with my mom, telling her that I didn't understand why I couldn't have the priesthood. She told me that if women could have the priesthood, the men would become lazy and the women would have to do everything. That comforted me even though I knew that this could not be the actual reason. I had very low self-esteem as a teenager, and still struggle much of the time. When I was young, my female identity was one of the hardest things for me to accept. Somehow, though, I have been able to find a sense of worth as a woman in the LDS Church. That part no longer bothered me until reading this article.

The article was very well written. It actually made me feel bad about myself as a woman again for a day or so. I thought about some of the times that I felt I should have been listened to by my church leaders or even my dad or my husband and blamed it on my gender. I felt convinced that the Lord's Church should not be run in a way that causes this kind of inferiority.

Despite my initial reaction, I took a few days to think about it. I applied many of the General Conference messages to the thoughts running through my mind. I came to the conclusion that it is rather unfair to base such a widespread argument on a few examples. Yes, there may be times that women could have been included but were not. Yes, there are times when work is doubled because of lack of communication, times that women would have done things differently, and times that many people would feel that a woman's opinion and thoughts would have improved something. All of those things may be true.

But all we know on the topic is what the world has taught us. We live in an age when we have been taught to celebrate women's rights. We have been taught that we need to feel like we've been treated as inferior so that we can rise up and take what we deserve. We have applauded the "advances" that women have made in the world, and now want to apply those same principles to the Church. The Church of Jesus Christ. His Church. And I don't say that because Jesus Christ was a man. But because He knows much better than any of us do. The world has taught me that I am not good enough yet and need to keep fighting to get everything I deserve. But the gospel has taught me that I am a loved, cherished daughter of God and am already of infinite worth.

When we view the roles of women within the infrastructure of the church through the world's eyes, it looks unfair. It seems like things could be better. We feel diminished in our self worth because of our perceived diminished role within the church. It is easy to feel that way. But maybe we are just taking our worldly experiences and attempting to apply them to something that isn't as related as we think it is. Rather than being upset that the church is causing me to feel inferior, I am upset that the world would try to tell me that I am inferior because of the church I belong to.

I'm not necessarily saying that the way the LDS Church is run is perfect and how dare we ever question anything about it. I'm just saying that perhaps this shortcoming is not as big of a deal as we want to make it out to be. That we get distracted by specific follies and divert our emotions and attention to something non-docrinal that truly has no bearing on our eternal well-being. Maybe it is true that the Bishop of your ward should have listened when the Relief Society President recommended a name for a calling. Maybe it would have been wonderful. But no one is going to lose out on their eternal salvation because of it.

Now, I do not believe that women should just sit back and "take it," as it were. I have no problem with women politely brining such issues to their immediate leaders and kindly pointing out what could have been avoided or helped by involving women more. I think it would be very effective and needed for people who know each other to communicate this way. I hope that the highest levels of the Church were able to read Sister Okazaki's interview and made changes because of it. However, openly demanding or demonstrating to make a point just doesn't do it for me. I would never want to bring negative attention to the church I love so much.

The important thing for me is to know that Heavenly Father loves me, Jesus Christ atoned for my sins and was resurrected, and His gospel has been restored and can be found in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. Other things may not be perfect. I may not always agree with how things are ran. But my testimony does not depend on those details. If I spend too much of my time worrying and focusing on them, however valid my concerns might be, I will be an easier target for deception and distraction. As people we are not yet perfect in this world. And as we try to run Christ's Church on the earth, it will not be perfect either. I will not just sit back and take whatever is going on around me, but will share my feelings with patience, love, and forgiveness. Then I will return to my testimony as my focus whether a change is made or not.