As a young child, I heard story after story of my father’s family. Early converts to the church, they participated in many of the iconic pioneer happenings: they crossed the plains, travelled by ship from Europe, and settled parts of Utah and Mexico. My mother, a convert herself, has transfused Mormonism into her soul. Raised as a Catholic by good, spiritual parents, through her conversion she was her own pioneer. She later served as the first missionary sent out from her tiny branch in West Virginia.
I was raised not just as a Mormon– but on Mormonism. In every way and in every moment, it was a part of my family life. It not only taught me how to interact with the world around me, but also how to interact with myself. Mormonism infused my world with a sense of individual divinity. I was taught, and I believed from a very young age, that I was a daughter of Divine Parents.
That divinity lives within me still. As I serve in various callings in my ward I serve with the knowledge that those around me are also innately divine. As I serve others, I think about the promise I made at baptism: to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort.
I believe the power of the Priesthood comes from acting in the name of Christ; when I serve others, when I mourn with them and comfort them and love them, I am doing as Christ would, and I am drawing from His divine power.
Service knows no gender. Divinity knows no bounds. Because of this, I believe women should be ordained.