Posted by on Apr 11, 2013 in | 0 comments

I’m an environmentalist. I’m a human- and animal-rights advocate. I’m vegan. I love gardening, volunteering, reading, blogging, learning, going to concerts, and watching my favorite professional soccer team, the Portland Timbers. I have a BA in Sociology and currently work as an operations specialist at the company where I am employed.

I have held multiple callings as a Primary teacher and am currently teaching the five- to six-year-old children in my ward. I have a testimony of the gospel and believe that through following Christ’s teachings, we can be happier and healthier. Our religion is still evolving, however, and I believe that through the ordination of women, the church will be even stronger. I believe that once we ordain women, we as a people will have more joy and peace.

I believe that women should be given the opportunity to hold the priesthood because it is the only way to true equality, which is the path to ultimate peace and joy. Having the priesthood is a great blessing that as of now, only boys and men are allowed to have. As a result, women are left out of leadership roles and cannot perform sacred ordinances, like priesthood blessings. Women’s voices are routinely ignored, and we are treated as second-class citizens. Instead of men and women presiding and leading together, men preside over women. Once women are ordained, that will no longer be the case.

Motherhood, like fatherhood, is not the only aspect of a person. Just as men can be priesthood holders without being fathers, women should be able to be priesthood holders without being mothers. The gender roles that permeate our culture are not only harmful but just plain wrong. Ordaining women is key in changing these attitudes.

The inequality of the church does not sit well with me. I strive to only participate in groups and causes that uplift and bring peace to the world. I do not feel that withholding the priesthood from women is uplifting, nor do I feel that it brings peace to our society. By including women in this sacred experience of ordination, we are allowing all to have the same rights and experiences. By including women, we will be strengthening our wards and our people as a whole. We will show that our Heavenly Parents love us, regardless of gender.

Women’s ordination is simply the right thing to do. I know I am not alone in this feeling. Together we can take a stand for all girls and women. We can have equality. It is possible and it is essential.