I’m a lifelong, pioneer-stock Mormon, but a true convert since 2004. I am married to the most amazing man I’ve ever met, a stay-at-home mom to a beloved 3-year-old boy and cherished 18-month-old girl, a financial and organizational guru (when I can focus), a lover and seeker of knowledge in an ever-growing range of eclectic subjects, a determined and hopeful crafter/sewer/crocheter, and a keeper of a pair of lifelong companions named thyroid disease and Multiple Sclerosis since 2006.
I’ve served as first and second counselor, secretary, and teacher in Relief Society; first counselor and secretary in Primary; secretary in Sunday School; ward librarian; Nursery music leader; ward temple trip coordinator; ward literacy specialist; and I’m currently serving as hospital coordinator for members who come to the hospital for medical treatment. I was also an EFY counselor, if that counts.
I am a Mormon because I come closer to God when I live my life according to Mormon teachings and principles. When I pray, study my scriptures, serve my brothers and sisters, and go to the temple, I feel the joy and peace that come from having the Spirit with me. I cherish my relationship with God and recognize and celebrate the fundamental role the LDS church has been in introducing me to God and helping me grow closer to Him.
God created man, male and female, in God’s own image (Genesis 1 and Abraham 4). Also, as “neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:11), it follows to my understanding that God is a title that references both Father and Mother, male and female. The priesthood is the power of God. We are to become like God. We are to receive all that God has. We are to literally become gods through exaltation. None of that is possible without our having God’s power: the priesthood. So it’s bound to happen at some point that women are ordained to the priesthood. If the temple endowment is enough, why are men ordained to priesthood offices in mortality? To administer the church and build the kingdom. It seems to me that to deny half of the righteous membership of the church a chance to add their talents to the cause is limiting and counter-productive to the establishment of Zion.
I personally look forward to the day that I can serve the Lord in any capacity. I especially cherish the idea of joining my husband in partnership with God to bless, baptize, and confirm our children together. I believe that women should be ordained.