I am a lifelong member of the Church. Growing up, I attended church every week. I held leadership callings in Young Women, served on ward councils in college, and was a Relief Society president at age 22. At 23, I chose to go to the temple to receive my endowment, even though I was not going on a mission or getting married.
Despite being an independently minded young woman, I did not see the inequality in the Church clearly until I had my children. Pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood served as refiner’s fire for me. They gave me the opportunity to decide for myself what I valued in a new way. I realized how important it is that women have autonomy over their bodies and that they have choices and a voice. It was with this new perspective that I realized for the first time that I am a feminist.
It didn’t take me long to turn this new feminist lens on my church. I began to wonder why we rarely, if ever, spoke of Heavenly Mother. I began to notice that the scriptures had very few female voices. I began to notice that men had the decision making authority. I began to see all the small and large ways that women are placed in a subservient role within the organization.
Because the Church is organized in such a way that priesthood equals administrative power, I believe that the only way for us to have a truly equal seat at the table is for women to be ordained as well. If priesthood is the power of God on earth and if all God’s children are equal, then women should not be denied the priesthood.
Women’s ordination is not about being power hungry. It is about building the kingdom. It is about giving women the same opportunities to serve and grow spiritually in the priesthood that men have. It is about administrative equality. I cannot see any way that women’s ordination would hurt the Church. I can only see that it would make the Church stronger, more Christ-like, and a more welcoming place for all.
I believe women should be ordained