Hi, I’m Lauri. I’m an active Mormon, a convert, and serious cat-lover. I founded a charity called RockStarr Ministries to help women on the streets. I believe my Heavenly Parents helped me find it, and it feels so rewarding to help hundreds of women who are being controlled by men. Providing resources, helping them feel God’s love, and finding the human respect and compassion they deserve are all goals for this charity that are in line with my beliefs as a Latter-Day-Saint. I love how Mormon doctrine is so service-oriented.
Growing up, I had no idea that patriarchal societies still existed. So it is really shocking to me to imagine the following argument for women’s ordination. Let’s just say one Sunday all the men weren’t able to attend sacrament meeting that morning: No bishop on the stands to lead the meeting, no bishopric to fill in for the bishop. No priests to bless the sacrament. And no deacons and teachers pass the sacrament to the congregation. No one to announce the ward business, and no one to close the meeting before a prayer. Church would need to be cancelled that day. Now, imagine on Sunday all of the women were somehow absent for sacrament meeting instead. The meeting could carry on completely without women: the bishopric are there leading, a man could fill in for the music (if a man isn’t doing it already), the men and boys can still pass and bless the sacrament, and the bishopric can close the meeting and direct someone else to give talks and say the prayers (if a woman was scheduled to).
To me, that’s not right. When I joined the church I found my home, but I hadn’t really thought out scenarios like this. It never would have occurred to me–men always attend the meeting so I never had to think about what would happen if none were there. But this argument points out how absolutely necessary men are to run everything. And it makes me sad. Women are so capable of serving and leading. So I definitely believe women need to be ordained.