Posted by on Jun 17, 2014 in , | 0 comments

My name is Therese. I grew up on a small farm in Utah, at the base of the beautiful Utah mountains. I now live in Chicago. I worked as a computing manager for 20 years but now I am getting my Masters degree at the University of Chicago. My husband researches Alzheimer’s Disease. We have three children who light up my life. Our first, a daughter, is a doctor. Our middle son is a computer scientist, and our youngest son is a PhD student. I served a mission, married in the temple and served as a Relief Society President along with numerous other callings. The church is a defining aspect of my life. My great-great-grandfather, Rufus Allen, arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 and served in the Mormon Battalion. His wife, equally heroic, crossed the plains with the early Mormons. An ancestor on my mother’s side, William Fowler, wrote “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.” My grandmothers and my own mother were strong women who would have enhanced the church and its mission of love and service through exercising the priesthood. I believe that the priesthood is a vehicle for accomplishing good in the world and all human beings should be engaged in righteous undertakings. Shared priesthood in families will let women contribute the full measure of their talents to the family and the world. I believe women should be ordained.