Posted by on Mar 31, 2014 in , | 0 comments

Hi, I’m Ed,

I’m inspired by what 2nd Nephi 26:33 says: “[God] inviteth … all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female … all are alike unto God ….” It is a patient invitation, an open door, a reminder to reconsider our own often unwelcoming and limiting views of how we should approach Deity together.

Many times in our sacred history and narratives we have seen startling changes, especially when competing doctrines, commandments, practices, ideas, and ideals have existed side-by-side. For instance, as taught among the latter-day saints, the first 2 commandments given to humans conflicted with each other: (1) multiply and replenish the earth and (2) do not partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge. When Eve acted in violation of commandment #2, she set in motion the fulfillment of commandment #1, and the transgression (if it really can be called that) was a “fortunate fall,” an act that brought precious mortal experience to us all.

Similarly, there were other watershed events where prevailing norms were changed to accommodate the righteous needs and desires of God’s children who were ready and seeking additional ways to worship and serve God and fellow humans. All such changes faced opposition, even among the faithful. When the gospel went to the Gentiles in the New Testament, even some apostles objected to this development. When the priesthood was extended to all worthy males, many of us were not ready and quoted statements from earlier leaders that such a change would not be seen in our lifetimes. Likewise, today, there is opposition among some of the faithful when female members of the church ask for the prophet and apostles to consider extending the priesthood to all worthy members. And, if the prophet and apostles do ask and receive revelation extending the priesthood to all worthy members, including women, there will likely still be some lingering opposition among some of the faithful to this change, just as there has always been; yet it will also diminish over time.

I stand with my Ordain Women sisters in requesting church leaders to seek revelation from God to confirm that the time is right for women to receive what they are promised in our temple narratives. Ordain Women female supporters, as daughters of Eve, are following her venerable example by choosing between conflicting ideas among us, and reaching for a change in church practice whereby there will no longer be a distinction between male or female before God, but all will be disciples equally serving together.

I believe women should be ordained.