My name is Greta. I am a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. My testimony of the God the Father, Jesus Christ and the restored church began when I was a four year old. I loved those feelings and knew they were growing stronger as I quested for information.
I married a wonderful man–a thoughtful companion and good father. He has been very involved in church leadership positions over the years. We have seven children. These family choices have been highlights of my life, and I relish the roles of wife and mother. I admire and practice a lot of the homemaking skills that are my maternal heritage.
I have served as a teacher in all church organizations except priesthood quorums and have rejoiced in opportunities to study the gospel carefully from a child’s viewpoint and on up. I am a musician and have served as pianist, organist and choir director on ward and stake levels. I have served as counselor and also as president in all the women’s auxiliaries at both ward and stake levels. I love to serve as a leader because my natural inclination is to be somewhat retiring and sometimes I am reluctant to get involved. When I am in a leadership position I feel a responsibility to be aware of others, to reach out, to give what I can, to organize and encourage others to do the same. Being a Mormon helps me step outside myself.
Years ago in a Relief Society meeting I was listening to a member of our stake presidency talk about who we are as women, our role, our particular spiritual gifts, our “ordained” work and our eternal destiny. I find it interesting that these topics are almost always covered by men. I felt lonely for my Mother in Heaven’s advice, counsel, and authority.
Joseph Smith said “… It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God…” In The Family: A Proclamation to the World we are told, “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” It became clear to me personally as a woman that in order to bring together the statement by Joseph Smith and the quote from the Family Proclamation, more knowledge about our Mother in Heaven would help. As my husband and I talked about this he expressed no need to know more of Her and a deep reluctance as a priesthood leader to ask questions of leaders up the ladder.
I think more knowledge from our leaders on this would be a huge, nourishing blessing to women. I think that if women are ordained and given broader leadership responsibilities they could make a difference in the questions that are asked on many topics and the revelation that is given. I believe women should be ordained.