About Me:
I am married, the mother of two grown children, an art historian by profession, a genealogist by avocation, an avid reader of non-fiction, particularly memoirs of people who inspire me and of history; I love to cook, set a beautiful table, collect art, travel, and enjoy singing with my husband in a regional ecumenical chorale. My mother was a Jewish convert to Mormonism and adapted it in her own unique way and my father was an inactive Mormon so my religious upbringing was a bit unorthodox. I have served as RS teacher, Gospel Doctrine Teacher, worked in the Primary, and now serve as Compassionate Service Leader.
I began my professional career working as a curator for the Church at the Museum of Church History and Art. I was frequently in trouble with the male higher-ups for “over stepping” my bounds because I took my job, my “stewardship,” seriously and felt entitled as an intelligent human being to exercise authority within my work realm. We, as women, should all feel this degree of empowerment in any church callings.
Why I Think Women Should Have the Priesthood:
When I contemplate women having the priesthood, the words of Eliza R. Snow in her hymn “O My Father” come to mind when she asks “In the heav’ns are parents single? No the thought makes reason stare.” To me, women not holding the priesthood “makes reason stare.” It makes absolutely no sense to me that because of a chromosomal differentiation, one individual can act in the name of God and another can’t. Without the equal input of women, any religious or secular organization will be lopsided at best, and discriminatory, patronizing, and dismissive at worst.
When I read quite a few years ago about a female astronaut who was in command of a space ship full of men and had the charge to get them all safely back to earth, I thought how ridiculous it was that Mormon women couldn’t pray over a tray of bread, or lay their hands on a sick child, or bless an infant. Women are intrinsically powerfully and intuitive and to not have full access to those gifts in helping shape and chart the course of one’s religion is a travesty. I am offended by the whole notion of church courts but in particular because there are no women to balance the scales of justice.
When my husband was a Bishop, despite the fact that he is very liberal minded and totally non-chauvinistic, I often thought that I should have shared the calling equally and had an office, a safe place where a women could come and talk to another woman without always having to have a man present. I felt so underutilized and undervalued by the institution.
I believe women should be ordained.