I’ve been a member of the Church my entire life. I am a journalist, a wife, a soon to be mother and a Young Women’s adviser in Boulder, Colorado.
At age 11, my bishop gave a presentation about how the ward spent their money that year. I remember being appalled when I saw that the boys received nearly three times the money for activities and camps as the girls.
So began my feminist education.
I’ve watched from the sidelines as the Ordain Women movement blossomed over the last year, reluctant to formally join. “They are asking for too much,” I’d tell myself. “Being ordained won’t necessarily give women the kind of equality I value,” I’d say to my friends.
But then today I read that Kate Kelly and John Dehlin have been summoned to appear before church courts. I can’t stay on the sidelines anymore. I don’t know how I feel about ordination, but I know for sure that I am dead set against the forceful removal of anyone from the body of Christ.
I’m joining with OW women and men because I want my friends, my family and my church to know that I support Kate and John. I support equal roles for women in our church and I support the inclusion of gay Mormons in our community. I believe that women should be ordained.