Listen to Sabrina’s podcast interview here:
My name is Sabrina. My faithful parents took me to church almost every week of my life in every country we lived in. I am so thankful they raised me in the Church and it is a blessing to be their daughter. My mother is Bolivian and my father is American so I consider myself Hispanic. I am currently an undergraduate and passionate about improving global health. I feel most connected with God through nature and in loving animals. To my mother’s horror I have a pet rat named Peter Bubonic Pettigrew. However, to her relief I will upgrade to canines once I am an established adult.
I first heard of women’s ordination over a year ago and I finally feel capable of expressing my support for ordination and Ordain Women. Women in the Church have a historical precedent of proposing ideas to their leaders. The Relief Society and the Primary Association came from proactive women who appealed to their authorities. I see the Ordain Women movement as a similar initiative. I do not know what form women’s ordination will come in but I know that it will come from the proper channels of the Church. I hope and pray that God will send revelation on women’s ordination in my lifetime. Article of Faith 9 states, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” I rejoice in the knowledge that God will continue to reveal truths to the Church and see the pursuit for revelations as a righteous endeavor.
Currently, the Church is not utilizing women to their full capacity. Outdated policies are restricting women from serving in callings regardless of their talents or experience. These policies squander women’s abilities and confuse bureaucratic power with God’s power. The priesthood is not the authority to administrate as ward clerk or Sunday School president. The priesthood is God’s power to act in God’s name, a power women cannot fully access right now. I believe women’s ordination will give us a deeper understanding of God’s power, empower women to access, and practice their innate spiritual power in service of the Church.
I have received criticism, anger, and disgust from fellow saints. However, I want to thank those who show me the true meaning of Christ-like love. My father always tells me, “it is just as much your church as everybody else’s.” This reassuring phrase reminds me that God wants me in the Church as much as every other saint. I truly believe that the gospel has room for every individual. Christ “inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of His goodness; and he denieth none that come unto Him” (2 Nephi 26:33). By stating my views and beliefs, I am claiming a place in God’s church and joining a dialogue on women in the Church.
I believe in the gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint and that Mormon women will be ordained.