My name is Sally. I love chemistry, exercising, karaoke and cooking Taiwanese food. I was born and raised in the LDS Church. If I am a good person it is largely due to the loving upbringing I received in the gospel by my parents. I am currently serving as Primary president to a group of crazy, beautiful kids. I am also a mother to a group of crazy, beautiful kids at home. I have a testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I sustain and support the prophet, apostles and local leaders and I believe women should be ordained.
I love Primary because it is a truly egalitarian place. Boys and girls learn, pray, sing and have fun together. We generally don’t talk about ‘girls roles’ and ‘boys roles’ but focus on loving and serving God by loving and serving one another. Comically, as far as the Primary children know, women run the church since, unfortunately, they rarely see a man in Primary.
Gender issues in the Church are real. Even if President Monson declared officially that he had inquired of the Lord and the answer was an unequivocal no, gender inequality in the church still needs to be respectfully talked about and redressed. If we believe gender equality is a universal truth in the secular world, that women should be able to hold any position of authority in business, medicine, academics, science etc., that our roles in the secular world should not be proscribed by gender, then why is it different in the church? I believe this is a valid question, and I ask the First Presidency to prayerfully consider it. Joseph Smith said we allow all people the right to worship according to the dictates of their own conscience. I love him for that! I do not claim any right to dictate others’ paths, but I do wish to join my voice with those expressing our concerns and hopes for the future of women in the Church.
This is a living church and just as we get wiser as we age I believe the church will, too. The priesthood was first given to one specific tribe among the Jews, then it was extended to other tribes, then the gentiles, then to all races. I believe ordaining women is the next line–the next precept. I believe men and women are different and that is precisely why we need both in church leadership positions. A gender-equal world will need a gender-equal church. I believe women’s talents and abilities will enhance the influence the priesthood has in the church and in the world. I want to help my husband and my brothers shoulder the responsibilities of the Church and give them more time and more respect for their role as fathers and their potential as nurturers. I believe women should be ordained.