Joining the church in Australia when I was 19 years old, I didn’t understand that only men hold the priesthood. It was not brought up during my missionary discussions. After my baptism I quickly learned about the reality that men hold far more privileges to lead in the church than women. This was a painful realization for me, so much so that when I have attended the temple I became resentful about the unequal role of men to women and I had little desire to return because of it.
I am 40 years old now, active in the church, a wife, and mother of 4 children. I struggle when answering my teenage daughter’s questions and her similar feelings about this topic, I’ve felt guilty discussing how I truly feel about the male exclusive priesthood. The excuse that “men need the responsibilty” and “women only benefit by the blessings” (and should be content with that) has always made me upset and I scream on the inside–it feels so wrong to my core. So when I learned of Ordain Women’s cause this general conference it was a huge answer to my prayers. I applaud this group for bringing this cause public and giving me hope for my membership and testimony of the church. I believe women should be ordained!