Women and the Priesthood

Women and the Priesthood

Recently some families members who are not of my faith attended a wedding luncheon with me in a local chapel. Because it was there first time in an LDS building I offered to take them for a tour. As we were walking they shared with me some concerns they had with their religion. One concern that came out was how they believed that women should be able to be ministers if they wanted.
I have thought many times about that conversation since, mostly because it revealed to me how different my religion is than others. I don’t remember them asking the question, “Are women ministers in your church?” But, if they would have I don’t know how I could answer them honestly. What is a minister? I would assume that it is the leader of a religious group that is paid to manage, teach, pray for, and minister to the individuals of the congregation.
I guess the first answer is that we are a lay-ministry. In other words, the minister isn’t paid, male or female.
But do women manage the Church? There are 5 organizations within the Church: the men, the women’s group, the youth groups (girls and boys), and primary (the children’s group). Women run the women’s group, the girls youth group, and the primary. Yes, we manage the Church along side of the men.
Do women teach? There are three different meetings that make up our Sunday services. The first hour families are together and men and women of the congregation are asked to give sermons or talks. The second hour is Sunday School and men and women are asked to teach the class. The third hour is divided into the men and women’s groups where each teach their own classes. In addition women serve as full-time missionaries along with men. I was blessed to be one of those women.
Women pray in Church as much as the men.
Do we minister to individuals? Women are assigned women that they are asked specifically to minister to by visiting them in their homes. They serve these women spiritually by teaching them the word of God in a monthly message. A visiting teacher tries to minister to each woman temporally and spiritually. Men are asked to do basically the same thing through the home teaching program.
So how would I answer the question, “Are women ministers in your Church?” I think I would have to say, “Not only are they allowed to, it is expected of them. Or more accurately, it is a promise that they make to God when they are baptized. We do it and we do it powerfully. And everyone of us does it.”
It is has not been my experience to see that the women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feel under-whelmed with influence or responsibility in the Church. On the contrary, we keenly feel how critical the work we do is with our own children. And then when the call comes to stretch ourselves and serve in Church in a ministerial sort of way, we wonder if we can. I have never heard anyone complain that they are not asked to give enough talks in our meetings. The idea is laughable to anyone who has been immersed in LDS culture.
As a woman of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I am not sad that I don’t have the priesthood. I am grateful that I am blessed by the priesthood equally to a man. As a member of the Church I have been surprised by the many things that I have been asked to do that I have felt were beyond my capabilities. I have found it to be a richly-rewarding and stretching experience.