Complete As I Am

"O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt."
Mathew 15:28

There has been much talk recently about women and the priesthood. Why we don’t have it, why men do, what it all means in the scheme of things. I realize I’m coming to the conversation a bit late. (Story of my life.)

There is a reason for my tardiness. First, I’ve been thinking and pondering and asking. Second, I have been discussing it, but only with my husband in the privacy of our bedroom, where I often regale him with my spiritual thoughts and ideas.  After much thought and some conversation, I decided I needed to share my thoughts and my reasons why…

Why I do not want to be ordained to the priesthood.

There are two reasons, mostly. The first, quite briefly, is that I believe in revelation—that this church is led by it. I believe this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is not the church of President Monson, or the church of the brethren. So, attempts at petitioning these leaders seems a bit backwards to me. If you want something changed, you need to go to the One who is the head of the church, the One to whom it belongs.

That said, I have another reason. I believe, with every part of me, that my loving Heavenly Father sent me here to earth with everything I need to be successful and happy. He did not send me here lacking. For whatever reason, His sons got the priesthood. We, well, we got to be women.

Isn’t it possible that in the pre-earth life, He looked at us in all our feminine glory and said, “It is enough. You are enough.”  Isn’t it?  I don’t necessarily believe in the whole ‘men get the priesthood and women get to be mothers’ idea. While I do not discount the sacred and powerful gift of being a mother, our strength and power in womanhood go beyond the ability to bear and raise children.

As women, we have been deemed the ‘softer sex’.  Some might deny that title, I take it and bear it proudly. We are emotional beings. The fact that we feel more profoundly, and cry more easily is not something to be ashamed of or apologized for. This life is filled with joys and sorrows, it is meant to be felt. As women, we get the privilege of feeling life with more depth and intensity. This is a good thing.

Behind that soft exterior, women are strong as steel. We love passionately and defend one another with a fierce loyalty. Women have a connection that men should be jealous of. There is something that binds us together that goes beyond this life.  We were sisters before and though the veil prevents us from remembering, our spirits have that knowledge buried inside and we can feel the link that is eternal.

So, no, I will not be signing petitions or standing in protest. I believe in who I am and in the Heavenly Father and Mother who made me. I believe they sent me here with a purpose and with every gift and ability needed to accomplish it. I am complete as I am.