Response to Recent Content Published on the LDS Church Growth Blog--Part Two: The Role of Women in the Church

Hello again, everyone! I am back with the second post I promised that will share my thoughts in response to things recently posted on the LDS Church Growth Blog. Again, I hope it is clearly understood that I have the utmost respect for Matthew Martinich and the work he does to bring us the latest Church growth developments, and that respect is extended to everyone who shares their thoughts in response to his posts. In another recent post, Matt highlighted the many major milestone announcements, including all developments noted in the April General Conference.

He then went on to share some developments he is predicting for the future of the Church as President Nelson's administration continues. One such prediction was that the role of women in the Church would be more prominently felt in terms of additional administrative responsibilities in missionary and temple/family history work.

And that prediction is the springboard for my post here. There seems to be a mistaken idea in the Church that, unless women are given equal authority and responsibility in the Church, they are somehow seeing themselves or are being seen by their male counterparts as inferior in the work. That idea also stems from the negative response some had to the way that President Nelson and his counselors answered the question that was asked about the role of women in the Church.

Let me be clearly understood: I honor, respect, and, to the degree that I can, revere the women in my life, particularly the mother who gave birth to me and took care of me through the course of numerous health challenges, including hospital stays, multiple surgeries, and extensive illnesses, and the woman I married, who saw in me not the broken man I felt I was at the time, but the man which I am capable of becoming, and who continues to encourage me to rise above present ongoing illnesses that at the best of times limit my capacity to get things done.

But the role of these wonderful women in the Church, and their divine identity and purpose, seems to have been lost in the midst of those who perpetuate the idea that, unless women are given greater opportunity and authority to serve in the Church, their value in the eyes of heaven is somehow lessened.

So let's talk about this for a little bit. As a man who grew up with a loving mother and excellent sisters, I never once saw myself as being of more value to the Lord than they were. To the contrary: In moments when I have had the opportunity to give them priesthood blessings (which has been repeatedly extended further to administering to my wife in the seven years of my marriage), I have felt, even to the very smallest degree, how important, treasured, unique, and special these women are, and how much Heavenly Father loves them.

I have also been gratified to hear prophets (particularly Presidents Hinckley, Monson, and Nelson) highlight the important role of good women, and their value in heaven's eyes. So the idea that they could have more value to the Church and its' leaders if they were given more responsibility and prominent roles in the work of the kingdom boggles my mind. While I never have and likely never will serve in capacities where I would frequently participate in ward councils, I have had one opportunity (as a member of the Ward Sunday School Presidency) to sit in one particular ward council where women were present, and being in the Sunday School Presidency, I also had the opportunity to orient teachers, regardless of gender, to their new responsibilities. The women especially showed understanding of the importance of their calling to teach the youth, male and female, and to share insights that would bless them in their future lives.

And since getting married, I have frequently received input from my wife about things I need to change or do better. In such moments, when my heart has been right and when I have accepted such advice and correction, I have been all the better for it. But my wife has been very clear that she doesn't need or want a more prominent role in the Church.

I will take this a step further. One of the things Matt specifically predicted was that women would be given more of a role in temple and family history and missionary work. As a former temple worker myself, I can say that the work I did in the temple would never have been possible were it not for the women on our shifts (including the one I would later married) being there doing their parts as well. I have sat in numerous training sessions for temple workers where the insights from our sister counterparts changed the course of both the conversation and our ministry. And I have seen priesthood power at work within the women alongside whom I served. It was amazing to behold.

Here is the problem that I have with the idea that women should be given more of a role in administering the Lord's work: In asking any missionary who has ever served under any mission president, I have learned that the real work of the mission is directly facilitated by the women who serve alongside their husbands in the mission presidencies of the Church. The same is true for area presidencies, stake presidencies, and bishoprics. I have often heard bishops say they have been advised that their wives should be their main counselors in their ministry, and I have seen that at work.

Nearly three years ago (in August 2015), the Church announced that women would take part in three major Church councils, with the Relief Society President serving on the Priesthood and Family Executive Council (formerly the Priesthood Executive Council), the Young Women General President serving on the Missionary Executive Council, and the Primary General President serving on the Temple and Family History Executive Council. That was an important step forward in the Church.

But the main problem I see with such women having expanded responsibilities in the Church, particularly those relating to day-to-day administration, is that, unless I am mistaken, all general authorities are called to full-time service, while the auxiliary presidencies of the Church serve on more of a part-time basis, comparable to area seventies or ward or stake leaders. That difference makes it difficult (but not perhaps impossible or out of the question) for more responsibility to be given to general officers of the Church, who retain their occupations, where applicable. Could it be done? Absolutely, but that would involve greater regulation of the time spent in such callings, which might potentially lead those so asked to have less time to be with their families.

That said, it has also been a relatively recent development for one member of each of the five Church auxiliaries to serve as an advisor or assistant editor for the Church magazines. So in that respect, the influence of the general officers, and therefore the scope of their obligations, has widened very recently. The Church may opt to give general officers more responsibility, but I am not sure how that would work, unless those given such responsibilities are asked to commit more time to the calling.

In summary, I think that people who claim that women do not have enough prominence or responsibility may miss the mark or have failed to consider just how pivotal the contributions of women are to the furthering of the Lord's work. Truth be told, were it not for 15 women, we would not have our current 15 apostles, which all of them have been frequently mentioning. I do not say by any means that birthing children is the one and only role of a woman. What I am saying is that the influence of women is felt to a much larger degree by those of us fortunate enough to be within the scope of their influence than many people realize or acknowledge.

A quick internet search for "Women using priesthood power" yields over 800,000 results. Among the very best of those results are this article from 2014, this classic talk from General Conference, this essay, which includes relevant links to several other brilliant resources, this LDS Living article featuring general insights on the subject, and this one, in which Elder Dale G. Renlund and his wife Ruth share thoughts on that subject. There are many other wonderful resources, which, as noted, can be found with a simple internet search.

I think the bulk of the misunderstanding comes from a misconception about the difference between roles, responsibilities, capabilities, and influence of men vs. women, Every man in the Church with whom I have conversed on this subject have quickly observed that they would not be who they are today without the support and influence of the women in their lives.

So that brings the question: Could or should women be given more administrative duties in the Church? With God, nothing is impossible, and if General Conference earlier this month proved one thing to me, it is that the Lord's ways, thoughts, and timing is vastly different to ours. With that in mind, if the Church sees a way in which the influence of women can be more fully felt in key decisions, policies, and doctrinal determinations within the Church, a way will be open to enable that to happen.

Will women ever be given the priesthood? That is a different question, to which I think the answer is no. The main reason I say that is because the Lord seems to have entrusted that responsibility to men like myself, not because we are any more important in heaven's eyes, but because of what the Lord needs us to become through administering to our fellow man. Women don't need to have that experience because their very nature is geared towards doing whatever they can to influence others for good. Women would never be prone to exercising unrighteous dominion or to any improper tendencies. Perhaps the Lord is telling us as men that we need to not only become better, but that we should more fully emulate the qualities that women already innately have.

That said, I fully believe that the Brethren recognize the ways in which the world would try to suggest that women currently have a diminished role or decreased importance in both the Church and, by extension, the eyes of heaven. We have recently seen things occur that put women on the same plane and footing as men (for example, home and visiting teaching being replaced with a "minsitering" program that has the same guidelines for men and women), and I fully believe that when the timing and circumstances are right for it, the Brethren will seek for and determine ways in which to continue to expand the opportunities for our dear sisters of the Church, and will both now and in the future continue to regularly emphasize the important influence, place, and standing of women in the Church.

The way I see it, there is a reason that the Lord saved the process of creating women as the final step of the process of creating this world. The creation of the fairer, gentler, and, in many ways, more superior counterpart to man was the crowning part of that process. And all of us, men and women alike, will be blessed as we come to understand just how amazing women really are.

Thank you for wading through this, which wasa longer than I intended to be. That does it for this post. Any and all comments are, as always, welcome and appreciated. Thank you for the privilege of your time. Until my next post, I wish each one of you all the best and pray that the Lord will bless you all in everything you do.