"Let your women keep silence in the churches"

In 1 Corinthians 14:34 Paul writes "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law."

Now, of course this verse is problematic not just for feminists, but for pretty much anyone in the Western world.  There are very few Christian religions that subscribe to this admonition from Paul (if any still do at all).  Further research indicates that the Joseph Smith Translation of this verse indicates that instead of women not being permitted to speak, they are actually not permitted to rule.

This sentiment jives much better with non-feminists of course than the original, but is it any more true?  The verse is a puzzle to me because it even contradicts Joseph's own style of Prophetic leadership.  In this link to the Joseph Smith Papers' archive of the Nauvoo Relief Society Minutes we see that Joseph has said that the Relief Society would "move according to the Priesthood" and that he would make "of this [Relief] Society a kingdom of Priests as in Enoch's day."

Add to that 2 Nephi 26:33 "all are alike unto God" and Acts 10:34 "God is no respecter of persons" one can't help but receive mixed messages.  The only way to solve this dilemma is an appeal to God ourselves, and as a Church body earnestly seeking the will of God.  Won't you join me in that sincere prayer?

-Duckie

"If not now, when?"

Signature Books has posted an excerpt from Frances Lee Menlove's book 'The Challenge of Honesty'.  The relevant portion of the link is Chapter 4: If Not Now, When?  Mormon Women and the Priesthood. 

It is an excellent essay, thoroughly researched, and makes a spectacular and coherent argument for why women should be ordained to the Priesthood (or rather, re-ordained).

You can find the excerpt here for your reading enjoyment.  Take some time to treat yourself to one of the great LDS writers, and to soak up some knowledge on this important cause.

-Duckie

"Ordain Women" interview

I had an opportunity to interview Hannah Wheelwright regarding the Ordain Women panel of Sunstone 2013 on August 1st.

Q: What was the purpose behind the Ordain Women panel at Sunstone 2013?

A: A lot has happened in the sphere of Mormon feminism since Sunstone 2012, most notably Pants Day and the creation of Ordain Women. We, as in the organizers of Ordain Women, always want to make sure that we get our message heard and are represented in discussions of Mormonism, so participating at Sunstone was a no-brainer. But beyond simply making clear our goals and motivations for advocating for female ordination, we wanted the panel to be as interactive as possible to allow the attendees the chance to get their questions answered. Sunstone has a long history of audience participation that has enriched its legacy, and we wanted to honor that by allowing a lot of time for Q&A. As has become the trend for Ordain Women meetings, it turned into somewhat of a testimony meeting that allowed many people to share their personal experiences and beliefs about the power of women, blessings, and ordination to the priesthood. We wanted to make sure as many people as possible were included in the discussion, and I think our panel achieved that. Another purpose was to announce our upcoming actions, the fast for gender justice on August 26^th and our plan to attend the priesthood session this October General Conference.

Q: Did you feel that the panel reached some people who were either on the fence or otherwise not “converted” (for lack of a better term) to the cause of Ordaining Women to the LDS Church?

A: I’m not sure how much the panel converted anyone- I do feel like there were people who had thought that Ordain Women was maybe hotheaded or disorganized came away from it with more stock in us as organizers. It also felt like a lot of people voiced their respect for what we are trying to do, even if they disagree with our goals and or tactics. I also think that some people walked away thinking that we are total crackpots for our plan to attend the priesthood session, but there will always be people who think activists are going too far. So in short, it feels to me like not many people went from being unconvinced or on the fence to being converted, but that might be because I felt like I didn’t say anything new, so unless this was their first time hearing about Ordain Women, I don’t know why hearing the same arguments would really change their minds.

Q: What do you feel is the biggest obstacle faced by faithful agitators for Women’s Ordination?

A: I think absolutely the biggest obstacle is being seen as faithful agitators. If people don’t think that we are faithful Mormons on the inside, then no one will take us seriously. We of course always run the risk of church discipline being used to make us look like outsiders.

Q: Will the panel be an annual feature at Sunstone?/Was crowd participation what you expected it would be?

A: There will always be panels on female ordination, as there have been since the dawn of time at Sunstone J I don’t know for sure if there will always be one on Ordain Women, but I think so, especially given that we at Ordain Women plan to continue doing direct actions and initiatives. So long as we’re around, there will be something to talk about. Crowd participation turned into a testimony meeting faster than I was expecting, which was totally fine but I was expecting more antagonism or criticism than there ended up being.

Thank you to Sister Wheelwright  for taking the time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions and provide some much appreciated context and thoughts regarding the panel and the overall goals of Ordain Women.  You can follow them on Twitter @OrdainLDSWomen , and of course if you missed the panel you can view it in its entirety here .

-Duckie

Think Globally, Act Locally

The key to any successful drive for change is to do as the slogan suggests and think globally but act locally.  Now of course, your ward members and Bishop, and Stake President can't do anything about Women's Ordination, however, the more people we speak with and get comfortable with the idea the easier any transition will be.

Another reason to act locally (carefully and faithfully) is that because one of the first rules of Mormonism is that it is a small world.  You will meet a random person, and if they are not outright a relative their mother or father served a mission in the area where your grandmother has lived her whole life and they know each other.  Putting a bug in the right ear and showing that we are not crazy, power-hungry, straw-women can go a very long way in the progress of this issue.

Be a member missionary for women's ordination.  Act like it is not something monumental, because it isn't.  We are merely seeking to reclaim what we have already had and what is ours.  Give it all the weight in conversation of deciding what to have for dinner this evening.  When it is seen as commonplace and not scary (because it isn't) it will be easier for people to understand, and accept.

We all need each other to put forth our best efforts and to make people see that their fears and their imaginations have run away with them; that it is time to approach God as a community in harmony--a Zion family.

-Duckie

Priest(ess)hood?

In recent conversations on the Ordination of Women in The Church many (including other women) have indicated that they would actually like to see a Priestesshood for women, rather than ordaining women to the (currently) male only Priesthood.

Separate but equal has never worked, and if a privileged class (in this case men) is presented with an underprivileged class (women) there will more than likely be a hierarchy of whether Priesthood or Priestesshood is better--take a wild guess which will automatically be better?

The Priesthood of God is not the Penishood of God.  There is no male-only requirement, and so I reject that there is such thing as a "male Priesthood" to have a female counterpart of.  My sincere worthy desires place me in the same camp as any human male in the eyes of God.  Men are no better, no worse and so we should not seek for table scraps at the expense of our divine heritage.

Zelophehad's daughters did not seek a "different" inheritance from what they should have been legally entitled to, but were not.  They petitioned Moses to petition the Lord, and the Lord agreed that the daughters were indeed worthy of the inheritance in the same way that any male children would have been.  This feminist gem in the Bible--the Old Testament of all places!--is so oft overlooked that honestly I cannot believe it is a coincidence.

We are denied our birthright, our heritage.  It is time that was no longer the case.  It is time to petition our leaders to petition the Lord.  If I am to be told I am unequal either by action or inaction, I want it on record.  Women are not less than, and we have the ability and the right to wield the power of God in the service of our fellow human beings.

-Duckie

...Part II

You can view the recorded version (if you missed the live stream) of the Ordain Women Sunstone Panel Discussion here.

I will be interviewing one of the panelists, Sister Hannah Wheelwright, and will post the interview here, so watch for that. 

Some really great and historic discussion took place at this panel, so I think even if ordaining women is not something you are necessarily behind it is still worth listening to.

-Duckie

Ordain Women Sunstone Symposium Event 2013

Go listen, go to it right now!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ordain-women-events

-Duckie