The Church, The Priesthood, and Me

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In that Church, we have a Prophet who is called of God, who holds all of the keys of the Priesthood of God, as well as his two Counselors and a Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Lord who also hold Priestood Keys. Then we have men who have been ordained to hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, and young men who have been ordained to hold the Aaronic Priesthood.

We believe that God reveals His truths to His Prophets, Seers, and Revelators today, and that it is through our Prophet that He speaks to His children.

In our Church we have an organization for men, an organization for women, an organization for young men & young women, and an organization for children. Each man, woman, and child has a role or calling in each organization, whether they be large or small. Men are called to offices in either Priesthoods and to leadership positions in wards, stakes, and regions, etc.; women are called to teach other women, and to nurture each individual, ward, & stake family, as well as the Church as a whole; men and women are called to teach the young men, young women, & children the principles of the Gospel; young men and women teach each other and preside over their distinct classes; and children are called on to share scriptures and thoughts with other children. Every member of the Church has a specific mission inside of the Church, and by exercising our callings we love and strengthen each other.

As a woman in the Church, I have been called to strengthen my husband and to support him in his callings and Priesthood; to bear and rear up children in righteousness, along with my husband; and to use my faith to nurture and uplift my family and the Saints. Compared to what my husband does, it doesn't seem like much at times, but I am coming to see more and more that what I am being asked to do is just as important as what Patrick does in blessing sick and distraught men, women, & children; participating in the ordinations of other young men; baptizing, and so forth. All of those things take faith on his part, and a certain worthiness. Being a wife, and mother-in-training, takes a lot of faith on my part too. I am called to rely on my husband and support him, and in a beautiful, special way, he is also meant to rely on and support me as his wife. It is incredible how The Lord has designed families and marital unions. God's Power of leadership and order comes into my home - our home - through Patrick, and His Power of Life comes by Patrick through me. We both contribute different powers to our marriage; we are both capable of exercising the healing power of faith, and of providing for and nurturing our children. It is a divinely perfect balance.

Because of this balance, I am content with being a woman in The Lord's true Church, by His current standards. I am content with serving God in the way that He wants me to at this time. I feel no need to address any issue of so-called inequality in our society, and I am grateful to be the one who follows after my Husband as we both follow God. I am happy in submitting myself to Patrick and to our children (in the future). I know that God loves me just as much as He loves my Priesthood-holding husband, and independent of my husband. If I was a single young woman like I was a year ago, The Lord would still love me, and He would not love me any less in the slightest. Right now, that is all I need in order to feel a part of His Kingdom. And when The Lord reveals what is next for me and for my family, I plan to willingly submit and move forward just as He would have me, and not before. 

I have found that if I run too fast, I either trip over myself or I am forced to stop abruptly by some object that I was blinded to. I believe that walking along The Lord's path in trust and knowledge is what is best for me. I should seek to learn everything good and honorable that I can, but if I find myself tripping over little (or big) obstacles, I should turn to Him in faith and allow Him to continue to guide me around them. 

Maybe one day I will understand exactly why He is asking me to do what He is right now, but for the time being I am perfectly content with trusting Him, and leaving the questions that are too big for me to understand up to Him to answer at the appropriate moment.

I am content with living in faith, even with unanswered questions and desires that seem to have been put on a shelf. I trust what God is doing with my life, as a wife and future mother, as a primary teacher and member of the Relief Society, and as His daughter. I am happy to be a woman of God.