Powers of Procreation and Priesthood

This topic has been in my heart and on my mind a lot in recent months. There is great controversy in and out of the church with regard to woman holding the priesthood. Outside of the church, I find the perception often falls on the side of believing we are less than the men of the church because we do not administer in the offices of the priesthood. I am just one person, but I've wanted to share my opinion on this. As with other things I've shared in the past, I would like to state again that this is just my opinion. I know we may disagree, but please be kind in any comments or discussions about this.

I'll start with the priesthood. The priesthood is God's power here on earth. It is the power by which creation is made possible. The power of the priesthood (God's power) comes into our lives as those who have been given authority (by the laying on of hands) exercise that authority to bless the lives of those here on earth. Elder M. Russel Ballard said,

"In our Heavenly Father’s great priesthood-endowed plan, men have the unique responsibility to administer the priesthood, but they are not the priesthood."

Let's look at that statement closely. "Priesthood-endowed plan", what does endowed mean? The dictionary states that to endow means "to equip or supply with a talent or quality". The great plan of our Father in Heaven is endowed (equipped or supplied) with the priesthood, which we stated above is His power. 

Next, "men have the unique responsibility". Unique means the only one of it's kind. That responsibility was given to Heavenly Father's sons to "administer the priesthood". What does administer mean? "To be responsible for the implementation or use of". So let's review all of that. In our Heavenly Father's great priesthood endowed plan (His plan, not ours), He has requested that His sons bear the responsibility of the use of His power here on earth. The last statement of the quote is extremely important. "They are not the priesthood". The priesthood is and always will be our Father's power. It does not make a man greater than a woman here on earth to be given the authority to act in the offices of the priesthood. The priesthood is not withheld from women. Not even in the slightest. Which brings me to the next piece, procreation.

Within every woman is the potential to bear a child. This is something uniquely given to our Father's daughters. But I want to ask you to consider something which you may not have thought of before. In the Gospel Principles manual we are taught, "Jesus Christ created this world and everything in it. He also created many other worlds. He did so through the power of the priesthood, under the direction of our Heavenly Father." So from that teaching we can determine that only through the power of the priesthood can creation of any kind be obtained. We learn and teach in the gospel that when we bear children we are participating with our Father in Heaven in creation. What I would like you to consider is this. If creation cannot happen without the priesthood, wouldn't it stand to reason that within every one of our Father in Heaven's daughters there is priesthood power given? Elder Ballard goes on to say in the same talk I mentioned above, 

"Men and women have different but equally valued roles. Just as a woman cannot conceive a child without a man, so a man cannot fully exercise the power of the priesthood to establish an eternal family without a woman. In other words, in the eternal perspective, both the procreative power and the priesthood power are shared by husband and wife."

Just as the authority of the priesthood must be given, the power of procreation must only be used within the bounds the Lord has set. Both are protected by laws from our Father in Heaven, because in His eyes, both are of equal importance.

The potential to be a righteous priesthood bearer is within every man, just as the potential to be a righteous mother is within every woman. Wait! You might say, what about women who don't have the opportunity here on earth to bear children. To that I would ask you to consider this quote from Sister Patricia Holland, 

"Eve was given the identity of 'the mother of all living'--years, decades, perhaps centuries before she ever bore a child. It would appear that her motherhood preceded her maternity, just as surely as the perfection in the Garden preceded the struggles of mortality. I believe mother is one of those very carefully chosen words, one of those rich words, with meaning after meaning after meaning after meaning.... I believe with all my heart that it is first and foremost a statement about our nature, not a headcount of our children."

To be a mother does not mean you have to bear children. It is an identity of our nature and character that determines motherhood. Today in sacrament meeting a little girl got up and played a piano duet with one of the sisters in the ward. As I watched her, my heart swelled, my eyes filled with tears and the pride I felt for her accomplishment radiated through my whole being. You can't tell me I didn't experience a "mother's pride" in that moment, regardless of who gave her life. 

Eve's name in Hebrew means "life-giver". S. Michael Wilcox said:

"Both Adam and the Lord considered this the most appropriate and worthy name to give the first woman of many women, the 'mother of all living'. There is dignity in the thought that the first woman's name was essentially the title of mother." 

Joseph Smith teaches us that

"the 7th verse of 2nd chapter of Genesis ought to read--God breathed into Adam his spirit (i.e. Adam's spirit) or breath of life; but when the word 'rauch' applies to Eve, it should be translated lives."

Are you beginning to see the significance here? We believe that we were created by our Father in Heaven, that the design of our bodies is eternal and celestial. And yet we somehow belittle the gifts that we as women have been endowed with. The eternal identity and power of Motherhood was breathed into our nature and identity as Daughter's of God. Why do we dismiss this and cry instead for the gifts our Father saw fit to bestow on His sons? They are equal in sacredness and importance to Him, should that not be more than good enough for us?

S. Michael Wilcox goes on to say, 

"There is a difference between the labor of Eve and the labor of Adam. The Lord told Adam, 'By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread'. Whatever our occupations in this life may be, there will come a time when they will not be necessary. None of the means by which men eat bread by the sweat of their face will continue in the eternities. Our occupations allow us to live and learn. They edify and instruct, but they are essentially an aspect of the telestial world in which we live. 

On the other hand, Eve's role as life-giver is eternal and celestial. It was revealed to Joseph Smith that the life-giving power of women fulfills 'the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified'. Adam shared in this great work, but Eve was the primary life-giver. Her labor would not change after the resurrection. Is it any wonder the adversary has tried so diligently to demean the labor that Eve and her daughters perform? Is it any wonder that he has tried to convince both women and men that the temporal labor of the lone and dreary world is more important than the eternal labor of a celestial one?"

As women we have been given the equal responsibility in the priesthood by the gift of the power of procreation. This gift is eternal and celestial. The responsibility of men eternally will be through the authority of the priesthood they hold. Are the roles different yes. Is one greater than the other. No, not in the eyes of our perfect, loving Father in Heaven. In one of my favorite quotes is by Elder Maxwell, he asks,

"Isn't it strange that those who wear wristwatches seek to council Him who oversees cosmic clocks and calendars?"

Submitting to our Father in Heaven means trusting that His church is being run the way He intended it to run. Trusting Him means believing the roles and gifts He has given to His children are given in such a way to ensure the greatest chance of us returning to live with Him again. For His work and His glory is truly to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. Eternal life and lives can only be accomplished through the complementing powers of priesthood and procreation. Bestowed equally and lovingly on His sons and daughters.

I know our Father in Heaven lives and loves us all perfectly. May we humble ourselves to see the gifts and love He has showered into each of our lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

All my love, 

~Taryn