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The Priesthood Research Paper

Decent Essays

While the rules regarding the priesthood has changed during the history of the church, so has the perception of the priesthood in regard to women. While they cannot hold priesthood office, women are important in the grand scheme of the priesthood. As the article “Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women” states, “As Bishop Newel K. Whitney expressed it shortly after receiving his endowment, ‘Without the female all things cannot be restor’d to the earth. It takes all to restore the Priesthood’” The article continues, “Mary Isabella Horne, a member of the Nauvoo Relief Society, later expressed joy in being ‘co-laborers with our brethren in building up the kingdom of God.’ ‘In all the ordinances received in the House of the …show more content…

In the beginning, the Relief Society was modeled off of the priesthood meetings. According to an article titled “Joseph Smith’s Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women,” “As Sarah Granger Kimball, a founding member of the Relief Society, later recalled, the Prophet told them he had ‘something better’ for them and said he would organize the women ‘in the Order of the Priesthood after the pattern of the Church’” (“Joseph Smith’s Teachings”). Sister Kimball’s comments are accurate to today, as the current Relief society is modeled after priesthood offices, like the First Presidency. They have a president, a first counselor, and a second counselor just like the priesthood offices. This is one commonality between the current church and the original …show more content…

Women and men alike have been misinformed on the true relationship between women and the priesthood. The LDS website states in an article, The priesthood authority exercised by Latter-day Saint women in the temple and elsewhere remains largely unrecognized by people outside the Church and is sometimes misunderstood or overlooked by those within. Latter-day Saints and others often mistakenly equate priesthood with religious office and the men who hold it, which obscures the broader Latter-day Saint concept of priesthood (“Joseph Smith’s Teachings…”). The above quote shows that women can have the priesthood but will not hold priesthood offices. A common misconception is that women are not a part of the priesthood. As Bishop Whitney stated, women are important to the priesthood. However, this is not how the modern mind sees this in many instances. With movements to give women the priesthood and many members not knowing women are part of the priesthood, one can see the impact this information has. This affects the modern member, especially women, by changing their perspective. By giving them this information, they garner more insight and are then able to know how to more adequately become

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