This subject reminds me a lot of gay marriage, another topic in which I have felt very dissatisfied with the common responses I heard from Mormons. Whenever gay marriage comes up, it seems like the entire discussion reduces down to gay bashing. Likewise, whenever the topic of women holding the priesthood comes up, it seems like the entire discussion revolves around why women must be denied the priesthood. I think in both instances, this type of approach is off base.
For starters, let's get one thing straight. We should not treat the subject of denying women the priesthood as some sort of religious "sacred cow" as the saying goes. If for some reason all women were allowed to hold the priesthood starting tomorrow, Joseph Smith would still be a prophet. The Book of Mormon would still be true. The Plan of Salvation would remain unchanged. Let's all take a deep breath and just.........relax.
There is no need to be defensive. Instead, why don't we discuss exactly what the priesthood is. The definition of the priesthood, more or less, is the power and authority to act in God's name. But I like to talk about spiritual concepts in pragmatic, real life terms. The priesthood is used to perform miracles and saving ordinances alike but in a more day-to-day aspect, the priesthood is about spiritual leadership. The man is the priesthood holder in the home and thus the spiritual leader of the home. The major spiritual leaders on the local level, be it the ward or the stake, are also exclusively priesthood holders. The same is true as you move up the spiritual leadership chain.
To those on the outside (and apparently some women on the inside as well), this leadership structure raises a lot of eyebrows. However, men and women by and large are happier when serving different functions. Empirical research has shown that husbands and wives are happier when they specialize in the home rather than equally splitting all marriage duties as many feminists have suggested in the past. We know that men and women are different and certain roles tend to fit each gender best. The church has done a great job recently of stating that there are certainly allowances for individual circumstances. But for the most part, men are not as naturally in tune with spirituality as women. They tend to respond well, however, when they are challenged to step up and be the spiritual leaders in the home via the power and responsibility of being the only adult priesthood holder in the home.
And there is the key point. Far too many men need the responsibility of carrying the torch of being the only adult priesthood holder to help them stay focused on what they ought to be doing. If women held the priesthood as well, this would have a negative spiritual impact on the men. Men tend to be task oriented. If given a specific task, they can and often do step up. As a result, the entire family unit is blessed.
Unfortunately, as is so often the case in life and therefore in the church as well, we can't have our cake and eat it too. We have to make trade offs. By limiting the priesthood to only men, we inevitably deny many worthy women of leadership roles that they are not only capable of fulfilling but in some instances, would be better at fulfilling on a local level than men. By continuously propping up the importance of having the priesthood, church members too often give half-hearted lip service to the notion of "unrighteous dominion" in the home. This is a huge problem and these women who want the priesthood have probably seen their fair share of unrighteous dominion practiced and go unpunished. They logically infer from their personal experiences that the priesthood is about having power over others and they no longer want to be on the wrong end of that power struggle.
In conclusion, there are both scriptural examples and church history examples that insinuate women have held the priesthood or at least conducted priesthood activities in certain specific instances. Furthermore, there are many underlying women's issues that don't get voiced enough and end up bubbling to the surface in the form of women protesting for their "right" to hold the priesthood. Ultimately, the world would go on if women did hold the priesthood. It's just not the best way to build the Kingdom of God. Hopefully we can listen to dissenting voices on the role and place of women in the church with an open mind and come to a better understanding and more compassionate understanding of how to meet everyone's spiritual needs the best way possible.
