Or I could be a Dolphin because I have a big nose.

Awesome. I’d go with that one, too.

K,

There are two kinds of members in the Church: those who object to patriarchy, and those who object to those who object to patriarchy.

Better than a post, make that your blog subheader

“My Horn can pierce the Sky!”

But maybe I’m a Lemur because I don’t think God is in favor of the patriarchy that’s in the world, and I don’t think the priesthood = men above women.

Of course I could be an Ocelot, because I am against certain things in the church like Men making decisions without their wives input and concent, but then maybe that’s more Lemurish, as I find those things to be in the church, but not of the church.

Or I could be a Dolphin because I have a big nose.

There are two kinds of members in the Church: those who object to patriarchy, and those who object to those who object to patriarchy.

I certainly don’t remember The Plan in its entirety; undoubtedly there are things that would make more sense if I did. But I don’t think that need prevent me from critiquing its particular implementation in my life or the lives of those I know, in the same way that I don’t think we should accept slavery’s rightness simply because the Bible does.

Starfoxy—I don’t believe it does matter, when talking about the Priesthood. Sure they continue to perform ordinances and fulfill callings, but only to their own condemnation. That has nothing to do with how we react to priesthood power and authority. I think of it like taking the sacrament. We can’t always know if someone is doing so unworthily, but it doesn’t matter whether we know or not. Their unworthiness does not nullify the ordinance for others, it only condemns themselves. That is where faith comes in: being willing to do one’s best in imperfect circumstances because one knows who one is and who God is.

Priesthood is the authority by which men lead, and their priesthood is null if they don’t lead righteously.

Heaven may nullify a man’s priesthood the second he is unrighteous, but humans just don’t have that sort of response time. Unrighteous men continue to perform ordinances and fulfill their callings even when the power’s of heaven have withdrawn from them. This matters.

No such thing.

Why women aren’t given this to the same extent right now in this life is a moot question to me, because we simply don’t remember enough of the Father’s Plan to answer it. I suspect that once we do remember, much of this angst will seem silly unless we focus so much on it in this life it becomes part of our defining character. At that point, the tragedy will only be ours.

Perhaps this is why I probably fall into that “unicorn” category. I believe there is much more to my existence and my sphere than this life. Rather like magic, I think there is a great deal we simply don’t understand, and I’m willing to suffer the tide of Church society I am currently in, since I feel that God has placed me here in this life at this time. I don’t want to worry too much about what was or what will be, only live in what is and learn what I can from that. If that means I must learn to humble myself and accept leadership I don’t always agree with or understand and which may in fact be wrong, than I will do my best to learn to be humble. If it means I have to learn to honor the leadership of imperfect people, than I will do so in the hopes that some day someone will give me the benefit of the doubt.

To me, this is the meaning of Christian discipleship. Christ may have reproved the Pharisees (the ones in authority) at times, but He also conformed to many of their traditions. He rarely seems to have derided their mistaken customs, but only to chide when they judged others for not following them. He also taught his followers to subject themselves to unrighteous dominion, to give even more than their slavers asked. I think there is a lesson in that that applies to this.

BTW, Kiskilili
I loved this:

I think there are really only two kinds of bloggers: those who read and comment on topics that interest them, and those who read and comment on topics they find tedious.

It seems good enough for it’s own post . . .