Are Mormons Ready for Priestesses?

7/28/2019 Are Mormons Ready for Priestesses?

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ARE MORMONS READY FOR THE RISE OF THE PRIESTESSES?

Are Mormons ready for the Rise of the Priestesses? No. Of course they are not. That isnot the question. The question is, are you and I ready as individuals? There has been a lotof commotion lately surrounding the issue of women as they are viewed in the Church.

To be perfectly clear, it is not my intention to detract from the discussion within thatcontext. Nor do I desire to discourage my sisters from acting on the spirit of equality thatis stirring in the hearts of many these days. Any action taken to further the understandingof women and men as equals is valid and important in my eyes. What I want to do withmy words here is to broaden the context to include not only the furthest reaches ofprophecy but to take in the vital first steps of inner change that alone can ensure true andeverlasting progress beyond the shifty, political moves that are presented to us as game-changers when in truth, they only perpetuate the boys vs. girls game of petty powerstruggle. The point I want to make is that men are wallowing in such a low and wretchedstate, spiritually speaking, that issue of equality between the sexes must, by definitionstart with an equal boosting of both men and women, together. So let me cut to the chase.

I read a post a while back at Feminist Mormon Housewives, written by a male guestauthor, Jared P., that was entitled A Kingdom of Priests. It is not so much my intention tocritique it but to use its momentum to catapult some ideas to those Mormon priests andpriestesses who are ready for real and royal Pre-Stood Power or at least an honestdiscussion on priesthood politics in the Church. The post does a good job of correctingthe common conflation between "the full measure of our creation" and titles and offices.But the hopes and wishes expressed in this post for the actual fulfillment of the measureof our creation sound every bit as hollow, muffled and distant as the lightly lilting butMonsonotonous speeches of Thomas S. They ring with a little less conviction than thesexist sayings of Elder Voyd K. If one can not Pack half the punch that Packer does, then

don't count on much ever changing in your lifetime. To be fair I do not think for oneminute that this was the author's intention (to see positive change or real strides towardsthe fulfilling of humanitys divine potential) but rather, he sought and succeeded in doinga little lip-service to ideals such as equality and peace. And that is fine. Let every manand woman go at his or her own chosen pace in accordance with the divine plan.

Jared most certainly speaks for the majority of his brothers and sisters and accuratelycommunicates their affinity for warm fuzzy feelings flufffilling over fulfillment. IndeedD&C 121 states plainly that almost all men cling to safety cushions which are stuffedby a staff of stiff pretend priests who place pillows with carefully crocheted clichs overthe faces of their sleeping wives to stifle and suffocate them. Their so-called priesthoodposition stems directly from their dis-position as unrighteous dominant partners whothink they can domineer the Pre-Stood Power and hog the fallsecurity blankets of adefiled marriage-bed. The bedspread or counterpane is described as a fantasy land by thepoet Robert Louis Stevenson in his childrens classic, The Land of Counterpane. Here theovergrown, sick child imagines himself a giant among men, sending ships in fleetsamong the sheets and sprawling houses outcities all about. such masculine andMasonic imagery. Stevensons other well known childrens poem, The Land of Nodisalso a subtle nodto the vanity of this League of Just Men who leave women outside their


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inner prayer circle. It is the vain dream of the Church of (Cain) the Firstborn who goesabout building the first City-State and naming it after his own firstborn, Enoch. This isthe anti-zion orante-zion, a false illusion that appears before the real City of Enoch andsets itself against that which the Lord blesses because it wrongly sees itself as havingemerged first like Esau. But it was his motherwho knew and understood that Jacob was

to preside. Nephi and Joseph of Egypt were not the firstborn in their families. EvenAdam, in his confusion, wrongfully assumed superiority over Eve, thinking that seniorityif only by moments should always reign. But what does Adam know about that whichpre-seeded his self? Being that he does not remember clearly anything that

happened before his physical creation and seeing as how he was asleep during the

physical formation of Eve, he can not be a credible witness. Why then do we

unquestionably accept his authority as near absolute?

Are we satisfied topoo-poo and postpone indefinitely Heavenly Father and HeavenlyMothers deepest desire for us as Their Sons and Daughters? Even though the words ofPaul to the Corinthians are quoted in the Feminist Mormon Housewives piece, there is no

eagerness here to put away childish things. We can not preserve the Child-like/Christ-like qualities which Jesus told us were necessary to inherit the Kingdom of God, withoutputting away child-ish things. In modern American English the ending ish is frequentlyused to describe something that approximates or even copies a certain characteristic butnevertheless is not an authentic or full embodiment of that characteristic. If we need tobecome as little children to enter the Kingdom, does child-ish suffice? Ish is alsoused these days in many circles as a euphemism for $#!+. We know were falling shortand even digressing away from our child-like natures when we resist change and assumethe role of self-ish brats who should have been potty-trained long ago, but instead insistthat our Heavenly Mom and Dad bear the responsibility forchanging us out of thesquishy ish-filled diapers we so proudly wear. Somehow I dont think that Wear Diapersto Church Day can even be justified as the baby-steps that would be appropriate forInfants on Thrones as Joseph Smith described us in the King Follet Discourse. In manyparts of the Afrikan Bush the children are diaper-free and fully potty-trained by a muchearlier age than babies in modernized areas of the world. This is just a temporal exampleof a much deeper spiritual concept. By babying our spirits we do ourselves a greatdisservice.

We bask in the vainglorious flattery of the Brethren and the Relief Society Presidencyas they remind us of the specialness of our generation. Like spoiled royal brats we throwtemple tantrums and let Christ, our whipping boy, receive the lashes which in a just andfair society would go to us. Engl-ish culture has us fascinated by nannies with Brit-ishaccents who claim to know precisely what it takes to raise up a righteous generation. Butwere no Angels, only Angel-ish. We do not live as the Angels in Heaven do, but make amockery with our vain ideas of perfection. If we must turn to English literature in anattempt to understand angels, we can do no better than the writings of William Blake.

It is not because angels are holier than men or devils that makes them angels, butbecause they do not expect holiness from one another, but from God only.


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Anglos are not angels and through all phases of our society from Victorian to today, wewill hold to our place in this mans worldby cleverly putting the woman up on a pedestalwhich is nothing more than a glorified auction block.

In an address from last years October Conference Melvin Ballard Jr. speaks of being

anxiously engaged (presumably in a good cause). But the title of his talk is more in linewith the neural linguistic programming within its main body than with LDS Scripture andwould be more accurately titled Bee Anxiously Engaged. In it Ballard compares goodchurch members to honeybees. White men who imagine themselves on the top of thePyramid or Hive are like bees. Did you know that bees communicate with one anotherthrough a special dance? It is true. But what do those busy bees talk about with oneanother? Why, work of course. Like the majority of males living in any one of the manywhite male dominated nations of the earth, conversation is intrinsically centered aroundbzzzyness. Modern man is all abuzz with making cold contacts consisting of questionslike So, what do you do? and How much honey does that make? In nature bees areconstantly exchanging info about where to find more nectar. Karl Von Frisch conducted

an experiment wherein a hive (Church or Government) was placed at the foot of a radiotower with an abundant food source atop (Heaven). 10 bees were taken up to the topand shown the food source like holy men who get a glimpse of the Order of Heaven.These bees were then sent off to tell the rest of the hive about their find. The messagewas conveyed via their non-verbal language which consists of a fixed set of signals forcommunicating location. The problem is; bees fixed signals all relate to horizontaldistance only. They can not manipulate their system of communication to create a newmessage indicating vertical distance. Von Frisch watched as the bees flew frustrated in alldirections but were unable to locate the heavenly supply. Obsessed with accumulatingmore and more wealth and conceptualizing their souls to be solely de-finedby theirfinery, the swarms of working class, Christ-shun, Caucasian men who make the worldgo round are so completely convinced that they are the Bees Knees. Never pausing tobend the knee and confess their nothingness, with the tongue of angels. Taking theircapital and industry as evidence that they must be the representatives of the summit ofsociety, they have no real concept of up and sadly; can not seem to devise one.

Very few W.A.S.P.s (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) ever transcend the worker-dronementality of the Beehive and achieve the level of angels among us. If a white man growshis hair and beard out and adopts in his heart, the crazy idea of Jesus thatLove Is All WeNeed, he will unfailingly be mocked by the Big Boys in General Conference no less. Ittook a year or two of frequent repetition from his faithful companion Yoko Ono, but oncethe truth finally sunk in, John Lennon put it succinctly and directly, plainly andpreciously, as Nephi would say, into a song. Woman is the Nigger of the World.

The so-called progressive mind-set that is gaining popularity these days within thereligious realm can not be defended as truly progressing us towards a brighter future if itrefuses to pull out our dark past and examine it in the light. In many deep-seated ways,the concepts of priesthood as well as eternal progression have been de-spiritualizedsince the early days of Mormonism. I contend that this is a major problem because, eventhough most will undoubtedly say that priesthood is not the issue, they grossly


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misunderstand not only me, but also the role that theology plays as an entry point forideas that shape our world. Most Mormons wouldnt recognize true Priesthood Powerif it stepped up and slapped them across the face, which it wouldnt because it

operates on the principle of non-cohersion. But still, when they are dished a back-

handed perversion of the priesthood, to the point of a spiritual (or even in some

cases physical) slap across the face they rarely question the overall institutionbehind that force.Now before you say in your mind again that the question ofpriesthood is not even a real issue when it comes to the objectives of the womensequality movement within the LDS Church today, remember to speak for yourself. Andin as much as you feel more or less qualified to speak for your sisters remember that,while the problem may not be that most Mormons do not know what priesthood is, thelack of gender equality present is a direct result of mistakenly thinking that we do knowwhat priesthood means.

So whether you see it as a womens rights issue, more political in nature or just a case ofmaking a few aesthetic corrections, plastic surgery to improve the Churchs image, that is

all very well. But any of us who identify that a problem, or even just a need for change nomatter how big or small exists, will have to be willing to connect the dots between thestate of things today and the past roots. Its either that, or we admit that we are phonieswho have no serious goals for effecting positive adjustments into the future. Bandyingabout with band-aids and polite banter never changes policy, let alone hearts and minds.Changing hearts and minds has been given over to the jurisdiction of religion in countlessways. We may say that this is a personal domain between a person and God in an attemptto steer clear of sticky theological discussion. Then why even talk about it with others,what is the point of religion at all? I know many women and men who take an interest inthis topic may honestly feel that it is wrong for them to pronounce judgment on anothersheart or mind. Regardless of the truthfulness of that principle, we do it all the time tovarying degrees and like it or not, the teachers of religion in the very forum where we areseeing inequality to be an issue, are themselves, the worst offenders. So in the spirit ofkeeping ourselves honest, lets explore, at least briefly, the roots of the problem.

We will start with some quotes from a past president of the Church. Not because I thinkthe majority of people who read this are ready for such a revolutionary act as scrutinizingthe main Church leadership. I for one, do not even believe that the real solutions requireus to waste much time looking at anyone other than ourselves. But for those who aremore interested in changing the Church to their comfort than in listening to the discontentinside themselves and hearing that pre-stood power that creates worlds without numberspeak to them about how they can transform their own world I say, your solutionshould be simple and straightforward. From a legal perspective and although unseen, aspiritual standpoint, Thomas S. Monson is the one you want to talk to. If you think thiswould be unnecessary or even beside the point, I would tend to agree. But at least take alook at what you and your leaders have inherited. Or alternately admit the lack of trueconviction behind your words and the pointlessness of the actions you take to supposedlyestablish some semblance of equality between men and women in the context of the LDSChurch. Without further ado, here is the promised presidential prattle.


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"It is much more difficult for wives to learn than it is for husbands, because women havenot the degree of light and knowledge that their husbands have; they have not the powerover their passions that their husbands have; therefore they have to suffer one for anotheruntil they get power over themselves like unto those that have advanced more fully in theknowledge of our God." President Lorenzo Snow, (The Blessings and Privleges of the

SaintsObedience to CouncilVolume 5, pg 315)

Another gem from sweet old Lorenzo Snow given in the same talk in 1857:

"You very seldom find that husbands and wives are perfect; but perhaps it is very wellthat the husband is not perfect, because, if he was, he would be placed at a great distancefrom his wives. It requires a great exertion on the parts of wives to keep pace with theirhusbands.

Oh but this is not the mood or attitude anymore, right? This type of thing is no longer aproblem. Yeah, like racism is no longer a problem since Obama took office. While the

problem of inequality by definition manifests itself in a variety of ways, this is notevidence that the morphed fruit is in no way connected to the lofty branches. I am ofcourse applying the analogy of the wild fruit given in Jacob 5. If the roots are worthsaving then we must disencumber the tree of the lofty branches. The very fact that thesequotes have been tucked away is evidence that we have never even begun to deal withthese issues. If I believe God wants me to be a racist I have no reason to examine racistsbehavior. If I believe God condemns homosexuals, I have no reason to examine myhomophobia. If I believe God made men superior to women, I have no reason to examinemy sexism. Once we take the opinions of man as Gods Will, life seems very simple. Theproblem is that God knows and deep inside we know we are embracing a lie. The morethe lie becomes manifest in the world, the more frequently God will send the Father ofLies to shake up the faulty foundations upon which so-called Master Builders construct.The Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 28:19, makes it clear that this shaking is necessary sothat growth and progress might continue. Whether you see yourself as working for fairand equal treatment of women within the Church or you are actually seeking to exercisethose latent, God-given powers within you, I think it is safe to say that some shaking willbe necessary for all of us at one point or another.

I would like to dive in a bit deeper to examine the essence of Pre-Stood Power vs. mansideas on priesthood for the benefit of all my brothers and sisters, whether merely curiousor truly desirous to more faithfully fulfill their lifes calling. I find it more helpful to usethe term Pre-Stood as a reminder that the Powers of Heaven stood before and will standlong after the foundation and passing of the Earth. It is in essence, the essence, the Love,that which was before and that which remains, according to Jesus, Paul, Alma, Josephand countless other teachers. The word Pre-Stood helps us to understand that all conferralof said power is not just an ordination but a re-ordination. All men and women havealready been fore-ordained. If that is too much for some so-called priesthood holders toaccept we can slightly adjust the wording to say that everyone ordained to the priesthoodin this life received a pre-ordination. If you do not feel this to be true, then I wouldsuggest that it is a personal problem and maybe you need a PPI (Personal Priesthood


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Interview) with God to determine whether perhaps there has been some mistake inissuing that which is sacred to you who through unworthiness can no longer sense thepre-ordination of the Great Ones which Father Abraham witnessed. The LDS acronymPPI is one that should be familiar to many Mormon men and women as well. It is anoperation of what Dallin Oaks, J.D. referred to as the priesthood line of authority in a

2010 address. Oaks condescendingly cautioned against the perils of the personal lineand placed it firmly under the jurisdiction of Church leaders. I wonder how many otherMormon men were left scratching their heads at this de-lineation and de-liberation of asupposedly continuous line of authority of which Christ Jesusfreely gave andcommanded us tofreely give (Matt. 10:8). This obsessing overlines orlineage is nothingnew. But confusion is compounded when one stops to consider that it is persons who holdthe priesthood, hence the term Personal Priesthood Interview. So isnt all priesthoodpersonal? Indeed we may say, along with the apostle Paul, that God is no respecter ofpersons (Acts 10:4), but in practice we betray this trust He has placed in us by respectingpriesthoodlums and their policy over eternal principle.

While it may very well be foolishness to seek Heavenly power from worldly men, it isarrogance to assume that you hold and magnify the pre-stood power if you are foundmocking a movement for equality within the institutional church. All men who assumethemselves worthy pre-stood holders and are not diligent in encouraging their own wivesand even any misguided but honest LDS women who feel the Holy Spirit of changeblowing through the rafters of a condemned Church and as thermal currents in their ownhearts to magnify their female pre-stood power more fully; those men are not magnifyingtheir own pre-stood but are letting it dwindle. If you can not see the differences between amovement for equal treatment of the feminine gender in the LDS Church and the ancientprophecies regarding the establishment of Zion then you are deeply confused about andunfamiliar with the order and powers of Heaven. Latter-Day Saints should prepare intheir own hearts, minds and families for the Millennial Reign of Christ, for theRestoration of All Things and for the Rise of the Priestesses.

Joseph was killed primarily for saying and showing that black people and women couldhave and use the priesthoodContainment under Brigahm..In order to achieve divine potential it is necessary to reach higher, much higher than SaltLake.

"When money tries to buy beauty it tends to purchase a kind of courteous kitsch"(William H. Gass).

Its not simply that we have de-spiritualized the concept of the priesthood and regulated itto a purely physical realm.we have mechanized those physical manifestations of thespiritual power of the priesthood.


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In scripture itThe father provides an X or Y chromosome; the mother always provides an Xchromosome. Therefore, the sex of the child is determined by the chromosome of theindividual sperm that fertilizes the egg.

Male offspring carry XY chromosomes; female offspring carry XX chromosomes.

ECO-FEMINISM

E-MOTIONS ARE EARTH MOTIONS

AND THE WHOLE EARTH SHALL BE IN COMMOTION

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Are Mormons Ready for Priestesses?