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hold the priesthood while motherhood is a noble calling this definition seemed to me to be both narrow and exclusive what about women who never marry or marry and never have children and is the role of women and the priesthood as separate as this definition suggests if not what then is the relationship between women and priesthood covenants and authority as i have studied the scriptures talks by general authorities and the book daughters in my kingdom the history and work of relief society i have come to understand much better the role of women the purpose of relief society and the relationship between women and the priesthood consequently my vision of my role and my sense of worth as a woman in the latter days has been significantly expanded here are a few of the principles i have learned the covenant of eternal marriage a definition of priesthood is the power and authority given to man to act in god s name for the salvation of his children preach my gospel p 83 priesthood is the power by which all the work of salvation is both authorized and accomplished when we participate in the work of salvation it is with priesthood authority when i went to the temple to be sealed to my eternal companion i entered into the covenant of eternal marriage this is a priesthood covenant that covenant gave both my husband and me the authority and the responsibility to create an eternal family unit we were given authority to live together as husband and wife and the authority to become parents through the bringing of god s spirit children into this world through the keeping of that same covenant of eternal marriage we both also receive the power to teach our children in righteousness and to help them progress along the covenant path in order to receive all the covenants and ordinances of the gospel necessary for their salvation and exaltation although our roles as parents may differ we both receive our parental authority and power from the same priesthood covenant the teaching of our children and helping them along the covenant path to exaltation is the pattern of godhood it is what our heavenly parents do as we participate in this work we are learning godhood which in its most simple form is parenthood entering into the priesthood covenant of eternal marriage gives us both the authority and the responsibility to participate with god in his great work and the keeping of our priesthood covenants gives us the power to fulfill our responsibilities but is that all that is expected of women in this life no not at all the relationship between the relief society and the priesthood priesthood quorums are organized with a president and two counselors and receive their authority from authorized priesthood leaders who hold priesthood keys although their responsibilities are numerous and varied their main purpose is to build unity and brotherhood and instruct members in doctrines principles and duties handbook 2 administering the church 7 1 2 pg 40 this includes assisting fathers in their responsibilities as fathers and helping all males ages 12 and older and all families progress on the covenant path to exaltation the relief society is also an official organization of the church and is organized under the same pattern as priesthood quorums with a president and two counselors and although unique from the priesthood president joseph f smith taught it is divinely made divinely authorized divinely instituted and divinely ordained of god to minister for the salvation of the souls of women and men daughters in my kingdom pg 66 although only men are ordained to the priesthood only men hold priesthood keys and other than in the temple only men officiate in priesthood ordinances all women 18 years of age and older both single and married are members of the relief society and by virtue of their covenants and membership in this organization are given priesthood authority and power to participate in the work of salvation in his april 2014 conference talk elder dallin h oaks emphasized this point when he stated since the scriptures state that all other authorities and offices in the church are appendages to this melchizedek priesthood d c 107 5 all that is done under the direction of those priesthood keys is done with priesthood authority emphasis added he went on to say thus it is truly said that the relief society is not just a class for women but something they belong to a divinely established appendage to the priesthood emphasis added therefore the purpose of relief society is exactly the same as god s purpose our purpose as parents the purpose of priesthood quorums and the purpose of the church in general to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man moses 1 39 as relief society sisters we have the opportunity and the responsibility to participate in three main ways first is to increase in faith and personal righteousness through the weekly teaching of doctrine monthly visits as visiting teachers and mid week activities we are strengthened in our knowledge and understanding of the gospel this leads to an increased desire to apply gospel principles and make and keep sacred covenants exaltation is becoming like our heavenly parents and living as they do relief society helps prepare and qualify us for this crowning blessing second is to help strengthen families and homes as we come to understand better the doctrine of the gospel and apply its principles in our own lives we are better able to draw upon the power of our priesthood covenants to strengthen and bless our families this may be as a wife and mother or as a sister and daughter grandmother granddaughter or aunt in addition to our own personal families women in the relief society have also been given the authority to preside over and direct the affairs of the women in the church as well as to preside and direct the primary and young women organizations this is a large and weighty responsibility as relief society sisters we have been trusted with the duty to teach and prepare all children to receive the priesthood covenant of baptism at age 8 to prepare young boys to be ordained to the priesthood at age 12 and to prepare young women to receive priesthood covenants in the temple as adults sister julie beck taught being part of a relief society or quorum is a designation for a way of life we are to serve in the association of a melchizedek priesthood quorum or a relief society for a lifetime from the quorum or relief society we are called to serve in other church assignments and organizations no matter where we serve we always retain our citizenship in and our responsibility to the quorum or relief society sister julie beck byu speeches why we are organized into quorums and relief societies emphasis added therefore it is an error for women to say they do not belong to relief society because they are serving in primary or young women it is because they belong to relief society they have been given the opportunity responsibility and the priesthood authority to direct the work in the primary and young women organizations when they serve in these callings they are fulfilling their responsibilities as relief society sisters men may also serve in primary but they do not serve in the presidency of the primary this work falls under the direction and authority of relief society sisters who operate under priesthood keys the third purpose of the relief society is to seek out and provide relief for those who are in need as sisters in relief society we not only have the responsibility to help others along the covenant path but we have the opportunity to better keep our own covenants through service to others when we are baptized we enter into a covenant to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort mosiah 18 9 president henry b eyring taught that through our covenant calling as visiting teachers we are to know the hearts of individuals and their families and help the bishop meet the needs and nurture individuals and families in the ward daughters in my kingdom p 110 this alone is a great task but our influence is not in any way limited to those sisters we visit teach our own families or our callings in the ward we are covenant bound to seek out and help all people who are in need to the best of our ability and circumstance no matter what ward country or continent they may live in summary when joseph smith turned the key in behalf of women he opened the door for women to officially organize and better assist god in his work of salvation all adult women have the opportunity to receive priesthood covenants and are given priesthood authority and power to participate in this great work and as we participate in and learn god s work we become like him and qualify for exaltation after understanding better these principles i also understand better the comment made by eliza r snow to the relief society sisters in her day if any of the daughters and mothers in israel are feeling in the least limited in their present spheres they will now find ample scope for every power and capability for doing good with which they are most liberally endowed daughters in my kingdom p 44 our responsibilities are great and our potential is limitless and that thought brings great joy to my journey posted by joy for your journey at 1 16 pm 2 comments friday may 8 2015 mother s day the tree of life and the family tree with this sunday being mother s day i have been thinking about motherhood i feel we only need to look where satan is focusing his efforts to know what is most important to our heavenly father and therefore what will bring us the greatest happiness satan is fighting a full out war like never seen before against the family he wants us all to believe that motherhood and fatherhood are archaic demeaning and degrading terms and instead of providing an opportunity to marry and have eternal increase which is what our heavenly father offers us satan is deceiving the world into trading the opportunity to marry and raise a family into a damning relationship that can never bear fruit and therefore never progress and never have joy i read an article in meridian magazine this morning that has caused me to ponder even more deeply the importance of being a mother remember in 1 nephi 11 nephi is shown by the angel the meaning of his father s vision of the tree of life when he was shown the tree he didn t understand its meaning it wasn t until he was shown mary holding the son of god on her lap vs 20 that he understood the tree was a symbol of the love of god charity or the pure love of god was not just that god had sent his son to earth to live and die for us so that we can return to god s presence as was represented by the christ child but the pure love of god was also represented by mary his mother once nephi understands the relationship between mary holding the christ child and the tree of life he proclaims this love to be the most desirable above all things and the angel then adds yea and the most joyous to the soul vs 22 23 this made me think about other times the symbol of a tree is used in the scriptures the most obvious of course is in malachi 4 where we are told that at the time of the second coming those who are wicked will be burned and left without root or branch the symbol of a tree to represent the family is common and in this verse we understand that those who are not righteous will not be bound in the next life to either their ancestors roots or their branches posterity it is interesting that the old testament begins with adam and eve making a choice to bear children and ends with the warning that children will not be ours to have if we don t live worthy lives the savior repeats this same warning to the nephites in 3 nephi 25 1 6 and goes on to explain that to help save the world from this calamity he will send elijah the prophet in the latter days to restore the sealing power so those who do live worthy may be eternally sealed to their families fourteen hundred years later moroni opened this dispensation by quoting this same scripture jsh 1 37 38 the message of the gospel in its most simple form then is that we can have eternal families i have come to believe that the tree of life which represents the love of god and the most joyous to the soul and the family tree are the same the family tree with its roots and branches simply illustrates the entire purpose of god s love for us which is to help us have what he has an eternal family this is why the crowning ordinance of the gospel is marriage and why we are told in the temple that we will have joy and rejoicing in our posterity and nephi understood all of this when he saw a mother holding a baby and so on this mother s day i express my deepest gratitude and love to my eight sons and daughters and my ten little grandbabies for bringing such great joy into my life and helping me understand better god s love for me happy mother s day posted by joy for your journey at 10 35 am 1 comment monday september 30 2013 my response to the ordain women movement an open letter to my daughters author s note when i wrote this a couple years ago it was according to my best understanding at the time and although i continue to stand behind most of what is written i have come to understand since then that women do have priesthood authority and it is this priesthood authority that allows women as well as men to participate in the work of salvation i will write more about this at a future date but for anyone interested now please check out the talk given at general conference by elder dallin h oaks april 2014 the keys and authority of the priesthood dear daughters in regard to all the chatter about the ordain women movement there are a few things i hope you will keep in mind first remember our purpose here on earth we are here to learn to become like our heavenly father so that we can return to live with him and qualify for all the blessings that he has to give our goal truly is to become like god we do this by following the example of his son and diligently striving to develop his attributes motherhood and the relief society program are both part of a woman s spiritual tutorial in godhood as we selflessly give of ourselves as mothers and learn to love and serve others through the relief society program we are developing godlike attributes charity patience selfless service sacrifice kindness humility knowledge just to name a few fatherhood and the priesthood are the spiritual tutorials for men to help them develop godlike attributes as they serve as fathers and in their priesthood responsibilities they too are developing charity patience selfless service humility knowledge etc both the relief society program and the priesthood are separate but equal opportunities for every person to specifically learn to become like our heavenly father in ways that best benefit each gender one is not better neither is one less they both have the exact same purpose and both if...