I want the priesthood....

At General Conference last week I had the chance to go up to Salt Lake and watch the Saturday afternoon session in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.  After the session my friends and I walked around the square.  I noticed a line starting to form for stand-by seating for the Priesthood Session of General Conference to take place in two hours.  I smiled as I saw fathers and sons dressed in suits and ties standing there with excited smiles on their faces.  We walked into one of the visitor centers and when we came out, there was a dramatic change in the line.  For one, the line was now extremely long and wrapped around the square.  However, the biggest change was there were now women in line.  Mothers, wives, and daughters all smiling and taking pictures, wearing pants or wearing purple.  I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.  I suddenly became very self conscious and made a point to not be seen going the direction of the Conference Center.

I don't understand the needs or the mindset of the women seeking entrance to the Priesthood Session but I don't discredit their feelings.  I understand that they feel less valued because they personally do not hold the priesthood.  As a missionary I talked with many women in and out of the church who felt the same way.  The biggest thing I feel for these women is sorrow.  Sorrow that they don't understand the plan of Heavenly Father or their own unique role in the plan.

Here are some quotes I take great comfort in when it comes to this concern:

"In the eyes of God, whether in the Church or in the family, women and men are equal, with different responsibilities." - Elder Dallin H. Oaks

“Our Church doctrine places women equal to and yet different from men. God does not regard either gender as better or more important than the other." - Elder M. Russell Ballard

“[An] area of concern comes from those who, in the name of equality, want to erase all differences between the masculine and the feminine. Often this takes the form of pushing women to adopt more masculine traits—be more aggressive, tough, and confrontational.  In blurring feminine and masculine differences, we lose the distinct, complementary gifts of women and men that together produce a greater whole.” - Elder D. Todd Christfferson

“The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.” - Margaret D. Nadauld, from Young Women general president

I am a woman.  I am a daughter of God.  I want the priesthood but not in the way you may think:

• I want the priesthood to come into my home as worthy home teachers to provide counsel and support. 
• I want the priesthood in my home to provide priesthood blessings to my roommates and I. 
• I want the priesthood in the form of bishops and stake presidents who counsel and guide me and help me repent. 
• I want the priesthood to be in the form a worthy man who loves me and takes me to the temple where the priesthood will bless our marriage to be eternal.  
• I want the priesthood in my home to bless my children individually after they are born and to give them a name and a blessing.  
• I want the priesthood in my home to lead in family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening.
• I want the priesthood in my home to take each of my children into the water and baptize and confirm them when they are of age and have decided to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.
• I want the priesthood to bless my life through the actions of the deacons, teachers, and priests preparing, blessing, and passing the sacrament.
• I want the priesthood to counsel, lead, and preside in my home.
• I want the priesthood in my home and in my life because I want the power of God to bless my life.

Just because I personally do not hold the priesthood does not mean I am of less worth than any man.  It also doesn't mean that I don't have the same access to it as any man.  I know our Father in Heaven loves all His children.  Men and women have distinct roles and purposes to fulfill and we need each other.  It is important for each of us to understand the priesthood and the role it plays in our lives and then to act in our given capacities.  The Lord loves us, even and especially his daughters.