The Preisthood... mostly for ty's benefit because i feel impressed to share :)

I know that many people don't fully understand the preisthood, and why men have the authority to preside over positions of power. As my brother Tyler has pointed out, women have been told and told over again that they are of lesser value than men, and can no more than handle bearing children, and nuturing for them. I would like to show you and help you all understand that we have the power of the preisthood, not because we believe women cannot handle the tasks at hand, but because our Heavenly Father, foreordained us to equally share positions of power.

The priesthood is the power and authority of God. God created the heavens and the earth by His priesthood power. By this power the universe is kept in perfect order. Through this power He accomplishes His work and glory, which is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Pearl of Great Price, Moses 1:39).

Our Heavenly Father shares His priesthood power in a limited way with worthy male members of the Mormon Church. The priesthood enables them to act in the name of Jesus Christ to help bring about the salvation of the human family. Through it, they can be authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances of salvation, and govern God’s kingdom on earth. Men are ordained to the priesthood through the laying on of hands by worthy priesthood holders. As the Apostle Paul taught, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron." ([Hebrews 5:4)

Priesthood holders are divided into bodies called quorums. Through the quorums of the priesthood, men and boys strengthen each other and organize themselves to be of service in the neighborhoods and communities in which they live. Women and girls, though not receiving the priesthood, have equally important roles and responsibilities in carrying out the purposes of our loving Heavenly Father here on earth. They are entitled to all of the blessings of the priesthood.
See also Priesthood Authority and Priesthood Power

"Although the authority of the priesthood is bestowed only on worthy male members of the Church, the blessings of the priesthood are available to all—men, women, and children. We all benefit from the influence of righteous priesthood leadership, and we all have the privilege of receiving the saving ordinances of the priesthood."


In the Mormon Church, women are not ordained to the priesthood. This does not in any way lessen them in the eyes of either God or the Church. Women are entitled to all of the same blessings of the priesthood as men. Men and women, however, have different responsibilities both within the Mormon Church and before God.

Apostle Dallin H. Oaks said this about the matter:

President [Joseph Fielding] Smith explained: "While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, … that does not mean that the Lord has not given unto them authority. Authority and Priesthood are two different things. A person may have authority given to him, or a sister to her, to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House of the Lord." (Relief Society Magazine, Jan. 1959, p. 4.)
President Smith's teaching on authority explains what the Prophet Joseph Smith meant when he said that he organized the Relief Society "under the priesthood after the pattern of the priesthood." The authority to be exercised by the officers and teachers of the Relief Society, as with the other auxiliary organizations, was the authority that would flow to them through their organizational connection with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and through their individual setting apart under the hands of the priesthood leaders by whom they were called. (Dallin H. Oaks, "The Relief Society and the Church," Ensign, May 1992, 34)

In the family proclamation to the world it states:
By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

We may not fully understand why men were given the keys to the preisthood and women are not, but i know that my Heavenly Father is real, that he loves me, that he knows all things and gives us commandments so that we may be happy. We covenant with our Heavenly Father, because we know through personal experience that we are freed from Satans bondage. When we are following the Lord, we are in his light, and can be blessed infinitely. I know that the power of the preisthood has blessed my life, and will continue to bless my life. I know that I am in no way lesser or seen as lesser in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and know without a doubt, that women are equally as powerful in the eyes of our Heavenly Father and the members of the church. In any event, without the man our church would fall, and without the woman man would not attain the celestial kingdom in heaven. We equally have and share our power, as our Heavenly Father wants us to. I know that the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true, and am grateful for the preisthood and its eternal blessings.