What would happen if LDS women get the priesthood?<\/p>\n
Women don\u2019t currently have the priesthood in the LDS church (well, some argue that some women have it but can exercise it in the temple endowment). Unless you\u2019ve lived under a rock for the past month, you\u2019re probably fully aware of this fact. It was all over the news, blogs, and social media.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to hash out any of the related events that have occurred\u2014there are are plenty of others who have done that. What I am interested in doing is exploring what the LDS church would look like if LDS women\u00a0did<\/em> receive the priesthood. (I\u00a0have no idea if they ever will. Presumably, we\u2019ll just have to wait to find out.)<\/p>\n Let\u2019s assume at general conference this fall, President Monson announces that all females 12 and up were eligible to receive the priesthood. Here are some questions that I wonder about regarding such a scenario:<\/p>\n 1. Would\u00a0people fall away from the church?<\/strong><\/p>\n I presume that there are some people who believe that the priesthood will always be given to males only. It has been a decades-old practice, and decades-old practices often become elevated to the status of doctrine even if there is no scriptural basis for them. As such, these same people might be convinced that women will never receive the priesthood. In our hypothetical example, what effect would such a change have on these people?<\/p>\n 2. Would\u00a0people label Thomas S. Monson a false prophet?<\/strong><\/p>\n Wilford Woodruff\u2019s Manifesto created a schism in the LDS church, eventually leading to the formation of factions that still supported polygamy. They felt polygamy was instituted of God, and President Woodruff denouncing it made him not of God.<\/p>\n 3. Would\u00a0people accept it?<\/b><\/p>\n When Spencer Kimball announced in 1978 that priesthood ordination would no longer be based on race, the majority of the church accepted it. It created no schism like Woodruff\u2019s announcement\u00a0did. Undoubtedly, some left because of racist attitudes toward priesthood, but statistically, there was no fallout from it.<\/p>\n 4. How would it affect sex-based discourse in the church?<\/strong><\/p>\n If women and older girls received the priesthood, what would it mean for sex-based discussions\u00a0in the church?<\/p>\n