Matt Bowman’s book sheds some light on women giving blessings. Guys, read this book, I love it. What I’m gleaning (sorry, Matt, if I got you all wrong) is that much of our practices simply develop according to the mind-set of certain leaders, ie progressives, dogmatics, etc.—-rather than actual revelation (which is my total conclusion about race and the church).

As I get older, I more and more feel uncomfortable when we are mean to each other on the blog. gernacle :). I think because we are mostly strong willed people who (in my case, anyway) are sort of “outside” in our wards, we’re more sensitive to disagreement. And because we’re smart (in my case, anyway), and good with words, we eviscerate each other. Rob Taber came to our blog and taught me a lot about disagreeing agreeably. Well, that’s off the subject.

CJ, I am infamous in my stake (perhaps the world) for griping, griping again, and again about the stupidity of whoever took a general authority’s request that a priesthood holder give the opening prayer in a regional meeting and ran with it. The result is that wards all over the church adopted an “it’s in the handbook” policy of only allowing men to open the meetings.

And you know, if it were the opposite, I’d bellyache, too. Because it’s a dumb policy.

I’m confusing myself now. Well, my work here is done.

Not as a gotcha – just really really interested in your reaction.

And I don’t think that in the church, the tail wags the dog. I am not going to stand up on a tower and proclaim that our prophets need to take up that issue.

If you feel that you have the necessary credentials to counsel the prophets, by all means take you case to them.

Thanks for clarifying your comments, although they do not anywhere come close to accurately diagnosing my mindset nor do they offer an accurate appraisal of my comments.

But I will leave it there because I have drifted far off the op of the blog and this thread.

Glenn

The facts I’m referring to are those that we have been discussing. The facts that I have quoted from the experiences of the prophets. In the face of that you still want to say that the prophet is the dog and the entire church is the tail? Is that really what you are trying to say?

People who discuss their beliefs and their needs and desires for the church they love are not “counselling the prophet” Glenn, and they don’t need credentials to do that. They just need the light of Christ. People speaking from their heart are never a threat to the church, nor to anyone of good conscience anywhere.

You want to believe that God will take care of everything and that all we need to do is sit down and shut up and go along for the ride. History shows, however, that changes don’t happen unless we ask for them. They may not happen even then, but at least we can say we tried. There’s no harm in trying for something that might be better.

And Glenn is not sure what view that MCQ is referring to and what facts that have knocked his viewpoint to the ground.

Glenn

I am totally ambivalent on the issue of women getting the priesthood. I can imagine the benefits that you point out, but I also see the many benefits of the current system.

And I cringe when people make claims along the lines that women will only be respected when they have the priesthood. Ugh! So nothing that they do now is of value? Women will only be respected if they do the things men do, because only those male things matter? That doesn’t seem like progress to me.