There is a deeper understanding we can gain from the Visiting Teaching message this month. I have broken it up into three parts: Under the Priesthood, After the Pattern of the Priesthood, and Personal Revelation.

After the Pattern of the Priesthood

LDS women, who want the Priesthood and think they should have the Priesthood, don’t understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There are men who don’t understand the Priesthood as well. In my reading, I found repeated over and over again the message given to us in D&C 121:41, “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained…”

Following, are just a very few statements, since the beginning of the Restoration, clarifying this misunderstanding, but I urge you to study for yourself, to fully understand our responsibility, as women in the Church, as men in the Church, as well as the role of the Priesthood in our lives. John Taylor said,

“It is not correct to suppose that the whole duty of carrying this kingdom devolves upon the Twelve or the First Presidency…or upon the Presidents of the Stakes, or upon the High Priests…or upon the Bishops, or upon any other officer in the Church and Kingdom of God; that to the contrary, all of us have our several duties to perform. And I may go farther in regard to the duties of men, and also in regard to those of women, all have their duties to perform before God. The organization of this Church and Kingdom is for the express purpose of putting every man in his place, and it is then expected that every man in that place will magnify his office and calling…and the duties and responsibilities …that their duty is to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, to gather the people, to build temples, and to accomplish anything and everything that God requires, and that when we have built temples it is our duty to administer in them, that we may be the children of God, Saviors upon Mount Zion, and be the blessed of the Lord of Hosts and our offspring with us.

“I was in Nauvoo at the time the Relief Society was organized by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I was present on the occasion…At that meeting the Prophet called Sister Emma to be an elect lady. That means that she was called to a certain work; and that was in fulfillment of a certain revelation concerning her. She was elected to preside over the Relief Society, and she was ordained to expound the scriptures. In compliance with Brother Joseph’s request I set her apart, and also ordained Sister Whitney…and Sister Cleveland…to be her counselors. Some of the sisters have thought that these sisters mentioned were, in this ordination, ordained to the priesthood. And for the information of all interested in this subject I will say, it is not the calling of these sisters to hold the Priesthood, only in connection with their husbands, they being one with their husbands. Sister Emma was elected to expound the scriptures, and to preside over the Relief Society.” (The Order and Duties of the Priesthood, Etc., John Taylor, Aug. 8, 1880, JD 21:368)

Elder Oaks said, “That commission included teaching. In a revelation given in 1830, the Lord told Emma Smith that the Prophet would authorize her “to expound scriptures, and to exhort the Church, according as it shall be given thee by my Spirit.” (D&C 25:7) Joseph Smith declared “that not she alone, but others, may attain to the same blessings.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Relief Society and the Church”, Ensign, May 1992, and quoting from the Minutes, 17 Mar. 1842)

Our responsibility, after the pattern of the Priesthood, is to preside and teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our duty to teach our children, as well as one another, “that we may all sit down in heaven together”. (Lucy Mack Smith)

There are a great many promises given to women according to our faith, diligence, and obedience. Pres. Faust said, “If we are united and go forward under the leadership of those who have the keys to the kingdom of God on earth, our homes will be enriched, our lives purified, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us. “ (James E. Faust, “Enriching Family Life”, Ensign, May 1983). If we truly understand and accept the gospel of Jesus Christ, how could we not live a life set on achieving this particular blessing and promise?

Elder Oaks gives us a further explanation.

“Priesthood authority functions in both the family and the Church. The priesthood is the power of God used to bless all of His children, male and female. Some of our abbreviated expressions, like “the women and the priesthood”, convey an erroneous idea. Men are not “the priesthood”. Priesthood meeting is a meeting of those who hold and exercise the priesthood. The blessings of the priesthood, such as baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, the temple endowment, and eternal marriage, are available to men and women alike. The authority of the priesthood functions in the family and in the Church, according to the principles the Lord has established. (Dallin H. Oaks, “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church”, Ensign, Nov. 2005)

Elder L. Tom Perry is about as blunt as can be in his clear statement to the men.

“I stand before you today to accuse many of the husbands and fathers who are within the sound of my voice and throughout the world of failing in your responsibilities. First, as a husband: The first instruction given to man and woman immediately following the creation was, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.’ (Gen. 2:24.) So, God in His divine plan ordained that marriage to bring about his basic organizational unit, the family. The role of husband and wife was clearly defined from the very beginning. In the Lord’s plan, these roles are unchanged and eternal. Husbands, if the Lord’s plan is to work, you must learn how to perform in the leadership role He has designed for you.”

You’ve just got to love his fierceness! He goes on,

“She is not your chattel. She does not have to follow you in unrighteousness. She is your wife, your companion, your best friend, your full partner. The Lord has blessed her with great potential, talent, and ability. (L. Tom Perry, “Father—Your Role, Your Responsibility”, Ensign, Nov. 1977)

If a woman has an “unrighteous” husband, she still has the right and responsibility to lead her family in “righteousness”, because of the power which she holds. But when the husband humbly chooses to take back his duty, the wife should freely defer to him.

Elder Tuttle picks up the same tune.

“The father is the patriarch in the home. This means that the father is the presiding authority. This does not mean that he should be dictatorial. I am grateful indeed to see the emphasis given by the church leaders today on the place and position of fathers. There has never been a time in the history of the Church when the importance and place of the Melchizedek Priesthood quorums have been emphasized more and where the activity of fathers has been stressed so much.” (A. Theodore Tuttle, “The Role of Fathers”, Ensign, Jan 1974)

When both men and women, husbands and wives, parents to their children, understand their place in the family plan of our Heavenly Father and live according to the inspiration brought by humble adherence to those commandments, only then will the Priesthood be activated to bless the lives of that eternally bound family.

In regards to working together in Church, may we always remember that Joseph told us our job, as women, in “provoking the Brethren to good works”, perhaps reminding the brethren of our worth. Spencer W. Kimball said,

“As the First Presidency, we feel strongly enough, about the blessings that come through Relief Society that we have asked presidents of stakes, missions, and districts to foster Relief Society attendance, to help the brethren understand the great strength to the priesthood and to families that come from the activity of the sisters in Relief Society. We have particularly asked them to encourage single sisters to participate in Relief Society. (Spencer W. Kimball, “Relief Society—Its Promise and Potential”, Ensign, Mar. 1976).

Russell M. Nelson said,

“Without women, the whole purpose of the creation of this world would be in vain. This truth we learn from scriptures about the priesthood, the Creation, and Adam and Eve. Priesthood is the power of God. Its ordinances and covenants are to bless men and women alike. By that power, the earth was created. Under the direction of the Father, Jehovah was the creator. As Michael, Adam did his part. He became the first man. But, in spite of the power and glory of creation to that point, the final link in the chain of creation was still missing. All the purposes of the world, and all that was in the world would be brought to naught without woman—a keystone in the priesthood arch of creation.

“Adam held the priesthood. Eve served in matriarchal partnership with the patriarchal priesthood. So today, each wife may join with her husband as a partner unified in purpose. Scriptures state clearly, “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:11). “They twain shall be one flesh” (Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:8; D&C 49:16). Marvelously, it takes a man and a woman to make a man or a woman. Without union of the sexes, neither can we exist, nor can we become perfect. Ordinary and imperfect people can build each other through their wholeness together. The complete contribution of one partner to the other is essential to exaltation. This is so ‘that the earth might answer the end of its creation’ (D&C 49:16). “So labor and love in partnership. Honor your companion. Any sense of competition for place or position is not appropriate for either partner, especially when enlightened by scriptural understanding.” (Russell M. Nelson, “Lessons from Eve”, Ensign, Nov. 1987)

And from Bruce R. McConkie, “Eve, the mother of all living, is truly the perfect pattern for all her daughters. Oh, that all women would follow the path laid down by the first woman of all women and do the things that she did that all might be saved! (Bruce R. McConkie, “Mothers in Israel and Daughters of Zion”, New Era, May 1978). By going to the temple, you will learn just what she did, as an example, for all women.

The bottom line is that from the beginning, men and women have been given distinct duties and responsibilities, that by the Power of the Holy Priesthood of God, and by commandment, we shall save all of the children of our Heavenly Father, by teaching, serving, and performing the saving ordinances; and we must begin by righteously presiding over our very own families.