Ordain Women or WHAT?!

I've been watching with passive curiosity over the past 6 months at the ridiculous antics and grossly inflated sense of self-importance that members of the "Ordain Women" movement seem to exhibit.  I suppose it's time to weigh in a bit, although it really is unnecessary.

The "Ordain Women" movement believes... honestly believes... that they are a "significant force for change" in the Church.  To those who actually HAVE a testimony of the Gospel, and more than a passing notion of how God works know that nothing in this universe could be farther from the truth.  They are an incidental speck of annoyance.  Nothing more.  And they never will be.  They are also yet another fulfillment of prophesy.  We are told that in the last days "even the very elect will be deceived," and we have not seen this occur in as graphically stunning of a demonstration in some time.

Chronic Ark Steadying has long been an unfortunate companion to the Restored Gospel for as long as it has been restored.  All it takes is a tiny group of spoiled, entitled small-minded whiners who either lost their testimony of the Restored Gospel, or who never had it in the first place, to insist that they know better than God how to run His Church.  That is, if they even think He stands at the head of it anymore.

Many, if not most of them believe that the Church is nothing more than a social club, which they eagerly want to mold into whatever the current cultural flavor 'o the week dictates.  They look at it as a huge corporate entity, wholly susceptible to the self-serving pressure of grassroots "campaigns" to change their policies and practices.   The concept of "inspiration" and "revelation" are completely lost on them, as is the idea that God may have His own ideas of how He wants His kingdom run that may not necessarily coincide with theirs.  "Divine authority" is nothing more than a buzzword to those who seek to create a "smooth god" in their own image and likeness, and carries no pragmatic weight.

At the most elementary level, OW's followers either 1)  no longer believe that God actively leads His Church, or that 2) the prophet and the 12 have become apostate, and no longer receive revelation to guide and direct the Church.  That is, if their direction doesn't agree with the Ark Steadiers.  They're just fine with them if it does.

They claim that these two options constitute a "fallacy of exclusion," and that there are "other possibilities" not being considered... which might be the case if they actually had another viable "possibility" to present.  So far, I've heard no plausible alternatives and a LOT of hand-wringing and whining over not getting their way.  

Yes, I've heard them posit that "No one has asked God," but that assumes that neither the living Prophet nor the members of the Quorum of the Twelve pray.  Which goes to Option #1, quite frankly.  Or at the very least, they claim that they don't believe they have prayed about THIS issue, and that since the Blacks holding the priesthood was kind of a massive goof-up, that got all sorted out once they actually PRAYED about it, that surely the ordination of women must be of the same ilk.

What they are obviously not aware of are the significant errors in their logic and reasoning, as well as their pathetically inept grasp of Church History.

First of all, the blacks not receiving the priesthood was not a "massive goof-up," and there is no evidence whatsoever to indicate that it was.  The most that can be said about it is that "we don't know" the reasons... not one of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve has ever insinuated that it was incorrect on any level.  Strike one.

Secondly, there was precedent for the blacks being ordained, as Joseph Smith ordained at least one, if not more.  There is no precedent for women being ordained.  Not one prophet or apostle has either advocated it, or suggested that it might be something the Lord might consider in the future.  Nada.  None.  Zip.  Zero.  Zilch.   Strike Two.

The Lord (and His servants) have steadfastly and consistently taught that only males were to hold the priesthood, and that the basic roles of men and women are different.  Of course, such a statement immediately makes the collective heads of the OW minions implode.  "What about GENDER EQUALITY" they shriek.

The reality is that in the Lord's eyes, through the lens of scripture as well as revelation received through His servants, "gender equality" is alive and well in the Church.  What is not part of the Restored Gospel is the concept of equality meaning "sameness."  The ROLES of men and women in the Church are different.  There's no mystery here, and no ambiguity.   M. Russell Ballard, being quoted by Elder Oaks, commented on this very principle:

“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. …"

Addressing this very question of differences in the last General Conference, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said,

"But even though these presiding authorities hold and exercise all of the keys delegated to men in this dispensation, they are not free to alter the divinely decreed pattern that only men will hold offices in the priesthood."

He goes on to say, "The Lord has directed that only men will be ordained to offices in the priesthood."

Now.  Either the Twelve are inspired servants of God, or they are not.  Either Elder Oaks prayed about this topic as he was preparing his address at General Conference, or he didn't.  Either God leads the Church, or he doesn't.  This really isn't rocket science.  It's a binary concept.

The two possibilities that I presented still stand.  Those who want to force the Church to bend to their will, instead of bending their will to that of the Lord, either believe that the leadership of the Church is apostate and uninspired, or they must believe that God no longer directs His Church.

EITHER BELIEF is grounds for excommunication, and quite frankly, those who embrace and openly teach them should be excommunicated for apostasy.