Exponent blogger, Defygravity has issued a call to action regarding Elder Packer’s recent damaging remarks regarding women’s worth. We acknowledge that Elder Packer did not intend to hurt women in his talk. However, we believe that ignoring his comments is not helpful. Instead, we should use his comments as a spring board to open conversations with church leaders of various levels about women’s role in the LDS church and their eternal worth.
For this call to action, we hope readers will
1. Read the remarks given by Elder Packer at the worldwide Leadership Training. The relevant passages are copied below.
2. Respond to local church leaders via phone, in person conversation, or by letter. Defygravity gives her letter in her blog post here.
My personal difficulties with the comments are that they imply that my value as a human is defined by the people in my life, not my relationship with God. As the wife of a worthy priesthood holder, I am very blessed, but this is not something I need my church leaders to tell me, it just is. I need them to tell me that even if my worthy priesthood-holding husband left the church or left me, that I would still be just as worthy, that I am still valuable to God, to the church.
It pains me to think that Packer is preaching to the choir, the lucky people who are happily married and righteous. Are they the ones who need the praise of church leaders? Not according to Jesus. They are usually the ones who need humbling. What about single women, childless women, or those not married to “worthy priesthood holders”? Aren’t they the people who need to be told that God still loves them?
Even setting aside the issues surrounding the worth of women and whether they are their own actors or just suitcases that men carry with them to gain access to heaven, this talk really stings. I hope that the response of women who have been hurt by Elder Packer’s words will help the church understand that it can’t allow language like this to be said in the year 2012. I don’t believe that God feels this way about me or other women, so why would we accept this as the word of God?
I’m not looking for an apology, just a dialogue. What is women’s worthiest role? How about being a follower of Christ? Let’s talk about this with our Stake President, Stake Relief Society President, Bishop, Relief Society president.
As we open these conversations, I believe we will come closer as congregations and give women both power and comfort.
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