Women, Priesthood, & Church Leadership | An Interview with Barbara Morgan Gardner

Leading Saints Podcast

This is a rebroadcast. The episode originally ran in November 2019.

Barbara Morgan Gardner is an associate professor of Church History and Doctrine at Brigham Young University, and the author of The Priesthood Power of Women. Her research interests focus primarily on women in religious leadership, international education, and religious pedagogy. She holds a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Foundations and a PhD in Instructional Psychology, and did post-doctoral work at Harvard University. Barbara was Institute director in Boston, Massachusetts, serving more than 100 universities and colleges in the area and acting as chaplain at Harvard and MIT. She continues to serve as the chaplain-at-large in higher education for The Church, and on the BYU Interfaith Outreach Council. She and her husband, Dustin Gardner, live in Highland, Utah.

Links

The Priesthood Power of Women: In the Temple, Church, and Family
Grounded Podcast with Barbara Morgan Gardner
Transcript coming soon
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Highlights

05:40 – Why was the book written? To help women and men understand what priesthood is.
09:25 – Barbara realized that many members and leaders didn’t separate the hierarchical structure of the priesthood and the patriarchal structure of the priesthood. She wanted to help women to understand the prophet has been asking us to learn more about the priesthood.
10:00 – Barbara became more frustrated with women who are not interested in learning about the priesthood than those who are and who may even be unhappy.
11:45 – Is this information on the priesthood power of women new, or would someone historical like David O. McKay be aware of it?
13:00 – Are we shoehorning this doctrine into today’s culture because more women are asking questions?
14:45 – Russell M. Nelson has been asking women to study and know this doctrine.
16:50 – What is the difference between the hierarchical and patriarchal structure of the priesthood?
19:10 – Why don’t we talk about the patriarchal structure of the priesthood?
21:05 – Elder and Sister Renlund’s notions of Big Earth and Little Earth priesthood ties in
23:40 – What are priesthood keys and who holds priesthood keys?
28:50 – How are keys different relating to the hierarchical and patriarchal priesthoods? Who is “in charge” in a family? What does presiding mean in a family vs the church structure? Who has keys in a temple? In a mission?
38:55 – What does it mean that keys will be revealed?
39:20 – General priesthood keys vs keys of presiding
41:15 – What priesthood keys do women have?
43:10 – What can a key holder do in a ward to highlight and enable the priesthood power and authority of women?
48:20 – List of questions that are found in the book
49:30 – Who outranks whom when men and women have disagreements at church?
50:35 – Someone has to preside, right?
53:00 – One way priesthood holders diminish authority of women in their homes
55:00 – How can we better understand and improve the revelatory process of submitting names for callings?
1:02:10 – Women of this time have been prophesied about
1:03:00 – It’s never a competition. Men can do more in partnership with women to save souls than they could alone.

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