Creation, Salvation, Exaltation

There's been a big stir recently about the Ordain Women group. Those in the group say that it is a matter of human rights and equality, while leaders in the LDS church say that it is about doctrine. Unfortunately for everyone, the church is highly unlikely to change due to outside pressure, as evidenced by the recent excommunication of Kate Kelly. But on the other hand, leadership saying that it's just how it is and to stop complaining about it isn't really going to win any fans either. Even if it's God who said that it's the way it's going to be.

A few years ago, I was on the same page as these many members who didn't understand why women didn't have the priesthood, and I was on the verge of leaving the church that I was raised in and love because of it. Many conversations and prayers accompanied these feelings. I felt as though if I wasn't good enough to hold the priesthood, then I was nothing. The thing is, though, it's not about whether I'm good enough. I am. Worthiness for something doesn't automatically grant that thing to you. And it doesn't mean that you necessarily should have it, either.

One night as Brian and I were talking about it, he asked me to just keep going to church and doing the things that were expected of me for the sake of our family. And I agreed. On one condition: that if I kept doing what I was supposed to do, that God would teach me why women don't hold the priesthood, and what my worth was if the idea of equal but different really was true. And so a bargain was struck. I didn't think asking God to answer my questions on the subject was out of line if He still wanted me to keep doing the whole mormon thing.

And over the next two years, God taught me what I wanted to know.

Know that these are the answers that were given to me for my situation, and while I firmly believe that they are absolute truth, until someone over the pulpit at General Conference (or in a First Presidency letter) says them as bluntly as this, please don't take it as absolute doctrine. Pray about it. If it's a truth for you to know, God will tell you. I just want to share this in a spirit of love and an explanation of my feelings on the matter, because it's been on my mind a lot.

If you are a member of the LDS church, or if you've ever taken the missionary lessons, you're probably familiar with a little thing called the Plan of Salvation. I'm absolutely in love with the Plan. It's one of my most favorite things about our doctrine. It outlines more or less where we came from, why we are here, and what will happen after we die. Now, every single one of us is firmly in the why am I here stage of things. It's a little thing called mortality. And if you're only thinking of this life as you know it, you might look around at the church and say that it just isn't fair. And it may not be. And for some folks, the explanation that it's just how it is is enough.

For others it isn't though. I'd like to talk to them. And even if you don't agree by the time I'm done, at least we might understand each other a little better.

Basically what it boils down to is this: the job of priesthood is to prepare God's children to receive Salvation. That's what all the ordinances that our men administer to are for. And the church is organized to make sure that the men whose job that is are in charge of making sure that it gets done properly. Are there places where a calling could be given to either gender that is currently only held by men? There may be those callings, but it sure as anything isn't callings like being a bishop.

Now here is where we are going to get into a little bit of the speculation. I don't want to have to list everything that I've read and studied to get to this point, though if there's enough demand I could do so later.

Women are told over and over in the church that the most important job that they can have is to be a mother. And some women feel that isn't good enough. I would have to politely disagree with them. Sure, it's wearying, tiresome, and mostly thankless work, but what is forgotten is that there is an entire act before mortality. The premortal life. We've been told that we prepared there and had to qualify to receive the great gift of a body. Mortality is something that we had to make covenants to achieve. And along with covenants here in mortality there are ordinances required. Why should it have been any different before? And all ordinances have one thing in common: Blood, water, and the Spirit. Baptism and confirmation? Has them represented. Sacrament? Listen to the prayers, all three are also there. The Atonement, which is one of the greatest ordinances that ever happened has all three in spades. And you know what else has those three important things? Birth.

I see birth as being the crowning ordinance of women's work. Priestess-hood, if you will. It is absolutely requisite for our progression, there is sacrifice involved in exchange for the promise of later blessings, and most importantly, a Veil must be passed through to attain it. Some of my personal spiritual experiences have led me to believe that women guide and administrate the work required to organize spirits coming down here. The same way that men do so here to organize those things required to pass through a second veil to attain Salvation. And anyone familiar with the doctrine of Temple Marriage will recognize that Exaltation can only be achieved by a man and a woman bound together through the power of God. Both of whom are equal in His sight.

I know that God lives. That we have both a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who deeply love their children. That through a relationship with them, we can learn about who we can become. I know that we have a Savior, Jesus Christ, and that He loves us and will help us as we strive to become better than we are. That is my testimony.

I don't feel as though I must be less anymore for not being allowed the priesthood. I've come to realize that my brother having a gift that I don't does not in any way make my gifts less important. Nor does it make me less important in the sight of God. Mine is the power of Creation. His is the power of Salvation. And ours together is the work of Exaltation.

Lost things

Best buddies

I was vacuuming the house the other day. It was a miracle, believe me. It needs to happen more often than it does, but that is beside the point. Whilst I was doing this most mundane of chores, an oft treasured memory flitted into the front of my mind.

This memory heavily involves my brother Alan. When we were small children, Alan and I were the best of friends. Nigh on inseparable, you might say. And also needless to say, we were frequently known to borrow each others' things.

It looked exactly like this.

Now, it happened that one day my darling brother borrowed a ring of mine, because quite obviously, it was a magic ring. Now, this ring was very dear to me due to it's origins. My Grandma Lin had a gorgeous amethyst ring that she always wore, and as most little girls would be, I was fascinated by it. It was beautiful, all soft purple and sparkling. My Grandpa had given it to her, if my memory serves me correctly, and I asked him if one day he would get me a beautiful ring like hers. He told me that he would see what he could do, and the next time that he visited, he brought me a beautiful ruby ring. My grandparents had moved houses and found it in their new home, and thought it would be a good gift for a little girl who had asked so pleasantly for something sparkly. And thus, I had a magnificent and magical red ruby ring. One that was utterly irresistible for any little fingers that could find it.

It was this ring that Alan borrowed on that day. And when I came looking for it, the ring had been tragically misplaced. Lost. Hopelessly. After searching with all of my little schoolgirl might, I went to bed bereft. I thought about this ring for years, and would occasionally look for it, hoping against hope that it might turn up.

Someone's treasure chest key too? Bint.

And as I ran the vacuum in my daughter's room, and sucked up something large enough to ping in the vacuum but small enough that I hadn't seen it, I finally realized what had likely happened to that ring. Chances are good that my mom vacuumed it up. And it took my twenty years to realize this. Don't judge, I was expecting it to show back up. It was magical, after all. The only other option is that it went to were all lost things are: Pixie Hollow. And that damned Tinkerbell refuses to give it back.

Deadpool is a Disney Princess

See? Disney Princess. Sort of.

So Brian and I were having an awesome conversation the other night about Disney characters. We were talking about the fact that Olaf's song in Frozen completely takes the characters out of the story and breaks the fourth wall just a little bit. You know the part, where Christoff and Anna are sitting on the picnic blanket and staring around them with the "WTF is going on" look on their faces. You know, it's funny when they start becoming self aware. As we continued along Brian asked me if I could name any Disney characters that would completely break the fourth wall.

Megan: Deadpool.

Brian: Deadpool isn't Disney.

Megan: Yes he is! He's Marvel, and Disney owns Marvel. So that makes Deadpool my favorite Disney Princess.

Brian: Meg, Disney doesn't own Deadpool. Fox does.

Megan: Noooo!! That's just not fair. They don't love him like I do!

Brian: You haven't even read the comics. How do you love him most?

Megan: Because tacos. We're obviously soulmates. And I refuse to believe that he isn't a Disney princess. Don't ruin this for me!

Deadpool is a fangirl too.

Brian:.....

Brian:....Whatever. I love you. But you're crazy.

Megan: Bang. Bang, bang!


He might have a point. But I'll never tell him that. And I don't have to have read all the comics, I just have to like and want to learn more. And here's a really well put together argument for that:

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2014/06/06/fake-geek-girls-fiction-or-reality-video/

Go have a look. It's awesome.


And my Deadpool board on pinterest.

Getting married doesn't mean you can't be a crazy cat lady...

Believe me, I know, because somehow I've managed it. As of last month, we have 4 cats. Despite Brian saying that we were maxed out at two the summer that we got our own house and were no longer accountable to a landlord for our pet situation. Mind, our last landlord let me keep 2 chickens in the backyard, so I'm certainly not complaining.

Gratuitous chickens

So theoretically we were done with acquiring cats. Until there was an adorable stray kitten (I say adorable, most people would describe it as hell-cat, because he certainly wasn't tame) and I wanted, nay, NEEDED, to rescue him. And that is how Bellatrix became cat number 3. And then Brian said that we were definitely done, and that I couldn't have more cats until we had acreage. And a barn for them to live in. But he warmed up to Bella quickly, because we'd been having a little trouble with mice until we took him in. The biggest advantage of taking in a stray is that they have to learn to hunt, or they starve. Our mouse problem stopped within a week, and Brian accepted him as a contributing member of the family.

Now, I knew Brian didn't want any more cats. And I was pretty sure that I was good with that. Part of the reason that Bella got to stay was that he and Romi got along really well, and Tink (Brian's cat), hated everyone (including Romi), but him. Romi wanted and needed a friend. And things went well, until Bella caught up to Romi in size and still wanted to play ferociously. Romi is a great big fatty and loves nothing more than laziness. So Bella wasn't getting as much play as he wanted or needed.

And then I saw a sign that said "free kittens" the week after my birthday. I convinced Brian that we should just go look at them. He knew the look in my eye,

Kitten is cute. Want her, friend?

and said that we were not getting another cat. But he knew that if he let me look, we would probably come home with one. And he took me to look. And we came home with a kitten. The first couple days the other cats were rather displeased with their pets for having brought another master into their house. They didn't like sharing, you see. So I told Brian that if he wanted to we could take the kitten back. I had made sure that they had a return policy if it was needed for any reason. And Brian tried. They weren't home. So he asked one of our friends who adores cats if he wanted the adorable little girl. Our friend's spouse said no. So Brian tried again to take the kitten back. Still not home.

At this point, we were having to leave town the next day to visit friends. So I gave the kitten and Bella baths so that they would smell relatively the same, Brian tried once more to return the kitten, to no avail, and we locked the kitten (who Brian refused to let us give a name, as once you name it you can't get rid of it) into the children's bathroom for while we were gone. Mostly because I didn't want to come home to kitten shredded all over the house. Which probably wouldn't actually happen. Probably. And we left for two and a half days.

Seriously woman, we were sleeping!

When we got back, I let the kitten out of the bathroom. And she and Bella started acting as though they had always been best friends. They had played pawsies under the door the entire time we were gone, it seemed. Bella was mad at me for leaving him for a few days, but he liked the new pet that I had gotten him, so the three days of him hissing at me for leaving were worth it.

Jealous Tink

And today, I triumphed. Brian has accepted the kitten. Well, he accepted her a while ago. We gave her a name when we got back from vacation. She's now officially Lady Sif. From Thor. Because we're nerds. But today, it was known as true that Brian was glad we had her. Because Bella needed another playmate, and Romi needed someone else to groom.

And Tink still hates everyone.

Pecks and Cheekbones

So firstly, 99 page views after only 2 posts. That be whack, people. Not that I'm complaining. That's sort of what I get for sharing on facebook. And the internets in general. I'm actually a little flattered.

This whole thing is pretty stream of consciousness for me, so don't be surprised by abrupt changes of topic. Oh look, here comes one now!

*Not nearly enough of this on the actual show. 

I started watching Arrow this week. After probably 6 months of prodding by my husband. He kept telling me I would love it, but it wasn't until the last month that he started name dropping actors. You know, like River Song, and Captain Jack Harkness. (Yes, I know that those are the characters they play on Doctor Who, but I'm fairly sure that it's who they actually are in real life, and that their real names are actually the characters they put on). I must be clear, I am in LOVE with River Song. Biggest girl crush I have. Right before Angelina Jolie. Anyway, I started watching it Wednesday and am halfway through the season. Now, if you're hardcore nerdy netflix marathoner, you are probably saying: "Pfft. You've only managed 9 episodes. I can do that in a day." Well, maybe you could, crazy person. But you don't have 3 kids. Probably. If you do and are watching that much TV, I have to question if you still actually have those three kids. Go count them and make sure you haven't lost anyone. And then come back here and tell me your secrets. And then I can catch up and we can fangirl together. Because I am loving this show so far. And I'm a little mad that I didn't listen earlier and start watching it a while ago. So if you need a new show to watch because all of your normally scheduled stuff is on summer hiatus, go have a look at Arrow. Or Doctor Who. Or Sherlock. Because man, can I just tell you, cheekbones.

Oh, and apparently it's not a Robin Hood retelling. Which is what I thought the last year. Hence why I was less than interested in watching it. Turns out it's a show about DC comic's Green Arrow. Who knew?

Other people's things

I'm going to rant here for a couple minutes. I HATE it when other people bring their dogs for a walk and let them pee and poo all over other people's yards. Poo is fine if you pick it up, and if you use a little bit of discretion with the peeing, we can still be friends.

Example of Bad:

You know, anywhere that looks like people are actually growing something. Especially keep them out of planter beds. If there's a raised bed, don't be a jerk. Even if you don't think it's a big deal, you may not know what a plant is for. In my case, dogs keep peeing in my lemon balm. So now I'm going to have to move it. And wash it with soap. Lots of soap.

Additionally, if there's a rosebush, don't let your dog pee on it! It's gonna freaking kill them. We finally put some rosebushes in next to the road (to try and remind people not to drive through our yard. Seriously people, have a little respect. We have kids that play out in our yard. I finally have flowers on them (the roses, not the kids), and they are gorgeous! And they smell divine. Which is saying a lot, because I'm not usually much of a fan of flowers, and most roses don't actually smell very good.

If you can't tell, I'm super mad about the whole other people's dogs thing.

Places that are fine for dog pee:

Your own yard. Let 'em go wherever they like. I don't give two cents about where they pee at home. I kinda want to make a sign that says: "Not your yard? Not your dog's bathroom!" Though thinking about it, there was a couple who lived down the street when I was a kid who had a sign that said: "Here lies Dog, cold and hard, the last damn dog, who shit in my yard." That made me smile every time that I went past it. Good times. No idea if it actually worked or not.

The median. Yup, there's this great median in the middle of our street. It has trees and grass and everything. Plenty of room there for you and your dog. Our neighbor takes her dogs there religiously. For which I am very thankful. I'm sure that the neighborhood peeps (we live in a mobile home community, a nice one) will thank you for cleaning up the poo. But we've already established that you need to clean up after the poo.

Any variety of traffic signs. We have both a stop sign and a slow children playing sign in our yard. Just lucky like that, living on the corner. I honestly have no problem with your dog using either one of them. Because it's not something that you can kill. And it isn't technically mine. And my kids really don't play on them or lick them. *Shudder*.

And the reason for my grouching? Somebody was walking their dog last night as I gardened and I had to ask them not to use my garden bed as a dog bathroom. I had my angry eyes on. It wouldn't have warranted a rant had not a dog been found this morning in my yard running around leashless. And the stupid pooch came up for loves instead of going home like I told it to. It's owner came looking and apologized though, so we were good.

This guy is way nicer looking than the ones in my garden.

I then continued weeding my garden bed. Soothing and therapeutic. Until you come upon two daddy long legs making the 16 legged beast. Of course, there's no one to complain to in order to fix that atrocity....Spider sex. *Shudder.*

Why do I care what I name this?

So I decided that I really needed a place to just be able to share my thoughts on anything and everything. Sometimes it will be funny, sometimes serious, and at times it may not make any sense whatsoever. You can expect rambling. Lots and lots of it. And who knows? Maybe I'll actually be able to keep up with a blog this time. I'm not planning on it being a place for family updates, just whatever I want to talk about. That being said, today we get some gifs. Funny ones. At least, they were funny last night at midnight. So maybe take the funny with a grain of salt.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/230598443395120469/

and

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/230598443395118665/


Seriously. Click on them, you'll be glad you did.