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SHID - Why can only men have priesthood authority and be a prophet?
JOEL -
Only God can answer this question, since he was the one who set it up this way
thousands of years ago. He has not told us to change it nor has He told us why it was set up this way.
God's kingdom has always been a patriarchal organization and as far as we know always will be.
Could be it is a principle that has existed in the eternal past and therefore there is no explanation for its existance.
President Gordon B.Hinckley said to the women of the church:
"It was the Lord who designated that men in His Church should hold the priesthood. It was He who has given you your capabilities to round out this great and marvelous organization, which is the Church and kingdom of God. ("Women of the Church", Ensign, Nov. 1996)
All we know is that while the roles of men and women in this life are different,
they are of equal importance in the eyes of God and all equally enjoy the blessings of the priesthood.
The prophet and president of the church would not be allowed to hold that position unless he had
an eternal companion by his side. The same for a Bishop in the local ward.
"Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord." (1 Cor 11:11)
President Dalin H. Oaks explains how women do have priesthood authority as they serve in the Church:
"President Joseph Fielding Smith, then President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said this: “While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, it has not been conferred upon them, that does not mean that the Lord has not given unto them authority. … A person may have authority given to him, or a sister to her, to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House of the Lord. They have authority given unto them to do some great and wonderful things, sacred unto the Lord, and binding just as thoroughly as are the blessings that are given by the men who hold the Priesthood.”
We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman—young or old—is set apart to preach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function. The same is true when a woman is set apart to function as an officer or teacher in a Church organization under the direction of one who holds the keys of the priesthood. Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties." ("The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood" Dalin H. Oaks, Ensign, May, 2014)
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