I have never thought of things in this way:
"I've often heard women express pain over the fact the LDS church (and most religions in general) are so male centered-- only men hold the priesthood keys, there are much fewer women in the scriptures than men, and while we know we have a Heavenly Mother we don't hear much about her. These are questions that eat away at many LDS women's (and men's) hearts and make it hard for some of them to remain true to their faith. Yet when we remember that we have already passed through the first veil, over which women preside, and are now working towards the second veil, over which men preside, it makes much more sense why our world is so male centered.
Besides, who knows, if we could only glimpse into the pre-mortal world and see the other side of the veil would we see a world which was very female centered because the focus is on preparing children to go through the first veil? Would we see women (and men) working with their Heavenly Mother to prepare souls of mankind to receive their mortal bodies, teaching them their pre-mortal lessons, and guiding them to their earthly homes? Maybe.
We also know that in the pre-mortal existence that Satan and a third of the host of heaven rejected God's plan to come to earth and receive mortal bodies (D&C 29:36). Because they were not faithful in keeping their first estate Satan and his third are the only ones out of God's children that will never pass through the first veil; no woman will ever create a body for them or shed her blood by bearing them into the world, nor will they ever have wives or children. This is one of the reasons that many of Satan's tactics are directed at women and at the structure which protects and guards the first veil... the family. Satan is doing everything in his power to convince women that their bodies, which are the gateway through the first veil, are dirty, ugly, imperfect, dysfunctional and of no importance. He is doing everything he can to distract and confuse women so that they abandon their responsibility as the guardians of life into this world. If he can destroy women's faith in their bodies and help them lose sight of the importance of the first veil---and the power and sanctity of conception, pregnancy and birth--- then he is well on his way to thwarting God's plan.
In as much as (the woman) was the first to (eat) the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.... I have sometimes pondered that if Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit first then one of the consequences may have been living in a matriarchal oriented world. As it happens, a consequence of Eve being the first to "fall" is that we have a patriarchal world.
ReplyDeleteSo much hinges of the exercise of agency and the various potential outcomes of those choices.
I saw a presentation that was similar to this called "The Two Trees". It covered the same topics.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point. Thank you for posting this. As a female I feel attacked by unseen forces everyday. This helps put it into perspective. I need to remember this article especially when things get hard. Printing this one out. Thanku
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. Sounds similar to an article you posted about around a year ago from Mormon Scholars Testify.
ReplyDeletehttp://mormonscholarstestify.org/1718/valerie-hudson-cassler
Instead of using the veils she uses the symbols of the two trees to show each role and its significance.
http://www.womeninthescriptures.com/2008/12/importance-of-birth.html
ReplyDeleteThis is the article mentioned about about the two trees, and the two veils, how women hold the power of the first veil, coming into mortality, and men hold the power of the second, which is passing out of mortality and back into Heaven. It's a beautifully written piece and well worth the read.