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

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
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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
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