Spiritual and religious ignorance are pervasive, destructive seeds of unnecessary conflict. Of course no one needs to be silenced or feel guilty for expressing themselves. But if we want solutions rather than dialogue, we need to understand true information.
1) The worth of a soul is absolutely independent from gender, race, sexual orientation, values/beliefs, religious affiliation, choice of lifestyle, and anything else you can fill in the blank with. This is the stance of the LDS Church.
2) Mormons believe that no individual's worth is tied to their choices. I believe that misconception comes from a strict moral code that the devout adhere to out of pure love for God and disdain for sin because of its consequences, but that unfortunately often comes off as a "holier-than-thou" lifestyle. That is unfortunate, but it is not an issue of having high standards. High standards help people. Rather, it's an issue of people's personal problems- We have them, just like everyone else in this world. However, because we are the ones "claiming moral authority" in a sense, we are expected to back it up by our actions. That's not an unrealistic expectation by society, in fact it's probably a healthy one because it aligns with God's expectations. It would be helpful to those involved on both sides, however, if there were a little more patience and love. In any organization, man's self-gratifying nature will be to twist a "better" life into a "better-than-you" life, turning everything into a battle about who is following God more closely. This is the whole problem.
3) Therefore, no members of the Church are justified in hating Sister Shields for wearing a sleeveless dress, even if it does indicate that she is not wearing a garment. I do find it interesting, at the least, to see someone who has taken this "side road" attempt to now suddenly be a representative for our faith and a hopeful leader. But her value as a person and divine potential are not diminished. The conditions of her salvation are not somehow changed. They are the same conditions as rest upon the entire human family, and they aren't conditions that the Church "made up". They are eternal realities revealed to prophets and evidenced to me through spiritual moments and every day experience. I know that they are true in the most accurate sense of that word.
Some extra reading for those inclined
Mormons have been women's rights champions from the beginning- Utah was actually the second state after Wyoming to adopt women's suffrage in 1870. For every women who chooses to take Sister Shield's position, there will be more who feel nothing but enabled by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, even discounting the lower 80% of the social strata (Not to be a social Darwinist, but to anticipate the following counter-argument- educated people aren't worth more either).
As others in this thread have commented, there is not simply a dumb or uninformed majority of women in the Church- they excel in the world. There is no army waiting to back Shields up when they become enlightened and realize that they are being stifled. Rather, most LDS women understand that in no way is the simple reality of not bearing the priesthood restricting in and of itself. Not spiritually, not physically, and not socially. If women are below men today in LDS culture, that is not a Church organization issue, that is a cultural issue rooted in sin. The cure is Christ, not reform to a divinely established institution.
There is so much more to leading Mormons and Mormon communities than administering the few Priesthood ordinances and functions given to men. Of the pie of service opportunities, only the most extreme dieter would limit themselves to the slice for which bearing the priesthood is required to eat.
Though it does appear paradoxical, my argument is different than the argument that holding the priesthood is "only a formality and that's why women don't need it". I am saying that it should be obvious to all faithful persons that God will more than compensate everyone for any opportunities to serve that they may miss out on by virtue of not holding the priesthood. If you believe in the Plan of Salvation, you will recognize that there can never be a shortage of good to do. And I am also saying that service done in the priesthood does not put the doer of that service on a higher level of worth to God that only worthy priesthood holders can reach. There's no "bonus level".
The root of this entire issue is men for generations believing or acting the opposite of the above paragraph, using the priesthood to levy themselves above their families, their congregations, and their real spiritual selves. That is unfortunate, and that is not likely to change. It is a separate issue that can be addressed through dialogue about how we can eradicate pride among our male leaders. Ironically, this dialogue takes place every six months, in a meeting for men only that some of the comments in this thread seem to indicate is one of the grievances Shields and her crowd are railing against. Complex, complex...
But also, at the end of the day, let's face the facts and acknowledge that we tend to overemphasize the influence of priesthood leaders in our personal lives. Their leadership is greater than 99 percent through example and teaching. In other words, if a bishop is bigoted, usually the worst thing he will do is gloat at the podium and tell us how much better his kids are at making tin-foil dinners or pinewood derby cars. Maybe some exaggerated mission stories will follow... That is a problem, but gratefully that's where it ends, largely because he has two councilors and a ward council to keep him in line, as well as the entire membership to answer to. So the answer isn't "reform the Church", perhaps it is "reform the leaders". Although they rotate frequently and their issues may be deep and difficult to address, helping our leaders lead us may be the best thing we can do. Is that not part of sustaining them?
Another topic that I do not have room or time to comment on is how to have faith that these leaders are called of God when they sometimes seem so incompetent, or at least "less-competent" than Brother business-executive or whoever seems to be the man for the job.
Finally, we are all beggars to God and ultimately nothing more than the "dust of the Earth". The spiteful dialogue found in this thread makes all of us look like the spoiled children of a very indulgent parent who is now apt to regret indulging us. Issues need to be addressed, but the underlying issue here is not a religion problem or a gender problem, it's a side effect of humanity's generally overinflated ego. I believe that the debate on how to best work through this should be framed on that acknowledgement. Let's be accountable.
I also believe that Sister Shield's talk would not exist if local leaders were more aware of the feelings and needs of their members and were willing to work with them while continuing to uphold the teachings of Jesus Christ. That will be my screeching halt to this lengthy disquisition.
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