Church History Matters | Episode 194: “How are Women Connected to the Priesthood?”

March 3, 2026

Hosts: Scott & Casey
Guest/Co-Host: Lisa Olson Tate, Church Historian

Episode Overview

This episode launches a new series exploring the relationship of women to the priesthood in Latter-day Saint (LDS) history. Recognizing the complexity and sensitivity of this subject, the hosts, Scott and Casey, are joined by historian Lisa Olson Tate. Together, they set out to examine how women have participated in, been affected by, and shaped priesthood practices, authority, and discourse, both historically and in the modern church. The episode introduces the historical context, key questions, and sources—especially the Gospel Topics essay “Joseph Smith’s Teachings About Priesthood, Temple, and Women”—that will underpin the series.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Framing the Series: Scope, Fear (& Tangents)

• The topic of women and priesthood is acknowledged as “one of, in my opinion, the most complicated subjects in the history of the church…” (Scott, 01:12).
• The hosts explicitly strive to avoid “mansplaining” (Scott, 01:43), bringing Lisa Olson Tate on as a co-host for expertise and corrective perspective.
• The series intends a focused, historical approach, avoiding general discussions about women in the Church or contemporary doctrinal debates (“We are talking about what’s happened in the past… as historians,” Lisa, 09:02).
• There is candid acknowledgment that strong feelings exist on all sides, and the goal is to lower the temperature by focusing on context and history, not by resolving theology or engaging in polemics.

2. Lisa Olson Tate’s Credentials & Perspective

• Lisa introduces her extensive experience in Church History (editor on the “Saints” series, “Gospel Topics Essays,” chief historian for the Young Women’s organization, and ongoing research on Susa Young Gates—a pivotal LDS women’s leader: 03:11–04:35).
• She clarifies the importance of historical “spadework” and the value of examining unplowed ground—the nuanced, often overlooked dimensions of women’s experiences.

3. Key Questions Driving the Series

• Why are only men ordained to priesthood offices in today’s church, and not women?
• What kinds of asymmetries—practical or theological—arise from this structure?
• How has the question of women’s authority in the Church shifted over time?
• What does it mean to say women “exercise priesthood authority” without holding offices? (see discussion starting at 10:13–12:18)

4. Historical & Cultural Assumptions: Male Headship

• The assumption of "male headship" underpins much of the 19th and early 20th-century church context (42:25+).
• Scott notes, “Women in the church would not even ask the question of whether or not women could be ordained to the priesthood…That’s a ridiculous question because of the way that we understand the universe is ordered” (45:02).
• Lisa expands: “The unspoken has power because it’s not spoken, because it’s assumed, it’s not confronted, it’s not unpacked… It’s encoded in the law, it’s encoded in religion, it’s encoded in social practice,” (45:30–46:00).

5. Defining Priesthood: Historical Shifts

• Modern and historic definitions of “priesthood” differ significantly:
  • In the early church, “priesthood” meant the office or status of being a priest—it was tightly tied to specific offices and rituals (25:25, quoting the Gospel Topics essay).
  • In later LDS vernacular, it shifts toward the idea of “God’s power and authority”—a definition still evolving.
  • Quotes from the Gospel Topics essay illustrate these shifts (22:34–23:39). Lisa and the hosts stress the importance of not speaking past each other by imposing modern definitions on historical sources.

6. Women Organized “in the Order of the Priesthood”

• The Relief Society’s founding in 1842 is discussed as a pivotal moment:
  • Women were organized “in the order of the priesthood, after the pattern of the church” (24:19, Lisa).
  • Joseph Smith authorized women to have “presidencies” and “officers” mirroring priesthood quorums, and used priesthood-inflected language for their authority—even though women were not ordained to male priesthood offices.
  • Lisa: “The Relief Society is part of the church. It’s organized by priesthood authority, and it is not something separate. And it’s organized according to the pattern.” (25:37; see also 28:00–30:00).

7. Temple Theology: Priesthood Partnership

• A major theme is the enduring significance of temple covenants and the concept of men and women as “priests and priestesses…That was…hard to overstate how big of a departure that was and then how it created this beautiful model that we have of men and women in partnership, working together…” (Lisa, 30:00)
• “Neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord … [They] invoked that scripture all the time in the 19th century…” (Scott & Lisa, 31:11–31:19).
• The idea that both men and women act with priesthood authority in the temple persists as a bedrock of LDS understanding, even amid practical and hierarchical distinctions.

8. Modern Shifts: Language & Women’s Priesthood Authority

• Today, the conversation recognizes women in the Church “exercise priesthood authority even though they’re not ordained to priesthood office. Such service and leadership would require ordination in many other traditions…” (32:15, Casey reading from the Gospel Topics essay)
• There remains an “ambiguity” or “sidestepping” of the blunt question “do women hold the priesthood?” (32:15–34:46, Casey and Lisa’s exchange). Lisa: “There is…a distinction there between men and women and their relationship to priesthood. And we are not as comfortable saying that out loud as we used to be, but it is still true.” (34:46)

9. Terminology, Power, and Authority

• Priesthood as “God’s power” is a later understanding; early saints distinguished between power, gifts of the Spirit, and offices or channels of authority (40:41–41:40).
• The hosts note confusion arises from changing meanings of “ordination,” “authority,” “quorums,” etc.

10. Historical Recovery: Why Women’s History Matters

• Lisa stresses the historical neglect of women’s stories and the ongoing need for “recovery work” (56:45–58:00).
• “Women’s history is one of our fundamental pillars … to find the voices and experiences of women that are often hard to find and that are buried and then to integrate those into the way that we tell our history and think about our history.” (58:00)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Avoiding “mansplaining”:
  “We acknowledge that we are both men and we would like to avoid the very appearance of mansplaining the history of women in the church.”
  — Scott (01:43)

• On Historical Approach:
  “We are not predicting. We are not doing theology and doctrine…We are talking about what’s happened in the past. We’re trying to understand things in historical context.”
  — Lisa (09:02)

• On Male Headship:
  “Christ is the head of man, man is the head of woman, and it creates this gendered hierarchy.”
  — Lisa (42:51)

• On Changing Definitions:
  “…the word priesthood itself has gone through such a transition and meaning since the early days of the church. That’s not even a phrase they would use. In Joseph Smith’s day, they wouldn’t talk about men holding the priesthood, let alone women. Now we talk about it as a matter of course, right?”
  — Scott (33:17)

• On Relief Society’s Creation:
  “It’s not just women forming a club or a social group…It’s organized by priesthood authority, and it is not something separate. And it’s organized according to the pattern.”
  — Lisa (25:37)

• On the Temple Model:
  “…it was a radical departure to say women would be priests and queens. And part of this fundamental relationship that we understand of exaltation, that it requires men and women together.”
  — Lisa (30:00)

• On Why This Series Matters:
  “Women’s history is one of our fundamental pillars of what we do because we consider it that important to do what’s called recovery work, to find the voices and experiences of women that are often hard to find and that are buried, and then to integrate those into the way that we tell our history and think about our history.”
  — Lisa (58:00)

Key Timestamps

• 00:00–02:25: Series introduction; why the topic is challenging and important.
• 02:55–04:35: Lisa Olson Tate’s bio and her church history projects.
• 05:29–06:47: On the precise language—“priesthood” vs. “the priesthood.”
• 10:13–12:18: Initial tough questions—ordination, asymmetry, changing language around women’s authority.
• 17:41–20:24: Gospel Topics essay background and context.
• 22:34–23:39: How early Saints and Americans defined “priesthood.”
• 24:19–25:26: Relief Society organized “after the pattern of the priesthood.”
• 30:00–31:19: Priesthood partnership, temple blessings, men and women “in the order of the priesthood.”
• 32:15–34:46: Modern ecclesiastical language and ambiguity about “holding the priesthood.”
• 40:41–41:40: The distinction between priesthood power and spiritual gifts.
• 42:25–47:30: Male headship, its historical silence, and the slow evolution of roles and expectations.
• 56:45–58:00: Why women’s history is necessary and still underway in LDS historiography.

Upcoming Topics in the Series

• Tracing the history of the discourse around women and priesthood, especially the Relief Society and spiritual gifts (healing, prophecy).
• Shifts in organizational roles and vocabulary.
• Women's experiences in the temple from the early to the modern era.

Tone & Style Highlights

• The hosts’ style remains candid, self-deprecating, and careful; Lisa Olson Tate brings scholarly rigor and clarity, often redirecting to the historical context and cautioning against presentism.
• They embrace uncertainty and complexity, modeling respectful inquiry and “lowering the temperature” for difficult discussions.
• Humor is used to ease tension (e.g., the running “tangents” and pockets-in-dresses jokes, 07:06–09:02), but always circles back to focus on substance.

Conclusion

This kickoff episode sets the foundation for a thorough, nuanced exploration of women’s historical relationship to priesthood in LDS history. It foregrounds the importance of language, context, and cultural assumptions; lays out the distinctiveness of 19th-century beliefs; and calls for “recovery work” in women’s history as fundamental to understanding the Latter-day Saint tradition. The series promises deep dives into foundational sources, shifting terminology, and the ongoing evolution of women’s ecclesiastical and spiritual roles.