Tuesday, August 13, 2019

F. Enzio Busche on the Priesthood and Gender Roles


F. Enzio Busche, the first resident of Germany called as a general authority of the Church, recounted the following experience he had while serving as a temple president, which is important today in light of the “ordain women” movement in some circles and the attempt to ignore basic biology of there being only two genders and how complementary they are to one another:

One day, not long after I had begun serving in the temple, I met a woman in the American military service who came for her own endowment. She was accompanied by some sisters from her ward, as well as a priesthood leader. As Sister Busche and I began teaching her about the temple, I felt that she had a somewhat unsettled spirit and saw a little of that in the sisters who were with her, who were all officers in the military. When the priesthood leader inquired as to when I thought the Church would receive revelation giving the priesthood to women, I was at first so shocked that I felt a strong desire to give a stern response and even question his worthiness to be in the temple.

However, as I momentarily withheld my answer and sought guidance from the Spirit, I was witness to something more remarkable. A calmness from someplace else entered my heart, and I heard myself saying things that were somewhat new to me. As I remember, my remarks, in an abbreviated form, were approximately as follows:

The priesthood is neither male nor female, although it has a male part and a female part. Through the eternal bond of marriage, built on the diving gift of love, the priesthood becomes complete. The roles of the two parts are, of course, vastly different.

Heavenly Father has given the female the role of bringing new life to this world. She does so in a physical dimension—by nurturing, tutoring, training, and teaching—and in the wearing of the very eternal virtues of chastity, loyalty, and wholesomeness, which are essential for the very existence of humankind. Our Heavenly Father has given the male the role of providing, protecting, and admiring. Male and female are in many ways mysteriously different and, because of that, there is a natural desire to love one another in harmony with the divine laws as they have been reestablished by the restoration of the gospel.

The best way to gain an understanding of the male and female part of the priesthood is to be reminded of a tree. As we look at a tree, it appears to be complete with its trunk, branches, leaves, and blossoms; but we know that another, equally important part of the tree is invisible. The roots—which, quite unseen, lie deeply embedded in the soil—are constantly nourishing and strengthening the visible parts of the tree. The roots do not argue with the trunk. They both enjoy oneness.

The temple is the Lord’s essential instrument used to reestablish a true understanding of the male and female parts of the priesthood. In the temple, both men and women were the robe of the priesthood and are given the garments of the priesthood. Righteous men and women learn that although women are not physically involved in conducting the affairs of the priesthood, no man can excel in his priesthood callings for long without the blessing and care and guidance of a righteous woman. When we listen very carefully in the temple and learn to understand and accept our male and female roles, we will soon see ourselves in our limitations. Those who concentrate their efforts in developing the purposes and virtues of their own gender will build tender, bonding bridges between men and women on the basis of natural respect and admiration, inspired by the divine, miraculous power of love. A society that fails to accept the eternal concept of this godly design must pay an unbearable price of confusion for the individual, which can, potentially, lead to chaos, destruction, and the unhappiness of the soul. (F. Enzio Busche, Yearning for the Living God [comp. Tracie A. Lamb; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004], 213-15)