Heirs According to the Promise

Longtime readers of my blog will note that one of my favorite verses of scripture is Galatians 3:28. I was pondering the passage recently when I had an epiphany.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:27-29

 I started wondering what exactly this promise we are heirs to consists of. We hear about the Abrahamic covenant at church, but not in great detail. So I went to the scriptures for answers.

In Abraham 2, God speaks to Abraham and establishes a covenant with him.

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father;

Abraham 2:9-10

 This passage promises that the seed of Abraham is entitled to the priesthood. The passage in Galatians establishes that all who are Christ's are Abraham's seed, and that there are no distinctions between men and women. So what we have here is scriptural proof that women are entitled to the priesthood.

Some people have said that a woman who is sealed in the temple shares in her husband's priesthood. But that isn't what these verses say. These verses say nothing about marital status. The qualification for becoming an heir to the promise of Abraham is baptism.

When considering the issue of women and the priesthood, I have often pondered Official Declaration 2, which brought us closer to the passage in Galatians by removing racial restrictions on holding the priesthood.

Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in God’s eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.

He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom...

 I hope that the same actions are being taken to realize the promises made to worthy sisters in witness of the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood is still withheld. I look forward in faith to the day when a similar declaration is issued on behalf of our sisters.