Posted by Christy on Apr 20, 2016 in Male, Profile |

Hi, my name is Alan. I am 29 years old and have resided in Utah my entire life. I guess you could say I was born into the LDS Church. The Church has always been a part of my life in some aspect, whether it be in a good context or a bad. You could say my life has been somewhat of a struggle. Without going into too much depth, (because I’d be writing until after Ordain Women achieves it’s goals and gains women the priesthood and full equality, if I did) I have learned so much through the afflictions I have experienced. One very powerful and honest fact I have learned, is that no one is better than me, and more importantly, I am no better than anyone else. I know that sounds like a simple concept that everyone has heard at one point or another, but in reality it continues to be one of the most significant banes of humankind. Superiority and inferiority complexes have ruled every aspect of life, in every culture, on all scales; from war to politic, from royalty to untouchables, from rich to poor, from race to geographical, and yes, from gender to religion. But why?

I have come to believe that one major factor contributing to these superiority/inferiority complexes, is what I call, APP’s (Abstract People Profiles). This doesn’t refer to a group of people who are somehow abstract. What I mean by, APP’s, is the way in which we perceive all of the people we don’t “really” know, whether it be due to differences in geographical location, culture, economics, race, gender, religion, etc. or even just the small differences in all of our life experiences. We tend to see all of these people we don’t “really” know as more abstract and vague “ideas” of people and not as actual “real” people like ourselves, our family, and our friends. A good example of what I mean, is the way we see celebrities. We either love a certain celebrity or we hate a certain celebrity, but either way they aren’t a “real” person like we are, or like our family and friends are. They exist as more of an “abstract idea” that represents a person in our heads, and this is where superiority/inferiority complexes like to spring up from. Okay, so, if they aren’t as “real” as we are, simply because we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting them, and getting to know and understand them, and because we haven’t experienced all of the same life shaping situations and circumstances that they have, then what’s the solution? Are we supposed to get to know every human being on the planet at the level of family and friends? Thats not possible!

As I said earlier, I have had some struggles in my life. Struggles that have allowed me the opportunity to get to “really” know all kinds of people. The entire spectrum, the full gamut, the whole kit and caboodle. People I never would have thought I’d have anything in common with. What I’ve learned and what has been affirmed to me time and time again is that, while we are all so spectacularly different, we are all amazingly the same no matter where you come from. We are all human beings.

Understanding this powerful truth unlocks the ability to bypass the prerequisite of having to become best friends with everyone on earth in order to “really” know them, care about them and see them as “real” people. I know that I am a 100 percent “real” human being, with a “real”, in depth and intricate story and who expects to be treated equally. If I know that, then I know that every human being is equally real with an equally in depth and intricate story and expects to be treated equally. All that’s required is for us to recognize that every human being is a “real” person, exactly as much as we are. There is no need to break human kind up into sub-categories. All that matters, or should I say, all that should matter is that we are all “real” human beings worthy of being loved, respected, and held as high as all the rest.

Now, with all that said, I still forget this more often than not. Everyone will. The only person who never forgot this was, Jesus Christ, the shining example who brought this doctrine to the attention of human kind. I know that human beings will never get it all right, but if we start now, and reach for the universal equality practiced by the one person who got it all perfect, who knows how close we can come.

I believe women should be ordained.