Women, by comparison had an equal but different power: Motherhood. Women could never create planets or galaxies or heal people, but their power was, we were assured, almost as good as priesthood. Well, third in line. Priesthood first, then being a supportive and obedient wife to a priesthood holder, THEN motherhood. Not good enough to let you do really important stuff like preside over meetings, collect fast offerings, or bless the sacrament, but not bad.
The really hilarious thing about this is when you finally wake up to the realization that only one of these powers is even a real thing. Spoiler: it ain't priesthood. We can see women all around us every day performing the truly amazing power of growing a human being inside their own body, then bringing it out into the world, and nourishing it and raising it.
Where do I go to see an actual, physical, visible demonstration of this greater priesthood power by which universes are created and the dead are brought back to life? I'll tell you where you won't see it. A funerals and hospitals attended by LDS prophets.
Here's the other reason motherhood would be vastly superior to priesthood, even in an imaginary world where priesthood was a real thing. Motherhood is reliable. It happens whether a woman has drank a cup of tea or laughed a baudy joke. Priesthood, on the other hand, despite being the most powerful thing in the universe is more fragile than a snowflake. They talk like it's a nuclear furnace but it's really a feeble flickering candle that can be blown out by the tiniest draft. This is verified by scripture:
Remember Vaughn J. Featherstone's talk about how if your child dies you can resurrect them with your priesthood power UNLESS you have looked at porn or masturbated, in which case your child will DIE?D&C 121:37 ...when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man.
Secretly, even the most admired priesthood holders are always living in constant terror of finding themselves in a situation where people expect priesthood miracles from them. Ether they know, deep down inside, that priesthood is imaginary, or they fear they are not (nor ever could be) worthy to exercise it.
