Dallin H. Oaks states that Church leaders "are not free to alter the divinely decreed pattern that only men will hold offices in the priesthood."
Dallin H. Oaks, "The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood" General Conference, April 2014, accessed June 28, 2023
The divine nature of the limitations put upon the exercise of priesthood keys explains an essential contrast between decisions on matters of Church administration and decisions affecting the priesthood. The First Presidency and the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve, who preside over the Church, are empowered to make many decisions affecting Church policies and procedures—matters such as the location of Church buildings and the ages for missionary service. But even though these presiding authorities hold and exercise all of the keys delegated to men in this dispensation, they are not free to alter the divinely decreed pattern that only men will hold offices in the priesthood.