I think when people talk about authority in the church they mean literally authority “in the church.” It’s an organization. And some people are authorized by the organization to run the organization.

Then those given authority to run the organization decide whether and on what conditions I get to participate in the organization. They can decide whether I’m allowed to even be a member of it.

That’s all that is meant by authority, but I don’t think anything else really could be meant.

In the case of the lds church, the people with that authority are men. Not women. People can debate about whether that’s the way god wants it, or whether that’s just how humans *think* god wants it. But we have to acknowledge that that is the system that exists. The people authorized by the organization to run the organization are male. The organization affirmatively does not allow women to exercise that authority.

And that’s my only point. You can’t really talk about the “merits” of that system if we don’t agree on what that system is.