1
As we enumerate the many important responsibilities a woman has in
connection with her duties as a wife, a mother, a homemaker, a sister, a
sweetheart, or a good neighbor, it should be evident that these
challenging responsibilities can satisfy her need to express her
talents, her interests, her creativity, dedication, energy, and skill
which so many seek to satisfy outside the home.
It is impossible to
estimate the lasting influence for good a woman can have in any of these
roles.
"No Greater Honor: The Woman's Role" N. Eldon Tanner General Conference October 1973
2
A mother has far greater influence on her children than anyone else, and
she must realize that every word she speaks, every act, every response,
her attitude, even her appearance and manner of dress affect the lives
of her children and the whole family. It is while the child is in the
home that he gains from his mother the attitudes, hopes, and beliefs
that will determine the kind of life he will live, and the contribution
he will make to society.
"No Greater Honor: The Woman's Role" N. Eldon Tanner General Conference October 1973
3
Sisters,
now more than ever, we need women to step up and be strong. We need
women who declare the truth with strength, faith, and boldness. We need
women to set an example of righteousness. We need women to be “anxiously
engaged in a good cause.” We need to live so that our lives bear witness that we love our
Heavenly Father and the Savior Jesus Christ and that we will do what
They have asked us to do. We need to rescue “all that is finest down
deep inside of [us]”
so that as daughters of God we can do our part to build the
kingdom of God. We will have help to do this. As Joseph declared, “If
you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from
being your associates.”
Let
us bear one another's burdens, mourn with those who mourn, comfort
those who stand in need of comfort, and thus keep the covenants we have
made.
"Now Let us Rejoice" Barbara Thompson General Relief Society Meeting September 2008
4
Who can justly measure the righteous influence of a mother’s love? What
enduring fruits result from the seeds of truth that a mother carefully
plants and lovingly cultivates in the fertile soil of a child’s trusting
mind and heart? As a mother you have been given divine instincts to
help you sense your child’s special talents and unique capacities. With
your husband you can nurture, strengthen, and cause those traits to
flower.
5
A woman not of our faith once wrote something to the effect that in her
years of working with beautiful women she had seen several things they
all had in common, and not one of them had anything to do with sizes and
shapes. She said the loveliest women she had known had a glow of
health, a warm personality, a love of learning, stability of character,
and integrity. If we may add the sweet and gentle Spirit of the Lord
carried by such a woman, then this describes the loveliness of women in
any age or time, every element of which is emphasized in and attainable through the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
6
I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality
of what that means, to know who you truly are.
You are literally a
spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal
destiny.
That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be
fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature
womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your
dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in
Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your
prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and
frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him.
Because of this divine heritage you, along with all of your spiritual
sisters and brothers, have full equality in His sight and are empowered
through obedience to become a rightful heir in His eternal kingdom, an
“[heir] of God, and joint-[heir] with Christ.”
Seek to comprehend the significance of these doctrines.
Everything Christ taught He taught to women as well as men. Indeed, in
the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
a woman, including a young woman, occupies a majesty all her own in the
divine design of the Creator. You are, as Elder James E. Talmage once
phrased it, “a sanctified investiture which none shall dare profane.”
7
I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves,
including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look
like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are
short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some
time or other wants to be something they are not! But as one adviser to
teenage girls said: “You can’t live your life worrying that the world is
staring at you. When you let people’s opinions make you self-conscious
you give away your power. … The key to feeling [confident] is to always
listen to your inner self—[the real you.]”
And in the kingdom of God, the real you is “more precious than rubies.”
8
God placed within women divine qualities of strength, virtue, love, and
the willingness to sacrifice to raise future generations of His spirit
children. . .
Sisters have key roles in the Church, in family life, and as individuals
that are essential in Heavenly Father’s plan. Many of these
responsibilities do not provide economic compensation but do provide
satisfaction and are eternally significant.
9
. . . No woman should ever feel the need to apologize or feel that her
contribution is less significant because she is devoting her primary
efforts to raising and nurturing children. Nothing could be more
significant in our Father in Heaven’s plan.
10
A woman’s richest rewards will come as she rises to fulfill her destiny
as a devoted daughter of God. To all faithful
Saints He has promised
thrones, kingdoms, principalities, glory, immortality, and eternal
lives. That is the potential for women in The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. It is exalting, everlasting, and divine.
No comments:
Post a Comment