"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose."
This has made me more aware of my eternal identity as a woman. There are women (LDS or not) who get riled up that women don't hold the Priesthood in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint faith. Through this unit, I learned more about who I am as a woman and my role as a woman in God's plan.
It makes me sad that there are LDS women that are even fighting to have the Priesthood and be "equal" to men. The funny thing is is they don't get it. They don't understand that it isn't the Church calling the shots - it is God. A testimony of the gospel will change that. If they truly had a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of the General Authorities, they wouldn't be like that.
Videos about women and motherhood
I don't mean to bash on people. I don't like contention. But as Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Tolerance does not require abandoning one's standards or one's opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination."
I fell into this trap of thinking why women cannot hold the Priesthood. But I have a testimony of the Apostles and Prophet so I trust that they speak for God the Father. I had to rely upon this as I wondered why. This Unit in this class made me realize how divine the role of women and men are. We have different roles for a reason. Those differences make us a whole.
Elder Dallin H. Oaks
In another unit I will be speaking about the roles of both men and women according to the wonderful Family Proclamation. So I will leave that for that Unit.
But I would like to touch a little bit on some talks that were read in this Unit.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson in his talk "The Moral Force of Women" stated: "Women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy, and refinement in relationships and in culture." He later continues, "As grandmothers, mothers, and role models, women have been the guardians of the wellspring of life, teaching each generation the importance of sexual purity - of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage."
Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Elder D. Todd Christofferson quotes Margaret D. Nadauld: "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity."
Women have so much influence in their children's lives. And isn't that what life is about? Teaching and learning?
I am taking a Parenting class this semester. I didn't think I would have to take one but I thought it sounded fun. I always thought parenting was love and discipline and that was it. My Parenting Class has made all the difference. We don't have kids yet, so I am excited to be somewhat prepared for when we do have kids. It was funny, because one day I told my husband that I am so glad I took this Parenting Class. It is great because it implements secular learning and gospel learning. He told me that he is glad too so that I can teach him. I told him that though the husband does help out in parenting, they are usually gone at work all day and if I didn't know how to parent, I would be in big trouble! Women have such an influence on their children.
Let's move on to the men. There was a time that I wondered, "Why do women always get the flowery 'you are all so good' while the men get the chastisement from the General Authorities?" I thought to myself, "I don't know about other women, but I need chastisement sometimes too." I am not telling this story to compare men and women. I am telling it to say that we all need to improve. No one is exempt from trying to be a little better than we already are.
Videos about Men and Fatherhood
In the talk "Brethren We Have a Work to Do," Elder D. Todd Christofferson states the following: "Prepare to be a good husband and father; prepare to be a good and productive citizen; prepare to serve the Lord, whose priesthood you hold."
Take special note of the of the last part "whose priesthood you hold." The priesthood is not something a man is born with. The priesthood is a gift given from God (it is God's power) to those men who are worthy to bless the lives of OTHERS. I sometimes feel bad that my husband can't get blessings right in the home because he cannot bless himself with his priesthood authority but he can bless me and it has been so wonderful having a husband who holds such a powerful gift. For I have needed blessings in my life often.
I would like to quote what Elder Christofferson noted in his talk to say to the men. He said, "Yes, brethren, we have work to do. Thank you for the sacrifices you make and the good you do. Keep going, and the Lord will help you."
I would like to second what Elder Chirstofferson said. I don't think the men get the thanks enough for what they do or at least try to do.
Our identities are important to the Lord. President Boyd K. Packer said in his talk "For Time and All Eternity" the following: "There is nothing in the revelations which suggests that to be a man rather than a woman is preferred in the sight of God, or that He places higher value on sons than on daughters. All virtues listed in the scriptures - love, joy, peace, faith, godliness, charity - are shared by both men and women, and the highest priesthood ordinance in mortality is given only to the man and woman together."
This part is about same-gender marriage. In "The Divine Institution of Marriage" it states: "The all-important question of public policy must be: what environment is best for the child and for the rising generation? While some same-sex couples will obtain guardianship over children, traditional marriage provides the most solid and well-established social identity for children. It increases the likelihood that they will be able to form a clear gender identity, with sexuality closely linked to both love and procreation. By contrast, the legal recognition of same-sex marriage may, over time, erode the social identity, gender development, and moral character of children. No dialogue on this issue can be complete without taking into account the long-term consequences for children."
Here is a little video I found on the Proclamation. If for some reason it isn't working, you can see it at the following link. https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-07-48-proclamation?lang=eng
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