I loved
President Nelson’s conference address this morning.
I recently
read an article that indicated the young missionary sisters in the mission
field are questioning their role as leaders in the church and wondering why
they can’t have “more authority.”
Frankly, I hope that article was misleading and misguided about the
sisters’ attitudes.
Shortly
after that I read an article indicating that the “lack of authority” of women
in the church is caused more by culture than by revelation.
Both of
those articles cause me concern because I have a daughter that I want to grow
up to be a faithful young women, mother, grandmother and great
grandmother. I fear her being influenced
by those who do not understand the sacred role of women as designated by God. It is my belief that those attitudes stem
from a lack of faith and trust in a loving God, and a lack of understanding for
His plan for his children—both His sons and His daughters.
Over the
past several years there have been groups of women pushing for more and more responsibilities
in the church and demanding that the apostles treat them the same as they treat
the men in the church. I feel those
women do not understand the sacred gifts unique to women and the way they
compliment the sacred gifts unique to men.
As I
listened to President Nelson, I felt he was outlining the path I, as a mother,
can take to help my daughter understand the power she can have in her sphere as
a women—without jealousy or feelings of inferiority because men have been given
different gifts and responsibilities.
I also had a
sense during President Nelson’s talk that as women, we have been living “far
beneath our privileges”. (See
this talk) I believe this is in part because we are not expanding
upon the gifts we have been given of caring and nurturing and covet the gifts
of presiding and providing.
It seems
many of the talks in this conference have been directed at having the spirit
more fully active in our lives which will help us reach our full God ordained potential. I hope I
will be able to better implement them in my own life that I may rise to my
potential, and help my daughter, son, and husband to do the same.
It is my
testimony that God loves all his children, that He has a plan for each of us,
and that as we seek to follow that plan by obeying the counsel of his living
prophets, we will be guided back to our
Heavenly home where we shall be blessed with all that the Father hath.
