Our Thoughts on Womanhood

Susan Easton Black, noted researcher and teacher, wrote an article about womanhood in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the many roles women may have (daughter, sister, wife, mother, woman). She also reflects on women from Church history to illustrate her points about these roles. She reminds us of the importance of “adher[ing] to the truths of the scriptures and modern prophetic counsel” that can “lead [us] to the commitment of being a faithful daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Such a commitment will lead [us] to greater happiness in mortality and joy in the eternal realms.”

Read another woman’s thoughts on being a woman in the Church.

For more on this topic, see our library link on womanhood.

Share your thoughts about the joy, power, and importance of womanhood below! (Comments are moderated, so they will not appear immediately.) You can share your thoughts on other topics here.

Womanhood

The Relief Society Declaration states that we as Mormon women “find…joy in womanhood.” Understanding the plan of God brings that joy, and gives us clarity about our sacred place, value, and eternally-important roles as daughters of God and women in the Church.

President Spencer W. Kimball said the following:

The scriptures and the prophets have taught us clearly that God, who is perfect in his attribute of justice, “is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). … We had full equality as his spirit children. We have equality as recipients of God’s perfected love for each of us. The late Elder John A. Widtsoe wrote:

“The place of woman in the Church is to walk beside the man, not in front of him nor behind him. In the Church there is full equality between man and woman. The gospel … was devised by the Lord for men and women alike” (Improvement Era, Mar. 1942, p. 161).

President Kimball goes on to explain how even as we are equal before God, “our roles and assignments differ” as men and women. (More can be found about gender roles here.) There are those who want to declare that unless our roles and responsibilities can and are the same, we will never be equal. This is a falsehood that the doctrines of the gospel help to dispel.

Following are some links that further explore these doctrines.

Margaret D. Nadauld: The Joy of Womanhood

Words of the Prophet: Daughters of the Almighty

Susan Easton Black: Happiness in Womanhood

You Are All Heaven Sent

Sheri Dew: It is Not Good for Man or Woman to be Alone (discusses how women and men must work in partnership in order for God’s plan to work and for us to reach our full potential)

M. Russell Ballard: Women of Righteousness

Women of Faith

Arta M. Hale: Lessons in Womanhood: Insights for Latter-day Saint Women from the Lives of Vashti, Miriam, Ruth, Hannah, Jezebel, and Esther

Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball on Women in the Church

Elaine Cannon: The Case for Mary (addresses ideas found in radical feminism, and what used to be called the women’s liberation movement)

Ambitious to Do Good

Barbara Thompson: The Errand of Angels is Given to Women

Richard G. Scott: The Sanctity of Womanhood

Russell M. Nelson: Daughters of Zion

Spencer W. Kimball: The Blessings and Responsibility of Womanhood

Dallin H. Oaks: The Relief Society and the Church (discusses much about historical facets of the role of women in the Lord’s work; even addresses the issue of women anointing and giving blessings, which they did for a time in the earlier stages of Church history)

Sheri Dew: Are We Not All Mothers?

Gordon B. Hinckley: The Women in Our Lives

Jeffrey R. Holland: To Young Women
Boyd K. Packer: Children of God

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You can also search our site or lds.org on topics such as the following:

Gender roles

Motherhood

Eternal Identity

Eternal Perspective

Self-Worth

Articles and Talks on Gender Roles

The Proclamation to the World on the Family declares the following:

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….

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

More on this topic can be found by reading the material in the links below.
2008 Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting

Sheri Dew: It is Not Good for Man or Woman to be Alone

M. Russell Ballard: Women of Righteousness

Boyd K. Packer: For Time and for All Eternity

A Parent’s Guide, Chapter 4

M. Russell Ballard: The Sacred Responsibility of Parenthood

The Sacred Role of Mothers

The Sacred Role of Fathers

Spencer W. Kimball: The Lord’s Plan for Men and Women

David A. Bednar: Marriage is Essential to His Eternal Plan

First Person: “Before Our Eyes”

O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers (Mosiah 1:6-7)

As I was reading this passage the other day, specifically that phrase “because we have them before our eyes,” something jumped out at me. It’s not a terribly profound insight, very simple in fact.

In order to grow my testimony of the scriptures, or, in other words, to know of their surety, I do have to have them before my eyes. It’s not enough to just have them in my heart, relying on what I have read before. There is something in having the physical volume of the scriptures open to my view.

King Benjamin bids his sons not just to look upon, not just to read the scriptures, but to search them. Specifically, he reminds them to “remember to search them diligently.” I love that use of the word “remember.” How easily I do forget. How easily I get caught up in my busy life and grow lax on such a simple observance. It is all too easy to rest on what I already know and cease to seek for more from those sacred words, but there is always so much more to be found.

It was by seeming chance that I picked up my scriptures the other day, and perhaps mere coincidence that I opened to the Book of Mosiah. Maybe, but I choose to heed the message. I hope I continue to remember, and keep the scriptures before my eyes.

-Naiah E.

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Do you have thoughts you want to share on the topic of scriptures (or other gospel themes)? Would you like to write a First Person article for this site? Please see our Sharing Our Voices feature for more information on how you can!

Articles and Talks about the Savior

Jesus Christ is the center of all we do and all we believe as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following is a small sampling of talks and articles about the difference the Savior can make in our lives as we come to Him.

David A. Bednar: In the Strength of the Lord

President Boyd K. Packer: “I Will Remember Your Sins No More“

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: Broken Things to Mend

Elder David A. Bednar: Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Elder Dallin H. Oaks: He Heals the Heavy Laden

Elder David A. Bednar: Ye Must Be Born Again

President Ezra Taft Benson: “Come Unto Christ and Be Perfected in Him“

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “Come Unto Me“

President Ezra Taft Benson: Come Unto Christ

Sharing Our Voices: Donny Osmond’s “My Beliefs” Site

Donny Osmond has created a website that addresses many of his/our beliefs as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here is a link to various multimedia presentations, narrated by Donny, about beliefs such as the purpose of life, the Book of Mormon, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, priesthood, and many other topics.

Personal Revelation

One of the most important things we can build in this life is a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven. He has given us the gift of prayer so we can talk to Him anytime, anywhere, about anything. And then we learn through experience, over time, how He communicates with us. For each person, this may be different. And it may be different depending on the circumstances as well.

We can prepare to receive personal guidance, direction, and communication from God — what we as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints call personal revelation — by reading scriptures and pondering them, praying often, fasting, and gratefully recognizing the blessings in our lives. The scriptures also teach us that we need to “ask in faith, nothing wavering.” That faith is essential to receiving answers to prayers, and to building a personal relationship with God.

How do answers come?

Elder Robert D. Hales, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said this in a recent talk:

By unwavering faith, we learn for ourselves that “it is by faith that miracles are wrought.”¹⁸

Generally, those miracles will not be physical demonstrations of God’s power—parting of the Red Sea, raising of the dead, breaking down prison walls, or the appearance of heavenly messengers. By design, most miracles are spiritual demonstrations of God’s power—tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, ideas, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to bear disappointments and sorrow.

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For more information on this topic, please see the following links:
Elder David A. Bednar: That We May Always Have His Spirit to be With Us (audio link, >video link)Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Personal Revelation (audio link, video link)Gerald N. Lund: The Still Small Voice: Revelation and How it Can Come (audio link)
“Does God answer my prayers?” – Jennifer shares her experience with receiving answers to her prayers at a critical decision point in her life when she was learning about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“How can I feel closer to God?” – Noelle shares her experiences with receiving answers to her questions

Education and Learning

Emmeline B. Wells, who was the Church’s fifth General Relief Society President, said this: “I believe in women, especially thinking women” (“Why, Ah! Why” Woman’s Exponent, vol. 3, Oct. 1, 1874, p. 67).

We are members of a Church that values education — the training of the spirit, mind, heart, and hands to be prepared for life and to make a meaningful contribution to our families, the Church, and our communities. Education opens the door to opportunity, can provide much fulfillment and personal growth that can be an important part of our eternal journey, and can enable us to serve others and help God in His work.

“Ask and ye shall receive”

At one point or another, most of us reach a point in our lives when we know that we don’t know enough to make the decisions we need to make. It is at these times when prayer and personal guidance (revelation) from God are such a blessing and necessity. Although prayers aren’t always answered when or how we want them to be, we know that they are heard, and that they are answered, in God’s own way and in his own time. Usually, answers come through feelings of peace, clarity, and confidence. Sometimes, ideas can come into our minds. Sometimes, figurative doors open in our lives that let us know that God is involved and is guiding our path.

We are a Worldwide Sisterhood

Through the Church’s organization for women, the Relief Society (the largest women’s organization in the world), we as Mormon women feel a connection with each other as a worldwide sisterhood. Our lives, personalities, talents, challenges, and opportunites may differ, but our faith in Jesus Christ and our desire to serve and reach out to others binds us together.

For more on this topic, please see the following links: