Being a Woman

Elder Neil A. Maxwell once said: “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this."

Even though much of the world today views the traditional roles of wife and motherhood as oppressive to women, I am grateful to be a wife and a mother. Being a part of a loving family is more rewarding than any other thing I have accomplished in my life. I am also so grateful to be a woman, and to have more opportunities than women before me have had. But I wish that people wouldn't believe that being a wife and a mother is oppressive to my gender. Elder Bruce C. Hafen, in his talk "Crossing Thresholds and Becoming Equal Partners", he explains that "...the restored gospel teaches the eternal idea that husbands and wives are interdependent with each other. They are equal. They are partners" (Hafen 2007). Although much of the world believes otherwise, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches the doctrine that men and women are completely equal in the sight of God, and that husbands and wives are meant to be equal partners in the marital relationship.

I love being a woman. I know that "all human beings... are created in the image of God" ("The Family: A Proclamation to the World", para. 2). I know that Heavenly Father loves His daughters, and that He blesses them with special gifts.