Women in the Lord's Kingdom
Women in the Lord’s Kingdom
BY ANGELA HALLIDAY
Being a female is a glorious blessing. The world wants to obscure important doctrines and truths about the divine roles of women, but in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we clearly learn and teach vital facts.
Sister Julie B. Beck (former General Relief Society President) taught, “Knowing and defending the divine roles of women is so important in a world where women are bombarded with false messages about their identity. Popular media figures on the radio and television set themselves up as authorities and spokespersons for women. While these media messages may contain elements of truth, most preach a gospel of individual fulfillment and self-worship, often misleading women regarding their true identity and worth. These voices offer a counterfeit happiness, and as a result, many women are miserable, lonely, and confused…. We know we are daughters of God, and we know what we are to do. Women find true happiness when they understand and delight in their unique role within the plan of salvation. The things women can and should do very best are championed and taught without apology here.”
Six important truths and doctrine that we learn in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are:
1. Women are equal (yet different) to men.
“Women do possess distinctive, divine gifts and are given unique responsibilities, but those are not more-or less-important than men’s gifts and responsibilities. All are designed and needed to bring about Heavenly Father’s divine plan to give each of His children the best opportunity to fulfill his or her divine potential.” (Sister Jean B. Bingham-Relief Society General President)
2. Women are divine. Motherhood is divine.
Elder James E. Talmage (an apostle) taught, “The world’s greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ.” Prophets have repeatedly called motherhood “the highest, holiest service assumed by mankind.”
3. ALL women are mothers.
In her landmark talk, “Are We Not All Mothers?”, Sheri Dew (a former counselor in the General Relief Society) says, “Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve ‘the mother of all living’—and they did so before she ever bore a child. Like Eve, our motherhood began before we were born…Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us…. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn’t stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won’t tell you that, but the Spirit will…. And if the day comes when we are the only women on earth who find nobility and divinity in motherhood, so be it. For mother is the word that will define a righteous woman made perfect in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, a woman who has qualified for eternal increase in posterity, wisdom, joy, and influence. I know, I absolutely know, that these doctrines about our divine role are true, and that when understood they bring peace and purpose to all women.”
4. Heavenly Father has placed women at His right hand. Women are His culminating, transcendent creation.
President Gordon B. Hinckley (the 13th President of the Church) said, “Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good.”
5. Women are endowed with priesthood power when they enter into and keep covenants.
We’ve been taught in recent General Conferences that women who are set apart under the direction of one holding priesthood keys operate with priesthood authority in their callings. (President Russell M. Nelson, President Dallin H. Oaks, Jean B. Bingham)
6. Women and men working together are required to accomplish “His work and His glory.”
“One of the things I’ve learned about the priesthood [the power to do God’s work aka God’s power] is that women and men do best when we work interdependently with one another. That’s how the Lord designed it; that is the divine pattern. We don’t need to compete …because all those different gifts and talent and abilities are needed—from both men and women.” (Sister Jean B. Bingham-current General Relief Society President)
In “The Family-A Proclamation to the World” delivered in 1995 by President Gordon B. Hinckley, we learn, “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.”
In a world where women are demeaned, abused and undervalued, I am deeply grateful and comforted that the Lord has given us divine direction about our true and everlasting role in His glorious plan for all of His children.
For some good places to start researching this topic, please see the following resources:
Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church
