Divine Roles of Men & Women (Part 2)

You may not know this, but many non-living things have a gender:

Ziploc Bags?

Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

A Tire?

Male, because it goes bald and it’s often over-inflated.

Gender Things:

A Subway?

Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

A Hammer?

Male, because it hasn’t changed much over the last 5,000 years, but it’s handy to have around.

Copiers?

Female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again. It’s an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreak havoc if the wrong buttons are pushed.

A Hot Air Balloon?

Male, because, to get it to go anywhere , you have to light a fire under it, and of course, there’s the hot air part.

A Web Page?

Female, because it’s always getting hit on.

An hourglass?

Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

Sponges?

Female, because they’re soft, squeezable and retain water.

A remote control?

Female

Ha! You thought it would be male, didn’t you? But consider this, it gives a man pleasure, he’d be lost without it, and while he doesn’t always know the right buttons to press, he keeps trying.

It’s Good to be a man!

Your last name stays put.

The garage is all yours.

Wedding plans take care of themselves.

You can be President.

Car mechanics tell you the truth.

New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet.

Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.

A five day vacation only requires one suitcase.

You can open all of your own jars.

If someone forgets to invite you to something, they can still be your friend.

Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.

You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.

You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.

You don’t have to shave below your neck.

You can do your nails with a pocketknife.

You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.

You can do Christmas shopping for twenty-five relatives on December 24th in 45 minutes.

It’s good to be a man!

In the 1800’s, a young widow by the name of Sally Bush struggled to provide an existence for herself and her three young children while living on the frontiers of Kentucky. Oh, how she wished for relief. How she wished help were available.

One day, a man she had known some years before came to visit her. Like Sally Bush, he also was a widower and had two small children. He was dressed in a nice suit of clothes and polished boots.. He came with a proposal of marriage and talk of a prosperous farm, with servants. Sally Bush accepted his proposal of marriage and crossed the river in a beautiful carriage to view her new home. What she found was a broken down, windowless, floorless shack. And, there were no servants there. Only two thinly clad, barefoot children. The father had borrowed the suit, the boots, and the carriage to go courting.

Sally Bush Lincoln

Deeply hurt and disappointed, her first reaction was to leave. “I cannot stay,” she thought. But as she turned to go, she looked at his two children, especially the younger one, a boy with a thin face and an unusually sad countenance. As she looked into his eyes, a great spirit subdued the disappointment of her heart. She was moved and felt compelled to respond in love. She slipped off her sweater and began to straighten and clean. Without anger or criticism, she simply said “I will stay for the sake of this boy.”

“Oh, Sally Bush, what a treasure trembled in the balance that day,” wrote one whose mother was a neighbor of the boy. But Sally Bush could not have known that day as she looked into the eyes of a ten-year-old boy, that her stepson would one day become the president of the United States and would eventually be numbered among its dead. Sally Bush Lincoln, discouraged and tired, poor and deeply disappointed, answered the call to nourish and love a child as she said “I will stay for the sake of this boy.”

EMMA SMITH

D&C 25

D&C 25:17 The Lord’s voice to all women!She was older than Joseph Smith by about a year and a half.She had a strong Methodist background.Eight months into their marriage they received the plates.She never did see the plates.President of the Relief Society (March 17th, 1842).Married Major Lewis Bidamen on December 23, 1847.Died at the age of 74 in Nauvoo.She lost six of her eleven children.

“An Elect Lady”

Lucy Mack Smith wrote:

“I have never seen a woman in my life, who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal, and patience, which she has ever done; for I know which she has to endure…She has breasted the storms of persecution, and buffeted the rage of men and devils, which would have borne down almost any other woman” (History of Joseph Smith, 190-91).

Joseph Smith stated, “The Church was never perfectly organized until the women were thus organized” (C.H. in the Fullness of Times, 248-249).

John Taylor wanted to call it the Nauvoo Female Benevolent Society.

The women present at the meeting persuaded Joseph to call it the Relief Society.

Emma was the first president for 2 years.

It disbanded when they went west to the Rocky Mountains and started again in 1860.

It was officially reinstated in the Church in 1867.

1. Spiritual Living2. Homemaking3. Social Relations4. Mother Education5. Cultural Refinement

Elder Packer said that Relief Society is not really optional, it is as important as attending Priesthood for the brethren.

5 Areas of Emphasis in the Relief Society:

1. Provoke the brethren to do good works!

2. Correct morals and strengthening virtues in the community!

3. Administering relief to those in need.

President Gordon B. Hinckley explained how phrase “Elect Lady” relates to the women of today, including young women: “Each of you is an elect lady. You have come of the world as partakers of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. You have made you election, and if you are living worthy of it, the Lord will honor you in it and magnify you” (C.R., Oct., 1984 110).

Three Main Purposes of Relief Society:

Brigham Young said when you educate a man, you educate a man, when you educate a woman you educate a posterity.

Sister Camilla Eyring Kimball taught:

That every girl and woman should have the desire and ambition to qualify in two vocations:

1. Homemaking

2. Preparing to earn a living outside the home.

We want our sisters to be scholars of the scriptures… “Before you fall in love with a choice young man, fall in love with the scriptures, for they will help you to prepare for the future spiritually” (President Kimball, New Era, July, 1981, 8).

“When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire of 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 congress? 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 celestial time. The women of God know this.

“Finally remember: When we return to our real home, it will be with the ‘mutual approbation’ of those who reign in the ‘royal courts on high.’ There we will find beauty such as moral ‘eye hath not see’; we will hear sounds of surpassing music which mortal ‘ear hath not heard.’ Could such a regal homecoming be possible without the anticipatory arrangements of Heavenly Mother? (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, C.R., Apr., 1978, 13-15).

“Men and Women have complementary, not competing, responsibilities. There is difference but not inequity. Intelligence and talent favor both of them. But, in the woman’s part, she is not just equal to man, she is superior! She can do that which he can never do, not in all eternity can he do it. There are complementing rewards which are hers and hers alone” (Boyd K. Packer, Priesthood Restoration Fireside, May 7, 1989).

Motherhood is near divinity. It is the highest, holiest, service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in Israel we say god bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage, the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall enable you to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours” (First Presidency, messages of the First Presidency, vol. 6, 178).

President Hinckley added, “How grateful I am for mothers. I think it’s been the mothers who have been the great carriers and purveyors of faith throughout the history of the Church. I believe that with all my heart” (Pres. Hinckley, Church News, May 20, 1995).

President Kimball said, “no greater honor could be given to a woman than to assist in bringing forth children. A woman will find no greater satisfaction and joy and peace and make no greater contribution to mankind than in being a wise and worthy woman and raising good children.

Mothers have a sacred role. They are partners with God, as well as with their own husbands, first in giving birth to the Lord’s spirit children and then in rearing those children so they will serve the Lord and keep his commandments. Could there be a more sacred trust than to be a trustee for honorable, well-born, well-developed children? (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Nov. 1978, 102-106).

The role of the successful mother is a lifetime of dedication. It is the most exacting and difficult of all professions. Anyone who would say apologetically, “I am only a homemaker,” has not fully appreciated the importance and intricacy of her profession. Camilla Eyring Kimball, Ensign, March, 1977, 58-59).

President Howard W. Hunter said:

“The Lord intended that the wife be a help-meet for man (meet means equal) – that is, a companion equal and necessary in full partnership.” (“Being a Righteous Husband and Father”).

President Spencer W. Kimball said:

“We do not want our LDS women to be silent partners or limited partners in that eternal assignment. Please be a contributing and full partner.” (Ensign, Nov. 1978, 106).

Many Latter-day Saint women are placed in situations where husbands are called to serve in positions where they must maintain confidentiality of the members they serve.

At such times, it is not uncommon for wives to have feelings of being “left out.” It is a natural reaction and comes because of the human nature of the individual. Like Emma, most wives are interested in their husbands’ activities and are used to sharing in his interests and responsibilities. To be separated from such sharing experiences often produces these feelings.

Joseph and Emma exchanged many letters during their 17 years of marriage that provided much comfort to Joseph. Sixteen of Joseph’s and five of Emma’s letters are still in existence. In almost every letter, Joseph referred to her as “my dear wife,” or “my dear affectionate Emma.” Approximately two years before the martyrdom, Joseph was forced to go into hiding on an island located between Nauvoo, Illinois and Montrose, Iowa. On the night of August 11, 1842 Emma risked her life to visit and comfort Joseph. Afterward in a letter to Emma, Joseph wrote:

“What unspeakable delight, and what…joy swelled my [heart] when I took by the hand on that night, my beloved Emma - she that was my wife, even the wife of my youth and the choice of my heart. Many were the vibrations of my mind when I contemplated for a moment the many scenes we had been called to pass through, the fatigues and toil, the sorrows and sufferings, and the joys and consolations…Oh, what… thoughts filled my mind! And again she is here, even in [this last] trouble-undaunted, firm, and unwavering, unchangeable, affectionate Emma” (HC 5:107).

President N. Eldon Tanner said:

“Women, you are of great strength and support to the men in your lives, and they sometimes need your help most when they are least deserving. A man can have no greater incentive, no greater hope, no greater strength than to know his mother, his sweetheart, or his wife has confidence in him and loves him. And men should strive to live worthy of that love and confidence”(Ensign, Jan. 1974, 8).

President Spencer W. Kimball said:

“Women are to take care of the family– the Lord has so stated– to be an assistant to the husband, to work with him, but no to earn the living, except in unusual circumstances…Too many mothers work away from home to furnish sweaters and music lessons and trips and fun for their children. Too many women spend their time in socializing, in politicking, in public services when they should be home to teach and train and receive and love their children into security” (TSWK, 318-19).

President Kimball said:

“I beg of you, you who could and should be bearing and rearing a family: wives, come home from the typewriter, the laundry, the nursing, come from the factory, the care. No career approaches in importance that of the wife, homemaker, mother…” (Fireside address, San Antonio Text; quoted in President Benson’s “To the Mothers in Zion”).

The counsel for women to remain in the home, as a full-time homemaker is a great challenge in our day.

President Benson said:

“Our beloved Prophet Spencer W. Kimball had much to say about the role of mothers in the home and their callings and responsibilities. I am impressed tonight to share with you some of his inspired pronouncements. I fear that much of his counsel has gone unheeded, and families have suffered because of it. But, I stand this evening as a second witness to the truthfulness of what President Spencer W. Kimball said. He spoke as a true prophet of God” (“To the Mothers in Zion”).

President Gordon B. Hinckley said:

“Some years ago President Benson delivered a message to the women of the Church. He encouraged them to leave their employment and give their individual time to their children. I sustain the position which he took. Nevertheless, I recognize, as he recognized, that there are some women (it has become very many in fact) who have to work to provide for the needs of their families. To you I say, do the very best you can. I hope that if you are employed full-time you are doing it to ensure that basic needs are met and not simply to indulge a taste for an elaborate home, fancy cars, and other luxuries”(“Women of the Church,” Ensign, Nov. 1996, 69).

President Benson said:

“Since the beginning, a women’s first and most important role has been ushering into mortality spirit sons and daughters of Father in Heaven…(and) to teach [them] eternal gospel principles. She is to provide her children a haven of security and love regardless of how modest circumstances might be” (The Honored Place of Woman,” Ensign, Nov. 1981, 105).

President Kimball noted:

“The Lord said: ‘My sheep know my voice.’ So do the little ones respond to their mothers. The maid, the neighbor, the sister, the grandmother may clothe and feed and diaper the child, but no one can take the place of mother. The [story is told of a ] six-year-old who got lost from his mother in a large supermarket and began to call frantically, ‘Martha, Martha.’ When the mother was found and they were reunited, she said, ‘Honey, you should not call me Martha; I am ‘Mother,’ to you. The little [boy replied] ‘Yes, I know, but the store was full of others and I wanted mine.”

President Benson warned:

“Young mothers and fathers, with all my heart I counsel you not to postpone having your children …Do not use the reasoning of the world, such as, ‘We’ll wait until we can better afford having children, until we are more secure, until John has completed his education, until he has a better-paying job, until we have a larger home, until we have obtained a few of the material conveniences,’ and so on. This is the reasoning of the world, and is not pleasing in the sight of god… Do not curtail the number of your children for personal or selfish reasons” (“To the Mothers in Zion”).

If motherhood is one of your foreordained roles, then it is reasonable to believe that God has also endowed each of you with the qualities associated with that role.

If you will let him, he will help you develop and refine those qualities to fulfill your role as a mother.