Called to Mother because she was the mother of all living. Genesis 3:20 By Dayna B. McKinnon
The Family: A Proclamation The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children. 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. In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally. The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan. Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sa-
cred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives mothers and fathers will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations. The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. 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. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed. We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society. This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah. http://lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/ en2006lp.nfo:o:117.jpg
Choosing to Mother Ch 12 A Woman can do and be anything now days. Why choose to mother? Before we came to this earth we agreed to the plan set forth by a loving Father in Heaven that would allow all his spirit sons and daughters the opportunity to come to this earth where they could obtain a body and prove their worthiness for eternal exaltation. The commandment to bear children was given to Adam and Eve and has not been rescinded (The Family: A Proclamation). 1 It then becomes a matter of obedience as much as anything else. The prophets declared: Motherhood thus becomes a holy calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord s plans, a consecration of devotion to the uprearing and fostering the nurturing in body, mind, and spirit, of those who kept their first estate and who come to this earth for the second estate to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them (Abraham 3:25). To lead
them to keep their second estate is the work of motherhood, and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever. Ch 8 I want to be successful and achieve something. "The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. " C.S. Lewis There are many great things women are capable of accomplishing, but no matter how noble or worthy that may be, No other success can compensate for failure in the home. (McKay 3 ).
2 A Daughter of God (Ch 2) Can t I be important as an individual? Every woman is a daughter of God. By our very nature we are of infinite worth. Our worth is part of our nature whether we are good or bad, whether we do right or wrong, no matter what. All human beings are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents and each has a divine nature and destiny. (proclamation para 2) You are a daughter of God. He knows you, He loves you, and He has a plan for you. Young women everywhere who know they and others are daughters of a loving Heavenly Father show their love for Him by living virtuous, service-oriented, exemplary lives. (Tanner)
Our worthiness is another matter to consider. It is based upon our obedience to God and his commandments, our willingness to do his will. (Dollahite p221). There are many good things we can do with our life. But to find salvation we must use our life to do what Our Father in Heaven would have us do. As we understand our divine nature it will influence our actions and desires. Daughters of God know that it is the nurturing nature of women that can bring everlasting blessings, and they live to cultivate this divine attribute......you are and must be, all that you were prepared to be in royal courts on high by God Himself. May we use with gratitude the priceless gifts we have been given for the lifting of mankind to higher thinking and nobler aspirations (Nadauld)
3 A Daughter of God What about my personal growth and development? Ch 6 Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. As a woman, and daughter of God, you are expected to develop your talents and skills, for your own benefit and that of others. It is part of your divine heritage. Remember: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will b lose his life for my sake shall c find it. Matthew 16:25 I believe that I am a child of God endowed with a divine birthright. I believe that there is something of divinity within me and within each of you. I believe that we have a godly inheritance and that it is our responsibility, our obligation, and our opportunity to cultivate and nurture the very best of these qualities within each of us. Gordon B. Hinkley
Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty. You participate with God in His work of creation not only by providing physical bodies for your children but also by teaching and nurturing them. If you are not a mother now, the creative talents you develop will prepare you for that day, in this life or the next. The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. - Uchtdorf Motherhood develops many desirable and marketable skills. no paying job will ever be as difficult or rewarding as motherhood. No job will ever require and develop such a diversity of job skills: creativity, endurance, patience, fortitude, knowledge, intuition, and the ability to make snap decisions. ~ Crum
4 Celestial Partnership Why do I have to be married to be someone? Ch 3 After Adam and Eve were created they were commanded to cleave to one another. We were created to be together as husband and wife. Through the covenant of marriage we become partners with God in his great work and by so doing come to know him better. (Dollahite p9) Marriage carries with it many temporal blessings as well. Those who are married in general enjoy greater health and financial prosperity than their non-married counterparts. Married people tend to enjoy greater economic benefits, physical health, mental health, not to mention sexual benefits. They live longer and tend to be healthier. The same trend is not found in those who are unmarried or co-habitate. (Dollahite pp16-26)
God, in His divine plan, ordained marriage to bring about His basic organizational unit the family. There must be the proper approach toward marriage, which contemplates the selection of a spouse who reaches as nearly as possible the pinnacle of perfection in all the matters that are of importance to the individuals. Then those two parties must come to the altar in the temple realizing that they must work hard toward this successful joint living (Perry para 28). The lord has warned that those who do not follow his commandments will find themselves cut off from his people. Those who are sealed will be what Joseph Smith called a, whole and complete and perfect union. (Dollahite p13)
5 An Help Meet Why do I have to live under the authority of a husband? Ch 4 By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness. (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, 7) While God s plan for families is one of orderliness, it is also a plan of equality and interdependence. Eve was created as an help meet for Adam. This is often mistaken as a help-mate, one to serve under Adam; but a closer study of the original Hebrew language and revelation reveals that help meet means a help equal to Adam, one worthy of him and equal to the task he has been given, to provide for the children of God. Although husband and wife are equal, they have each been endowed with unique abilities that make them ideally suited for one task over another. By divine nature fathers are to provide and protect. Mother s have been given an extra measure of spirituality, suiting them for the special task of nurturing the spirit children of Heavenly father.
Spouses need not perform the same functions to be equal. The woman s innate spiritual instincts are like a moral magnet, pointing toward spiritual north except when that magnet s particles are scrambled out of order. The man s presiding gift is the priesthood except when he is not living the principles of righteousness. If the husband and the wife are wise, their counseling will be reciprocal: he will listen to the promptings of her inner spiritual compass just as she will listen to his righteous counsel. - Hafen God never intended that His children should stand alone. We have the gospel, the scriptures, living prophets and apostles, and the Holy Ghost to help us. This is not man s work nor woman s work; it is God s work, which is centered on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. May God bless us all to find inspired consensus and unity as we counsel together in our families. Only in so doing can our families begin to approach their full potential. Ballard
6 An Eternal Marriage So many marriages are miserable and end in divorce, what s the point? Ch 5 While there will always be trials and growth, much heartache can be avoided by making careful preparations and selections for marriage. While there are no mythical soul mates, there are individuals who are more suited for you than another. It is important to look for one who is similar to you in spirituality, cultural background, and long term goals. Paying attention to these details will greatly increase your prospects for a successful marriage. The best way to avoid divorce from an unfaithful, abusive, or unsupportive spouse is to avoid marriage to such a person. If you wish to marry well, inquire well. Associations through hanging out or exchanging information on the Internet are not a sufficient basis for marriage. There should be dating, followed by careful and
thoughtful and thorough courtship. There should be ample opportunities to experience the prospective spouse s behavior in a variety of circumstances. Fiancés should learn everything they can about the families with whom they will soon be joined in marriage. In all of this, we should realize that a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection. President Spencer W. Kimball taught: Two individuals approaching the marriage altar must realize that to attain the happy marriage which they hope for they must know that marriage means sacrifice, sharing, and even a reduction of some personal liberties. It means long, hard economizing. It means children who bring with them financial burdens, service burdens, care and worry burdens; but also it means the deepest and sweetest emotions of all. - Oaks
7 A Righteous Posterity Do I have to have children? 6 & 9 Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that God s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. 3 President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that in the eternal perspective, children not possessions, not position, not prestige are our greatest jewels. ~Beck, The value women place on motherhood in this life and the attributes of motherhood they attain here will rise with them in the Resurrection (see D&C 130:18). Women who desire and work toward that blessing in this life are promised they will receive it for all eternity, and eternity is much, much longer than mortality. There is eternal influence and power in motherhood. ~ Beck
If I am an at-home-mom what will I do all day? Ch 11 &7 Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. In our society of wealth and excess the values of work and service are being lost. Mothers are in the prime position to teach their children how to work and serve, and the benefits derived from such activity. It is the daily, little interactions that carve the character of a child. Elder Perry stated, If we will build righteous traditions in our families, the light of the gospel can grow ever brighter in the lives of our children from generation to generation. Our family activities and traditions can be a beacon to the rest of the world as an example of how we should live to merit His choice blessings and live in peace and harmony until the day that He returns to rule and reign over us. (May 1990 Traditions Ensign, 19-20)
8 Mother of all Living What if I never have the opportunity to be a mother? Ch 10 Lorenzo Snow said: There is no Latter-day Saint who dies after having lived a faithful life who will lose anything because...opportunities were not furnished him or her. Martin Luther penned a meaningful statement regarding woman s place when he wrote, When Eve was brought unto Adam, he became filled with the Holy Spirit, and gave her the most sanctified, the most glorious of appellations. He called her Eva that is to say, the Mother of All. He did not style her wife, but simply mother mother of all living creatures. In this consists the glory and the most precious ornament of woman. (lee para 1)
Not all women will have the opportunity to bear children in this life, or their situation may take them out of the home to work, but that does not mean they are not called to be mothers. See what Sister Julie B. Beck has to say about women and the call for women to develop a mother heart. What is a mother heart and how is one acquired? We learn about some of those qualities in the scriptures...a woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her. By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood. Whatever principle of intelligence [she] attain[s] unto in this life, it will rise with [her] in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through [her] diligence and obedience than another, [she] will have so much the advantage in the world to come (D&C 130:18 19).
9 Inspired Direction But everyone says I can have what I want, I don t have to choose. (ch 1) There are many philosophies and ways to gain knowledge. Some of them are used by Satan and his angels to confuse the children of God. You must recognize sources of true information to find true happiness in this life and the next. Secularism and rationalism gain answers by evidence seen in and around the world. If this is all you rely on then you miss that which may be gained by faith, by belief in that which is true but cannot be seen. (Alma 32:21) Individualism focuses on the needs of the individual over the needs of the many. It will always take a selfish approach to life and ignores the truth that exaltation is a family matter (Nelson, para 37). 6 A Hedonistic approach to life is described in 2 Nephi 28:7-8. It is driven purely by pleasure without regard to standards and guides set by God. It is the exact opposite of the course prescribed I want to be able to enjoy my life. Ch 1 in Matt. 10:39, that he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it Materialism is an distraction of the adversary that leads us to pursue where moth and rust corrupt and neglect the plan as outlined by our father in heaven. It sends us on a fruitless treasure hunt that will leave us empty in the end. The proclamation declares happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When considering information it is always important to consider the source. Is the information based on popular culture or extreme ideas? Does your Authority have recognized credentials giving them authority? Even when considering what the brethren have said you need to look at the context of their words and their authority when the direction was given. Revelation is the means by which we can find our path toward true happiness. There are many voices calling to us, calling like the sirens of the deep which drew the sailors from a safe course to their destruction. Additionally,... circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation (proclamation Para 7). Let us earnestly seek the light of personal inspiration. Let us plead with the Lord to endow our mind and soul with the spark of faith that will enable us to receive and recognize the divine ministering of the Holy Spirit for our specific life situations and for our challenges (Uchtdorf para 21) 4
Citations 1The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." lds.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Oct. 2007. Web. 11 Jun 2011. 2The First Presidency (1942, October), The message of the First Presidency, in Conference report, 759, 761. 3 Teachings of the President of the Church: David O. McKay. Chapter 16: The Noble Calling of Parents. Lds.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web. 11 Jun 2011. 4 Uchtdorf, Dieter F. Your Potential, Your Priviledge. General conference. Apr 2011. LDS.Org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web. 27 Jun 2011. 5 Lee, Harold B. Maintain Your Place as a Woman. Ensign. Feb 1972. Web. 29 Jun 2011. 6 Nelson, Russell M. Salvation and Exhaltation. General conference 2008. LDS.org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web 11 Jun 2011. Nadauld, Margaret D. The Joy of Womanhood. General Conference. April 2011. LDS.Org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Web. 29 Jun 2011. Tanner, Susan W. Daughter s of Heavenly Father. General Conference. April 2007. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Web. 29 Jun 2011. Dollahite Beck, Julie B. A Mother Heart. General Conference. Apr 2004. LDS.ORG. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web.27 Jun 2011 Beck, Julie B. Mothers Who Know. General Conference. Oct 2007. LDS.ORG. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. Web.27 Jun 2011 M. Russell Ballard, "Family Councils: A Conversation with
Elder and Sister Ballard", Liahona, June 2003, 12 Hafen, Bruce C. Crossing Thresholds and Becoming Equal Partners. Liahona. Aug 2007. 26-31 Oaks, Dallin H. Divorce. General Conference. April 2011. LDS.Org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Web. 11 July, 2011. Crum, K. G. (2005, May). A mother s place. Today s Woman, p. 40. 4 Uchtdorf, Dieter F. Happiness Your Heritage. General conference. October 2008. LDS.Org. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Web. 27 Jun 2011. Images at LDS.ORG 13 July 2011.