Proud to be a woman

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to watch a broadcast from Salt Lake for all the girls and women of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ages eight and up. It was a late night for Clara, and I wasn't thrilled about keeping her up late after a late night the night before. However, I am so grateful that we went and felt the sisterhood of everyone there. After watching inspiring messages and videos testifying of Christ and our worth as daughters, sisters, and women at every season and stage of life, I have been thinking about the role of a woman.

(Me and my big sister Heather, circa 1988)

Growing up as the youngest with five older brothers and my sister being eleven years older, I sometimes resented being a girl. I wasn't ever really a tomboy, but I did wish that I could do some things that boys could do. Men have more muscle; they are (typically) more logical; they are (usually) more decisive; they don't have the body pressures that women have; they can lose fat more quickly; they can sing for longer into their older years than women.

(In the innocence of my youth I wished I could walk around without a shirt on like my brothers.)

I also have been annoyed by myself on many occasions. (Michael has come to understand that sometimes I cry and I am not exactly sure even why I am crying, but I nearly always feel better after I do.) I bemoan the focus on the body that women have or the expectations that our society places on women. I resent the cattyness that women can share at times. And while I'd love to have regular cycles so that I can conceive (hopefully again) in a predictable way, I have also wished that we didn't have to undergo that uncomfortable and sometimes miserable monthly occurrence for much of our lives.

And yet, I am proud to be a woman. I am thankful for my femininity. Even though women each share those "girly" traits in differing concentrations, each girl born to earth has those qualities that make her unique from a man. And while not every woman experiences all aspects of their potential on Earth (wife and mother, for example), they will have that promise in the next life. Even as I type it, I feel the Holy Ghost confirming to me the power and beauty of our differences. The Family: A Proclamation to the World declares "Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." I know that I was a woman before I came to earth and I will be one after I die. How awesome is that!

(Even at age six, Clara knows she is awesome.)

The weaknesses of each gender are there to help draw us closer to Christ. Just as a weakness of the stereotypical male might be to be insensitive to the needs of others, a weakness of a woman might be to be too worried about what others think of her. These aren't sins; they are merely inherent "gifts" that force us to come to Him as we recognize our need for His help in our efforts to overcome our shortcomings. Like the Savior says in the Book of Mormon to the prophet Ether,

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

 In the Church, worthy males hold the priesthood, but both men and women can partake of its power. I am thankful for this understanding and feel in no way less or unequal or below a man. The principle of the yin and yang from Chinese philosophy also sheds light on the topic. From Wikipedia I read:

Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary (instead of opposing) forces interacting to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the parts. Everything has both yin and yang aspects, (for instance shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation.

 What a beautiful description of man and woman. Truly, we are so different and yet so important and powerful together. It is just as foolish to say that a woman doesn't need a man to be complete as to say that a man doesn't need a woman to be complete. Both genders are unique in their own purposes and missions, and their combined potential and power is limitless.

(circa 1990)

 (Christmas 2013)

And so, after this rambling, I wish to thank the women in my life who have influenced me. For my mother, my mother-in-law, my sister, my sisters-in-law, and my friends, each woman has taught me something about myself. I am deeply indebted to the men in my life--particularly my father and my husband--who have treated me, my mother, and all women with love and respect. I hope my children--of both genders--understand, respect, and rejoice in their divine differences that can enrich and strengthen each other. I want to help the young women in my ward understand their enormous potential for good and great influence as they stand for truth and righteousness in a decaying world. I bear testimony that the plan our Father in Heaven has for us is a perfect one. While we are not perfect, He loves us perfectly. And we can become the best women we can be through the enabling power of Christ's Atonement.