Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Biblical Womanhood and the LDS Church - Part 2

A couple of Julie Beck's talks recently have outlined the things we women do in the LDS Church.  I've already made a list a couple times from her talk, Mothers Who Know, but just so you don't have to click, here's the list again:
  • “. . .In the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels.”
  • The value women place on motherhood in this life and the attributes of motherhood they attain here will rise with them in the Resurrection.
  • We honor sacred ordinances and covenants.
  • We know that if we are not pointing our children to the temple, we are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals.
  • We create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in our homes.
  • We work beside children in homemaking tasks (cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home) to create opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate.
  • We are knowledgeable, but all the education we attain will avail us nothing if we do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth.
  • Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work.
  • We do not abandon our plan (missions, temple marriages, education, prayer, scripture study, and family home evening) by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting.
  • We are selective about our own activities and involvement to conserve our limited strength in order to maximize our influence where it matters most.
  • We consider our homes as a pre–missionary training center.
  • We allow less media in our homes, less distraction, less activity that draws our children away from our home.
  • We are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with our children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying.
  • We choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.

I additionally re-read "Daughters in My Kingdom":  The History and Work of the Relief Society.  Relief Society is the women's organization in the LDS Church.  Again, there's a big list of things we women do, or rather, should do (or should not do in some cases):

  • you are preparing for eternal designations, and each of you has a female identity, nature, and responsibility
  • The success of families, communities, this Church, and the precious plan of salvation is dependent on your faithfulness.
  • bring up [your] children in the light, truth, and strength of the gospel
  • In the growing climate of entitlement, excuse, apathy, and enticement, daughters of God who are not watchful, prayerful, and inspired are increasingly at risk of becoming what the scriptures describe as “silly women” who worship a variety of “strange gods.”
  • many sisters believe the myths more than the truth. Their misalignment with God’s plan is demonstrated in findings that many are not doing essential things such as praying and reading scriptures.
  • The purpose of Relief Society is to prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life as they increase in faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need.
  • Righteous women today seek an outpouring of revelation to resist distractions, fight evil and spiritual destruction, and rise above personal disasters by increasing their faith, strengthening their families, and providing relief to others.
  • Understanding the history of Relief Society strengthens the foundational identity and worth of faithful women.
  • [The Lord] had in mind something much, much bigger than a women’s club or special-interest entertainment group [in regards to the Relief Society].
  • He intended Relief Society to help build His people and prepare them for the blessings of the temple.
  • There is a worldwide hunger among good women to know their identity, value, and importance.  
  • We study our history to learn what we are to do.
  • Through our history we learn how to prepare for the blessings of eternal life.
  • Through Relief Society meetings, the ministry of visiting teachers, and their combined service, daughters of God are taught, watched over, and inspired in their responsibility in the Lord’s work and kingdom.
  • We have also seen an increase in the dignity, identity, and relevance of Relief Society
  • We are seeing an increase of faith and personal righteousness, a strengthening of families and homes, and more relief being offered by Relief Society sisters through the correct use of Relief Society meetings.
  • It has always been a responsibility of Relief Society to participate in the work of salvation.
  • From Relief Society, sisters go forth to serve in Primary, Young Women, Sunday School, and other efforts, and they are beacons of light and virtue to the rising generation.
  • sisters have been at the forefront in sharing the gospel
  • they serve missions, prepare young men and women to serve missions, and invite their friends, neighbors, and family members to share in the blessings of the gospel
  • Today, family history and temple work continue to be some of the primary obligations of Relief Society.
  • Our understanding of our historical purpose helps women learn to prioritize properly so they will “not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor [their] labor for that which cannot satisfy.”
  • Relief Society has always had the responsibility to do as the Apostle Paul taught—to teach young women to be sober, discreet, and chaste and to teach those who are married to love their husbands, love their children, and strengthen their homes.
  • take care of the essential things which will save and sanctify us and the things which are necessary to make us personally self-reliant and useful in the Lord’s kingdom.
  • utilize the power of the Holy Ghost operate with the inspiration of the Lord in their lives and receive revelation for their responsibilities.
  • continue to progress toward the blessings of the temple and eternal life by increasing their faith and personal righteousness, strengthening their families and homes, and seeking out and helping those who are in need. 
  • thrives on the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, who said that when we give our alms (or offerings) in secret, our Father in Heaven, who sees in secret, will reward us openly.
  • we are connected to a great worldwide sisterhood of young and old, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, single and married, strong and immovable daughters of God.
    So, in the next post, how do we put Part 1 & Part 2 of Biblical Womanhood and the LDS Church together?