The Gift of Womanhood
Let’s face it, there’s been a lot of talk lately about Mormon women. Perhaps these sentiments are true for some. They are not true for me! Never in all the time that I’ve been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and that’s all of my life) have I ever felt inferior or second-rate because I happen to be female. I’ve never felt as if I am somehow less important in the eyes of the Lord and in the Church because I’m a woman. I’ve never once been envious that I do not hold the Priesthood, that I can never be a Bishop (spiritual leader of the local Church unit). Why should I be envious when I already have the most wondrous of gifts – Womanhood?
Consider the following quotes:
“Women are the real architects of society.” (Harriet Beecher Stowe, abolitionist and novelist)
“Womanhood: the highest place of honor.”(President James E. Faust, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church until his death in 2007)
“Woman is God’s supreme creation. 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.
Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, 15th called Prophet and President of the Church who passed away early this year)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints honors and respects women. The men of the Church, the priesthood holders, are taught to honor the sanctity of womanhood. The Relief Society is the Church’s organization for women. This inspired program brings women of the Church together in the spirit of a sisterhood in Christ. Relief Society meetings on Sundays gives women of the Church the opportunity to learn about the Savior and to learn from each other. We share and celebrate our lives and experiences as women, as daughters and sisters, and as mothers.
Every year a Women’s Conference is held at Brigham Young University. This year, the Women’s Conference will be held on May 1-2. Women’s Conference provides a spiritual lift for Latter-day Saint women from all walks of life. Many women attend this Conferene with their daughters making it a special annual event just for them. Those of us who live outside of Utah can also participate via BYU Television. BYU Broadcasting tapes the Conference every year and rebroadcasts them all over the world on BYU Television. You can access it on their web site. You can also view videos of previous Conferences on their site. Their archives go back to 1997.
Some Stakes (group of congregations or wards, generally about three thousand to five thousand members in five to ten congregations) around the country also hold their own Women’s Conference. Our Women’s Conference for our Stake is going to be held on March 8. It is open to both women of the Church and to any other woman who wishes to come and learn with us. We’ve been looking forward to this Conference for a while for it promises to be a day of fun and inspiration.
Sisters, womanhood is sacred in the eyes of God. When I reflect on the faith and long lasting influence of women from the Scriptures and from my own life, I find that I have no desire to be anything but the best woman (and all the roles that come with this wondrous title) I can be.
The Empowered Mother
Several years ago I decided to bite the bullet and go for my graduate degree. I had the full support of my husband and so I started at the University of Pittsburgh. It was something I’d wanted to do for a long time but it just never seemed to be the right time. Besides we just weren’t ready financially to do it before. Not that we were really set financially when I started graduate school but my husband’s career was going well and we were able to take care of our children and everthing else that we needed to at the time. We also realized that as parents of three young boys there really wasn’t going to be any perfect time.
I knew immediately after I started my graduate program that I was going to be in serious trouble if I didn’t get up to speed real fast on technology. Although we owned a computer I was far from being what you’d call “computer literate” by any stretch of the imagination. Up to that time I was only using our computer for two things, word processing and email and very rarely at that. I could type fairly well so I had that going for me. We still used typewriters when I was an undergraduate student some 16 years earlier. I remember going to a typing lab instead of a computer lab if I had to type a paper back then. I was also fairly familiar with one or two search engines but again not a proficient user at all.
Since I was going into the Information Sciences field a number of my classes were oddly enough on computers and technology. Imagine that! One of the classes that I remember quite vividly required us to build a website completely from scratch (for lack of a better word). That meant learning HTML and really understanding it if I wanted my website to turn out well. I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard or spent so much time on a class. There were periods of frustration and one or two sleepless nights. I felt like I was being thrust into a completely foreign world and that there was no way I was going to master any of it. Needless to say I did eventually master it before the end of the semester. Not only did I have a professional website to show for my efforts but I also learned some valuable lessons along the way. In fact, by the time I graduated, I felt as if I had gotten more out of graduate school than just my degree.
I learned that there really isn’t anything I can’t do if I put my mind to it. I learned that there is nothing wrong with asking questions over and over again if I don’t understand it the first, second, or even the third time. I learned that mistakes are a necessary part of the process. I also learned that it is never too late to learn a new skill and that we are never too old to learn.
It is in this spirit then that I want to talk specifically with mothers – and I mean all mothers. Whether you are a new mother or one whose kids are all grown, a mother who works outside the home or a stay-home mom, we all know the challenge of finding time to do everything that we want to do. I hope that you do make the time. It doesn’t have to be a lot of time, it can be as little as 15 minutes a day.
I hope that you are all lovers of learning. I hope that you are all looking for ways to always learn whatever your circumstances are. My mother (who is now a grandmother several times over) just learned how to use email last year. She is now in the process of improving her typing skill and speed with the help of a computer program.
My goal in this section is to offer simple tutorials or point you to some good ones online that you can start using if you are interested in learning more about technology, specifically computers and the Internet. If there is something that you’ve always wanted to learn in this area let me know and I will try my best to find you the best resources for it.
One of the greatest gifts we have in this life is the ability to learn. Our Church leaders have always encouraged us to seek learning and education. President Hinckley reminds us that the Lord wants us to be a learned people. He reminds us that we have “a mandate from the Lord to educate our minds and our hearts and our hands…The Lord wants you to train your minds and hands to become an influence for good as you go forward with your lives. And as you do so and as you perform honorably and with excellence, you will bring honor to the Church, for you will be regarded as a man or woman of integrity and ability and conscientious workmanship…”
I love learning. As mothers I think that one of the greatest gifts we can give to our families and children is to instill in them a love of life-long learning. Learning is empowering!
Looking to 2008
With 2008 just around the corner, many of us are thinking about our goals, plans, and dreams for the new year. For some of us, it might be the same thing every year. For others, it might be something completely new and different. A new year offers us all an opportunity for a new beginning. It gives all of us an incentive to examine those areas in our lives that can use some improvement and then do something about it.
According to several polls, these 5 New Year’s resolutions rank consistently high year after year.
Spend More Time With Family – Most of us would like to spend more time with our loved ones. We’d like to play with our kids more, talk with them more, and just do more things with them. We’d like to spend more time with our spouses. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known by some as the Mormon Religion), places a strong emphasis on the family. As members of the Church, we set aside one evening a week to spend with our families. During this time we may read and study scriptures, or we may play board games and do other fun activities. We can also use this time to do a family service project for another family in our neighborhood. We refer to this time as Family Home Evening. Even if you’re not a Mormon you and your family can still set aside one evening a week for family time. You might call it Family Game Night, or simply Family Time. Ideas for Family Home Evening nights are readily available online for free. You can take these ideas and adapt it for your family or your family can come up with your own ideas on how to spend this time. Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles reminded us of the importance of families; “In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. From the very beginning the Lord has established the importance of the family organization for us.”
Here are some resources to help you get started on your Family Time.
LDS Family Home Evening Ideas
Family Night: Simple and Powerful
Games For The Whole Family
Families With Purpose
Be Physically Fit – “The healthy man, who takes care of his physical being, has strength and vitality; his temple is a fit place for his spirit to reside…It is necessary therefore for us to care for our physical bodies, and to observe the laws of physical health and happiness.” (President David O. Mckay) Being physically fit is as important to Mormons as it is to everyone else. Here are some resources that can help us achieve our fitness goals in 2008.
Fit Day
How to Lose Weight
How To Lose and Manage Weight
Peer Trainer
Be Debt Free – “…I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.” (President Gordon B. Hinckley, Prophet and current President of the Church) Many of us have debts. Some debts are necessary, but many others are simply the result of some poor choices we made based on wants rather than needs. Here are a few online resources that offer ideas and advice on how to begin to pay off debts and be completely debt-free.
Ten Tips to Getting Out of Debt
Getting Out of Debt
How To Get Out Of Debt
Enjoy Life More – We know from the Scriptures that “Men are that they might have joy.” (2 Nephi 2:25) Many of us today live hectic and stressful lives and some seem to find no joy at all in life. Most of us yearn for more time to enjoy life and to appreciate what we’re blessed with thus far. In a beautiful speech titled Finding Joy in Life, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles challenged us to take time to see the beautiful world around us, and by doing so we can begin to discover joy in life:
Do you take time to discover each day how beautiful your life can be? How long has it been since you watched the sun set? The departing rays kissing the clouds, trees, hills, and lowlands good night, sometimes tranquilly, sometimes with exuberant bursts of color and form. What of the wonder of a cloudless night when the Lord unveils the marvels of His heavens—the twinkling stars, the moonlight rays—to ignite our imagination with His greatness and glory? How captivating to watch a seed planted in fertile soil germinate, gather strength, and send forth a tiny, seemingly insignificant sprout. Patiently it begins to grow and develop its own character led by the genetic code the Lord has provided to guide its development. With care it surely will become what it is destined to be: a lily, crowned with grace and beauty; a fragrant spearmint plant; a peach; an avocado; or a beautiful blossom with unique delicacy, hue, and fragrance. When last did you observe a tiny rosebud form? Each day it develops new and impressive character, more promise of beauty until it becomes a majestic rose. You are one of the noblest of God’s creations. His intent is that your life be gloriously beautiful regardless of your circumstances. As you are grateful and obedient, you can become all that God intends you to be.
How To Enjoy Life
Take Time to Smell the Roses
Get a Better Education or Learn Something New – Teach ye diligently … of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—that ye may be prepared in all things. (D&C 88:78-80)
The Mormon Religion places great importance on learning. As Mormons we are encouraged to seek both spiritual learning and secular learning, to educate our minds, hearts, and hands.
In today’s fast paced and ever changing world, more and more adults are realizing the need for either furthering their education or learning a new skill completely. Fortunately, there are now many opportunities that cater to the needs of working adults. Here are some resources that can help you on your way if this is something you’re considering.
Thinking About Going Back to School?
Going Back to School
Adult Learner Stories: Successful Nontraditional Students
A Grateful Heart
This post isn’t going to have too much to do with technology. However, I hope that we do take full advantage of technology to send expressions of sincere gratitude when a face-to-face isn’t possible. I hope that you will not let distance be an excuse for not sending that expression of thanks you’ve been meaning to send. I also hope that we realize that some expressions of gratitude need no technology whatsoever. Instead, all that is needed is a soft heart and a bended knee.
During the Thanksgiving season, Mormons as well as most everyone else in this country pause to remember the many blessings that we enjoy. It is natural during this season for all of us to reflect on the many things that we are grateful for. Gratitude can be described as a “feeling of appreciation and thankfulness for blessings or benefits we have received. A feeling of gratitude helps us to be happy and spiritually strong. We should always express our gratitude to God for the blessings He gives us and to others for the kind acts they do for us.”
President James E. Faust taught that gratitude is “an expression of faith and as a saving principle.”
In D&C 59:7 & 21 we read: “Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. …And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”
Expressions of gratitude starts with a grateful heart.
A grateful heart is one that recognizes the hand of God in every blessing big or small. A grateful heart remembers the Lord even when times are hard. A grateful heart begins and ends his day on his knees thanking the Lord for life. A grateful heart rejoices in the Lord’s grace and love even in the midst of life’s storms and winds that we are faced with from time to time. The words of a familiar hymn reads:
When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
A grateful heart remembers those who’ve sacrificed so much for us. A grateful heart pauses often to remember the love of our Savior who died for us. The atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we have, the greatest reason for us to feel gratitude in our hearts. He is our Redeemer!
A grateful heart remembers the faith of the Prophet Joseph Smith who stood by his testimony even when he was ridiculed, beaten, tarred and feathered, thrown in jail and eventually murdered.
A grateful heart remembers the sacrifices of the pioneers who gave up everything they held dear to follow the Lord. We know of their sufferings and their sorrows. We know of the many trials and tribulations they endured. I am grateful for their faith and perseverance.
There are also many other Pioneers that we don’t normally hear about. I’m referring to those who are the first in their families to accept the gospel in this country as well as in every other country of the world. Many times even these pioneers have given up much. They may have given up families, friendships, and other things that were dear to them to have the blessing of the gospel in their lives. I am grateful for the example and the legacy of all pioneers.
A grateful heart remembers those men and women in our military both today and in the past who have given up so much for our freedom. We have the freedom to worship as we want, the freedom to go to school, to speak our mind and not be persecuted for it, the freedom to live our lives the way we want to. A grateful heart remembers that these freedoms and many more are not “free.” Someone else has paid the price so that we can enjoy these freedoms.
A grateful heart remembers the small daily acts of love. Clean clothes, food to eat, a place to call Home, a kind word, a smile, a hug when we’re feeling low, a bowl of hot soup when we’re sick, a second, third, or fourth chance even when we don’t deserve it. These and many more are the kinds of daily acts of love that we experience in our lives.
A grateful heart thanks those who support, nurture, and stand by him through everything; a loving parent, a true friend, a forgiving spouse, a loyal sister or brother, a courageous son or daughter. A grateful heart recognizes how blessed he is and desires to give back what he can. A grateful heart desires to help others as he has been helped. A grateful heart doesn’t take what he is blessed with for granted. We are commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5: 18; “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
In the next couple of days let us all make a conscious effort to make this Thanksgiving season more “gratitude centered.” Reach out to your families and loved ones and express sincere appreciation for the difference they’ve made in our lives. Find ways to serve someone else. Find ways to make someone else’s life a little better. Write a letter or send a care package to a missionary or to a soldier serving overseas. Most importantly, let us all kneel and give thanks to our Heavenly Father for our many blessings and for the atoning sacrifice of his son, Jesus Christ.
Sharing Can Be Lethal
I was raised in a family and culture that places tremendous value on sharing. I’ve in turn taught my children that sharing is good, that we need to share what we have whenever we can. I still believe in these values. I still believe that all of us can do a little more sharing of our time, our resources, our talents, and whatever else we are blessed with in this life. I will still continue to teach my children these values. However, I will also teach them that in certain situations, it is extremely wise not to share.
P2P networking is not new technology. It’s been around for quite some time now. However, a recent conversation with a friend leads me to believe that many of us still aren’t quite sure what this is. That can be quite dangerous for you and your family.
P2P stands for peer-to-peer file sharing. P2P networks allows users that are connected to it to link to other computers in the world via the Internet. In a nutshell, this means that with the right software downloaded on our computers, anyone anywhere in the world can access any file stored on your computer. That’s right! All those files saved in your My Documents folder are vulnerable if you have a P2P application installed on your computer. So if you have personal information such as tax returns, banking information and other kinds of sensitive information stored on your computer you might be in for a nasty surprise some day.
The FBI posted a letter on their web site warning citizens about the dangers of P2P file sharing. One of the most dangerous misuses of P2P networks is the distribution of pornography. Unfortunately, many reports indicate that this is one of the common uses of peer-to-peer file sharing. Even if you have a filter installed on your computer, it may not necessarily catch files that are shared on peer-to-peer networks.
Minors are at high risk of being inadvertently exposed to pornography this way because they are among the highest users of P2P applications. Unfortunately, those who prey on our young kids know this. They are deliberately mislabeling their files so instead of getting music, children and teenagers get pornographic pictures instead.
A report by Jerry Ropelato, Founder and CEO of Top Ten Reviews, paints a bleak picture of what we are dealing with; “The next pornographic threat to the world, peer-to-peer networking, is a major challenge for parents being able to control the Internet content coming into the home. Children are very conversant and experienced in using peer-to-peer file sharing applications, while most parents are behind the curve. Parents need to understand the risks associated with allowing peer-to-peer file sharing in the home and to implement proper Internet filtering and parental controls. The war against pornography can and must be won.”
We’ve heard just about every one of our Church leaders today warn us against the evils of pornography. In a talk he titled “A Tragic Evil Among Us,” President Hinckley likened pornography to “a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining what was once wholesome and beautiful.”
There are many other dangers that come with the use of P2P applications. Viruses can be brought in this way. Anyone with enough technical knowledge and desire can plant a virus in one of these files. A virus as we all know can potentially crash your system and render it completely useless. Identity theft is another big threat since they can pretty much access whatever personal information you have stored in your computer files. Here is just one example of how thieves are taking advantage of peer-to-peer networks as reported by Tech News World.
There are many different P2P networks and applications. Most of them are free and can be easily downloaded with a few mouse clicks. Some of the most common peer-to-peer file sharing applications being used today include Limewire, Gnutella, Morpheus, Bearshare, and Kazaa. A lot of teenagers use applications like Limewire for sharing music. This practice may be illegal depending on whether or not the music they are getting from others is copyrighted. You and your teen will have to look into this and judge it for yourself.
I’ve only scratched the surface of what you need to know in order to protect your family from the dangers of peer-to-peer file sharing. You can easily get more detailed information on this topic online. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is this; sharing is good, BUT there are some things that aren’t meant to be shared. There are times when sharing is not just a bad idea, it may also be downright lethal and illegal!