September 1, 2010

Tonight I read an article from a 1975 Conference Ensign that was referred to from what I read last night. It was written by Spencer W. Kimball and is called The Lord's Plan for Men and Women. These are the quotes from it that I really liked: "The bodies of men and the bodies of women were created differently so they complement each other, so that the union of the two would bring a conception which would bring a living soul into the world." The Lord's program, His plan, is to use the union of a man and woman to bring a soul into this world and allow them their own opportunity of growth.

I liked this quote too: "The union of the sexes, husband and wife (and only husband and wife), was the principal purpose of bringing children into the world. Sexual experiences were never intended by the Lord to be a mere plaything or merely to satisfy passions and lusts. We know of no directive from the Lord that proper sexual experience between husbands and wives need be limited totally to the procreation of children, but we find much evidence from Adam until now that no provision was ever made by the Lord for indiscriminate sex." I really believe this statement to be true and it resonates deeply within my soul.

I also loved this, and while reading it, it helped me to cement a decision in my heart: "Concerning marriage and the roles of man and woman, let no man defy God or set aside his divine program. ... Why do some allow themselves to criticize - criticize God's plan? Why can't they accept their roles in life and be grateful for them? ... I sincerely hope that our Latter-day Saint girls and women, and men and boys, will ... conform their lives to the beautiful and comprehensive roles the Lord assigned to them. I hope we shall not attempt to perfect an already perfect plan, but seek with all our might, mind and strength to perfect ourselves in the comprehensive program given to us. ... Let us control our attitudes, our activities, our total lives, that we may be heir to the rich and numerous blessings promised to us."

I trust God and his plan of happiness for me. I trust it with all my heart. I have made my decision firmly now and I will stick with it and defend it. I will conform myself to the role of wife and mother which the Lord has given me. And I will teach my children to accept their God-given roles as well... my boys to accept the role of husband and father and my girls to accept the role of wife and mother. The key in this for me is that these are God-given roles I am accepting... not culture given roles. I want to be the kind of wife and mother that is according the the Lord's standard... and teach my children to do the same.

So the next task for me to work on is to begin studying what does the Lord expect from His daughters in their roles as wives and mothers? And what does He expect from His sons in their roles as husbands and fathers? I want to find my answers in the scriptures, which includes modern day revelation and my own personal revelation. I want to feel the Spirit strongly in regards to each of my expected duties in my role as wife and mother, just as I have felt the Spirit strongly in desiring to make this decision firmly.