President Spencer W. Kimball said the following:

The scriptures and the prophets have taught us clearly that God, who is perfect in his attribute of justice, “is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). … We had full equality as his spirit children. We have equality as recipients of God’s perfected love for each of us. The late Elder John A. Widtsoe wrote:

“The place of woman in the Church is to walk beside the man, not in front of him nor behind him. In the Church there is full equality between man and woman. The gospel … was devised by the Lord for men and women alike” (Improvement Era, Mar. 1942, p. 161).

President Kimball goes on to explain how even as we are equal before God, “our roles and assignments differ” as men and women. (More can be found about gender roles here.) There are those who want to declare that unless our roles and responsibilities can and are the same, we will never be equal. This is a falsehood that the doctrines of the gospel help to dispel.

You can read essays on our site written by Mormon women about the topic of womanhood, such as the following:

We Are Daughters of God

Standing Shoulder to Shoulder

Singing Eve’s Song

Following are other links (most from lds.org) that further explore the teachings about the divinity of womanhood.

Margaret D. Nadauld: The Joy of Womanhood

Words of the Prophet: Daughters of the Almighty

Susan Easton Black: Happiness in Womanhood

You Are All Heaven Sent

Sheri Dew: It is Not Good for Man or Woman to be Alone (discusses how women and men must work in partnership in order for God’s plan to work and for us to reach our full potential)

M. Russell Ballard: Women of Righteousness

Women of Faith

Arta M. Hale: Lessons in Womanhood: Insights for Latter-day Saint Women from the Lives of Vashti, Miriam, Ruth, Hannah, Jezebel, and Esther

Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball on Women in the Church

Elaine Cannon: The Case for Mary (addresses ideas found in radical feminism, and what used to be called the women’s liberation movement)

Ambitious to Do Good

Barbara Thompson: The Errand of Angels is Given to Women

Richard G. Scott: The Sanctity of Womanhood

Russell M. Nelson: Daughters of Zion

Spencer W. Kimball: The Blessings and Responsibility of Womanhood

Dallin H. Oaks: The Relief Society and the Church (discusses much about historical facets of the role of women in the Lord’s work; even addresses the issue of women anointing and giving blessings, which they did for a time in the earlier stages of Church history)

Sheri Dew: Are We Not All Mothers?

Gordon B. Hinckley: The Women in Our Lives

Jeffrey R. Holland: To Young Women
Boyd K. Packer: Children of God

Susan Easton Black, noted researcher and teacher, wrote an article about womanhood in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the many roles women may have (daughter, sister, wife, mother, woman). She also reflects on women from Church history to illustrate her points about these roles. She reminds us of the importance of “adher[ing] to the truths of the scriptures and modern prophetic counsel” that can “lead [us] to the commitment of being a faithful daughter, sister, wife, and mother. Such a commitment will lead [us] to greater happiness in mortality and joy in the eternal realms.”

Read another woman’s thoughts on being a woman in the Church.

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You can also search our site or lds.org on topics such as the following:

Gender roles

Motherhood

Eternal Identity

Eternal Perspective

Self-Worth

The post Womanhood appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

There are many voices that bombard women in the world today. Some suggest that our worth is tied to body shape or size, or to job titles, or to social and economic class, or to other external, mortal, physical measures of worth. We all hear of women who struggle with an ‘identity crisis’ or low self-esteem or other feelings of self-doubt. The belief that we have eternal identity and purpose can serve as an anchor in all of our lives.

For more information on this topic, see the following links:
Elder Robert C. Oaks: Understand Who You Are (link to audio, link to video)

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Robert C. Oaks: Understand Who You Are
Sister Margaret Nadauld: The Joy of Womanhood

You can also peruse other content on this site under the following topics:

Eternal Perspective

Vision

Purpose of Life

Self-Worth

If you have questions on this topic, please feel free to email us at ‘mormonwoman’ AT ‘gmail’ DOT ‘com.’

The post Divine Identity appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

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