You all know how much I like to editorialize. I’ve cut back on my editorial proclivities somewhat over the last few months, but every so often, a subject comes up that just raises those ol’ hackles and I feel the strongest urge to speak out and make a nuisance of myself. That’s exactly what I’m about to do right now.
Sister Julie B. Beck, over the course of the General Women’s Conference and then the Sunday session of General Conference, gave two of the most beautiful talks I’ve ever heard given by a General Relief Society President. Miriam will provide the full report on those—she does a fabulous job with the conference talks. What I would like to address is the buzz that has been taking place all over the Internet ever since.
I maintain a personal blog and I read blogs by others. What has simply astounded me is the sheer volume of the comments I have read in relation to these conference addresses, comments that voice such feelings as, “I could never be the kind of woman she’s talking about.” “Those expectations are too high.” “I’m just not that way.” I won’t even go into the comments made by anti-Mormons—those bordered on ridiculous.
The thing that greatly concerns me is to what extent the women of the Church do not understand the tremendous importance of the things Sister Beck spoke of. It’s true that we are not yet as she spoke of, but she gave us a standard to reach for. It’s true that we aren’t naturally inclined toward that type of higher living, but we’ve been commanded to put off the natural man, and she gave us a pattern to follow so we can do that.
We know that the family is under attack like never before, and we also know that we have been counseled to do whatever it takes to keep our families protected. What Sister Beck did was to tell us how to do it. The influence of the mother is greater than we ever realize, and if we as women step up and do our jobs, we can work wonders in protecting our families.
Ladies, please do not give up. Please do not cast Sister Beck’s words away because we feel we’ll never measure up. She is a General Officer of the Church. Her words are inspired. They are what we needed to hear. And I echo Nephi’s sentiment when I say, she would not have set the bar so high if God did not intend to help us reach it. Our families are so important, and we hold the keys to helping them be together forever. Let’s stretch ourselves just a bit and see if we can make our testimonies just a bit stronger. Let’s see if we can pray just a little bit more fervently. The Lord created us with tremendous capacities – let’s use them, with His help.
Related Blogs:
Why Is It So Hard to Be a Mother?