Stake Women’s Conference

Index
Sisters, this is a wonderful time to be alive. I believe we were born for such a time as this. How wonderful to prepare for our time. What a blessing to live when the fullness of the gospel has been restored……the spiritual strength to overcome our challenges. How great to be able to have the counsel of a living prophet to help us focus our priorities on contributing to the building of the kingdom of God.

I have been intrigued by a quote from the prophet Joseph F. Smith when he said: It is not for us to be led by the women of the world; it is for us to lead the women of the world, for we are not women of the world. We are women of God, and as women of God, we need to be prepared to take our place in this time in which we live.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth before the second coming of our Savior is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times.

Because our influence, our example, our strength, and our faith will stand as the defense against the evil that is threatening to take our homes and loved ones. We as women, need to be like Captain Moroni. We need to take strengthening and fortifying our families as serious as Captain Moroni did for the Nephite nation. There is a great story in the 48th chapter of Alma. It is a time of danger and commotion for the Nephite nation. Their enemies, the Lamanites, have sworn to defeat them and take them into bondage. With the odds against the Nephites, Captain Moroni must find a way to defend his people. He directs his people to dig deep ditches and build up huge banks of earth around the cities. Later, he adds works of timber topped with a frame of pickets and eventually he adds towers to overlook the pickets. So effective is his strategy that the Lamanite armies are astonished and rendered powerless even though they greatly outnumber the Nephites. The Nephites are safe within their cities and repel the Lamanite attacks.

As the Nephites were physically building their fortifications, Captain Moroni was also teaching them to have faith in God. He showed his people the Lord would guide them if they followed His commandments.

There is some great direction we can get from this story:
  1. Scripture on Captain Moroni.
  2. Just as Captain Moroni directs his people to physically fortify their cities, we need to physically fortify our homes. So many ways:
  1. Monitor what comes into our homes.
  2. Providing a warm atmosphere – music, tones of voices, words we use.
  3. Pictures we hang on our walls – pictures/posters we allow our children to hang in their bedrooms, (Aunt JoAnn) open door policy – help her teenagers focus on importance to live with integrity
Part of physically fortifying is the teaching and practicing proper dress standards – SAVANNAH AND SHORTS.

So too should we, along with physically fortifying our home, we need to also be teaching the things that will spiritually save our families.

There is an old saying that “Ignorance is bliss.” Ignorance is not bliss! It is dangerous. Women of God arm themselves and their families with the life-saving truths of the gospel. Women of God know, like the stripling warriors (armies of Helaman) in the Book of Mormon, that our children can be motivated, blessed and protected by the faith and wise counsel of righteous mothers.

This is a day when the adversary has launched an all-out attack against womanhood because he knows, he absolutely knows, that the influence of a righteous woman, a woman of God, is great and that it influences generations (story of my mom).

He wants us to be disinterested in marriage and motherhood, confused by the worlds view of men and women, too frazzled by the pace of life to really live the gospel and to let it sink deep into our souls. We must always remember that women of God can never be women of the world.

Sister Nadauld (YW General Pres) reminds us that “the world” has enough women who are tough: we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse: we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude: we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune: we need more women of faith. We have enough greed: we need more goodness. We have enough vanity: we need more virtue. We have enough popularity: we need more purity.

One way to develop these wonderful qualities and be that woman that we know our Heavenly Father and our Savior need us to be is to follow the principle taught in this beautiful scripture: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind and strength. Isn’t it interesting that the word heart is first - to love with all our heart. We know that we do whatever and we follow wherever the affections of our hearts takes us.

King Benjamin (Mosiah 5:12): For how knoweth a man (or a woman) the master whom she has not served, and who is a stranger unto her, and is far from the thoughts and intents of her heart? The Lord requires first our hearts. Giving Him our heart means giving up worldly indulgences that keep us from being as close to God as we could be. Giving Him our heart means speaking up for what is right, even when doing so is unpopular. It means keeping our covenants and reverencing the power of the priesthood.

Sheri Dew (RS General Presidency) has a great way of putting this all into perspective. She simple said: Imagine how our choices would be affected if we loved the Savior above all else. How would we spend our money and time, or dress on a hot summer day, or respond to the call to visit teach or react to media that offend the spirit? It is by letting the world go and coming unto Christ that we begin more and more to live as women of God. I have a favorite little quote that helps me focus on this: It’s not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts!

I was so touched by Elder M. Russell Ballard’s talk at BYU Women’s Conference as he drew us into a conversation between God the Father and His eldest son. When God asked who would come to earth and prepare a way for all mankind to be saved and strengthened and blessed, it was Jesus Christ who said simply: Here am I, send me.

Then Elder Ballard whet on to say, Just as the Savior stepped forward to fulfill His doing responsibilities, we have the challenge and responsibility to do the same. Imagine the impact we can make as we say:

  • Father, if you need a women to rear children in righteousness: here am I, send me.
  • If you need a woman who will shun vulgarity and dress modestly and speak with dignity and show the world how joyous it is to keep the commandments: here am I, send me.
  • If you need a woman who can resist the temptations of the world by keeping her eyes fixed on eternity: here am I, send me.
  • If you need a woman of faithful steadiness: here am I, send me.


Bear testimony of Heavenly Father (love, prayer) and Savior (hymn – feeling spirit with playing)

King Benjamin – I say unto you, I would that ye should remember… to hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you.

Sisters,
Just believe Him when he calls your name.
You may not see Him, but you’ll never be the same.
With the touch that healed the blind man,
With the voice that calmed the seas,
He’ll change your life forever,
With the words: Come unto me.


I say these things…