Women: Satan Distorts the Value and Role of Women

I was blessed to be raised in a home and then marry into a family where the role of women and mothers was greatly valued. I believe that men and women have God-given traits that compliment each other. I also think that Satan works hard to make women feel undervalued or convinces them they need to be more like a man to be equal. I love how the Gospel of Jesus Christ supports womanhood.

M. Russell Ballard, “Women of Righteousness,” Ensign, Apr. 2002

I am concerned about what I see happening with some of our young women. Satan would have you dress, talk, and behave in unnatural and destructive ways in your relationships with young men. The adversary is having a heyday distorting attitudes about gender and roles and about families and individual worth. He is the author of mass confusion about the value, the role, the contribution, and the unique nature of women.

Today’s popular culture, which is preached by every form of media from the silver screen to the Internet, celebrates the sexy, saucy, socially aggressive woman. These distortions are seeping into the thinking of some of our own women.

My dear sisters, we believe in you. We realize that you are the emotional (and sometimes spiritual) glue that holds families together. We believe that the Church simply will not accomplish what it must without your faith and faithfulness, your innate tendency to put the well-being of others ahead of your own, and your spiritual strength and tenacity. 

James E. Faust, “Womanhood: The Highest Place of Honor”

“I wonder if you sisters fully understand the greatness of your gifts and talents. One of your unique, precious, and sublime gifts is your femininity. Femininity is not just lipstick, stylish hairdos, and trendy clothes. It finds expression in your qualities of your capacity to love, your spirituality, delicacy, radiance, sensitivity, creativity, charm, graciousness, gentleness, dignity, and quiet strength. It is manifest differently in each girl or woman, but each of you possesses it. Femininity is part of your inner beauty.

One of your particular gifts is your feminine intuition. Do not limit yourselves. As you seek to know the will of our Heavenly Father in your life and become more spiritual, you will be far more attractive, even irresistible. You can use your smiling loveliness to bless those you love and all you meet, and spread great joy. Femininity is part of the God-given divinity within each of you. Be proud of your womanhood.”  

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “The Moral Force of Women.” Oct. 2013

Certainly there are trends and forces at work that would weaken and even eliminate your influence, to the great detriment of individuals, families, and society at large. Let me mention three as a caution and a warning.

A pernicious philosophy that undermines women’s moral influence is the devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career. Some view homemaking with outright contempt, arguing it demeans women and that the relentless demands of raising children are a form of exploitation.8 They ridicule what they call “the mommy track” as a career. This is not fair or right. We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve in any worthy endeavor or career—we all benefit from those achievements—but we still recognize there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage. There is no superior career, and no amount of money, authority, or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family. Whatever else a woman may accomplish, her moral influence is no more optimally employed than here.

A third area of concern comes from those who, in the name of equality, want to erase all differences between the masculine and the feminine. Often this takes the form of pushing women to adopt more masculine traits—be more aggressive, tough, and confrontational. It is now common in movies and video games to see women in terribly violent roles, leaving dead bodies and mayhem in their wake. It is soul-numbing to see men in such roles and certainly no less so when women are the ones perpetrating and suffering the violence.

Understanding the Worldly Philosophies of Satan and Strengthening Testimonies

We need to create a safe place with lots of love for ourselves/children to ask questions

A. What are Satan’s Strategies? – usually truth mixed with falsehoods

1) Moral Relativism = Satan’s says the world is too judgmental or intolerant (true) so you shouldn’t say there is absolute truth (false). Satan’s message – you can have “your truth” and I can have “my truth.”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “Free Forever, to Act for Themselves,” October 2014

“Relativism means each person is his or her own highest authority. In much of the world, relativist thinking has become a dominant philosophy. “By relativism I mean the view that ethical or moral truths are relative, that they depend on the attitudes and feelings of those who hold them, and that no one can judge the validity of someone else’s ‘truth,’” he said. “You hear a lot of talk these days about ‘my truth’ and ‘his truth’ or ‘her truth.’”

“I shouldn’t be forced to believe something is true that I don’t like.” But that does not change reality. Resenting the law of gravity won’t keep a person from falling if he steps off a cliff. The same is true for eternal law and justice. Freedom comes not from resisting it but from applying it.

See also Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “Now Is the Time to Defend Truth” Devotional 2018

2) Anger against that which is good

2 Nephi 28: 20 For behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

3) There is no devil, carnal security, or all is well in Zion

2 Nephi 28: 21-22 And others will he pacify and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell. Others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none.

4) God loves everyone, so He will save everyone

Alma 42:1, 30 For ye so try to suppose that it is injustice that the sinner should be consigned to a state of misery. Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point because of your sins, by denying the justice of God; but do you let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten,” Ensign May 2011

Sadly, much of modern Christianity does not acknowledge that God makes any real demands on those who believe in Him, seeing Him rather as a butler “who meets their needs when summoned” or a therapist whose role is to help people “feel good about themselves.” It is a religious outlook that “makes no pretense at changing lives.”

Parents can and must correct, even chasten, if their children are not to be cast adrift at the mercy of a merciless adversary and his supporters. President Boyd K. Packer has observed that when a person in a position to correct another fails to do so, he is thinking of himself.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “Love and Law.” October 2009

I begin with four examples which illustrate some mortal confusion between love and law...

These persons disbelieve eternal laws which they consider contrary to their concept of the effect of God’s love. Persons who take this position do not understand the nature of God’s love or the purpose of His laws and commandments. The love of God does not supersede His laws and His commandments, and the effect of God’s laws and commandments does not diminish the purpose and effect of His love. The same should be true of parental love and rules.

5) The devaluation of marriage and motherhood

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “The Moral Force of Women.” Oct. 2013

Certainly there are trends and forces at work that would weaken and even eliminate your influence, to the great detriment of individuals, families, and society at large. Let me mention three as a caution and a warning.

A pernicious philosophy that undermines women’s moral influence is the devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career.

6) Seven strategies of Satan found in the Book of Mormon and how to counteract them.

See: Heritage of The Book of Mormon: A Shield against Evil, by Clyde Williams, Ensign Jan. 1996

B. Solutions to counter Satan’s strategies

1. Most powerful solution is daily reading the Book of Mormon

Pres. Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?,” Oct. 2017

I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day.

Ensign, January 1996. President Ezra Taft Benson declared: “The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. … It fortifies the humble followers of Christ against the evil designs, strategies, and doctrines of the devil in our day.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “The Power of the Book of Mormon,” April 2017 President Monson: I maintain that a strong testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and of His gospel will help see us through to safety. If you are not reading the Book of Mormon each day, please do so.

Helaman 3:29 We see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked.

2. Increase our efforts to Understand the Doctrines

Pres. Nelson, “A Plea to my Sisters,” October 2015

President Packer declared: “We need women who can teach, women who can speak out. …We need women with the gift of discernment who can view the trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or dangerous.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Let Us Think Straight,” BYU Devotional, August 2013

 “We need now for you women of the Church to know the doctrine of Christ and to bear testimony of the Restoration in every way that you can. Never has there been a more complex time in the history of the earth,” he said. “Satan and his minions have been perfecting the weapons in their arsenal for millennia, and they are experienced at destroying faith and trust in God and the Lord Jesus Christ among the human family.”

Sisters, your sphere of influence is a unique sphere—one that cannot be duplicated by men. No one can defend our Savior with any more persuasion or power than you, the daughters of God, can—you who have such inner strength and conviction. The power of a converted woman’s voice is immeasurable, and the Church needs your voices now more than ever.

President Hinckley said: You cannot simply take for granted this cause, which is the cause of Christ. You cannot simply stand on the sidelines and watch the play between the forces of good and evil.

3. Discernment through the Gift of the Holy Ghost

President James E. Faust, The Great Imitator,” October 1987

I think we will witness increasing evidence of Satan’s power as the kingdom of God grows stronger. In the future the opposition will be both more subtle and more open. It will be masked in greater sophistication and cunning, but it will also be more blatant. We will need greater spirituality to perceive all of the forms of evil and greater strength to resist it. There is, however, an ample shield against the power of Lucifer and his hosts. This protection lies in the spirit of discernment through the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Elder David A. Bednar, “Receive the Holy Ghost,” October 2010

Consider the reasons we pray and study the scriptures. Please remember that these holy habits primarily ... are prerequisites to the ongoing companionship of the Holy Ghost. Reflect on the reasons we worship in the house of the Lord and in our Sabbath meetings. We primarily gather together in unity to seek the blessings of and instruction from the Holy Ghost.

President Russell M. Nelson, Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives, April 2018

If we are to have any hope of sifting through the myriad of voices and the philosophies of men that attack truth, we must learn to receive revelation. In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost.

“In reality, the best way to help those we love--the best way to love them--is to continue to put the Savior first.   If we cast ourselves adrift from the Lord out of sympathy for loved ones who are suffering or distressed, then we lose the means why which we might have helped them."  Elder Christofferson

The Purpose of Relief Society - Faith, Hope and Charity

1.     EXERCISE CHARITY

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

I would ask us to remember it is by divine design that not all the voices in God’s choir are the same. It takes variety—sopranos and altos, baritones and basses—to make rich music. When we disparage our uniqueness or try to conform to fictitious stereotypes—stereotypes driven by an insatiable consumer culture and idealized beyond any possible realization by social media—we lose the richness of tone and timbre that God intended when He created a world of diversity.

Elder Marvin J. Ashton:

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet.

Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us.

If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.

Sister Bonnie D. Parkin:

In exercising charity, we come to know a sister’s heart. When we know a sister’s heart, we are different. We won’t judge her. We will simply love her. 

2.     PROVIDE HOPE

Elder Kim B. Clark:

We do not have to be perfect, but we need to be good and getting better. 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:

The great thing about the gospel is we get credit for trying, even if we don’t always succeed.

President Boyd K. Packer: Some worry endlessly over missions that were missed, or marriages that did not turn out, or babies that did not arrive, or children that seem lost, or dreams unfulfilled, or because age limits what they can do. I do not think it pleases the Lord when we worry because we think we never do enough or that what we do is never good enough.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Laborers in the Vineyard:

I wish to speak of the Savior’s parable in which a householder “went out early in the morning to hire labourers.” After employing the first group at 6:00 in the morning, he returned at 9:00 a.m., at 12:00 noon, and at 3:00 in the afternoon, hiring more workers as the urgency of the harvest increased. The scripture says he came back a final time, “about the eleventh hour” (approximately 5:00 p.m.), and hired a concluding number. Then just an hour later, all the workers gathered to receive their day’s wage. Surprisingly, all received the same wage in spite of the different hours of labor.

This parable—like all parables—is not really about laborers or wages any more than the others are about sheep and goats. This is a story about God’s goodness, His patience and forgiveness, and the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a story about generosity and compassion. It is a story about grace.

However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many talents you think you don’t have, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.

3.     INCREASE FAITH – Prophetic Promises

President Ezra Taft Benson:

“Make reading in the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice.”

There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book:

·         You will find greater power to resist temptation.

·         You will find the power to avoid deception.

·         You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.

President Hinckley:  

I promise you [if you] read the Book of Mormon, there will come into your lives:

1.      An added measure of the Spirit

2.      A strengthened resolution to obey

3.      A stronger testimony of Jesus

President Monson:

I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to:

·         Hear the voice of the Spirit

·         To resist temptation

·         To overcome doubt and fear

·         To receive heaven’s help in our lives. 

Elder Bednar: I personally do not know of a principle more

·         central,

·         important,

·         or essential

to spiritual learning than the principle of acting as agents and not being acted upon as objects.

Women: Should Mothers Work? A Gospel Perspective

Should mother's work outside the home? This can be a hard decision with many factors to consider. There is definitely an endless amount of advise on this from a worldly standpoint. I would suggest that we prayerfully ask for humility as we study the words of the prophets to find the right answers for ourselves. Sometimes life doesn't give us a choice, but when it does, the blessings of following the prophets can't be measured.

Read this great collection of quotes from various prophets about mother's working: Eternal Marriage Student Manual, page 237-40. Here is one of the quotes: 

“One apparent impact of the women’s movement has been the feelings of discontent it has created among young women who have chosen the role of wife and mother. They are often made to feel that there are more exciting and self-fulfilling roles for women than housework, diaper changing, and children calling for mother. This view loses sight of the eternal perspective that God elected women to the noble role of mother and that exaltation is eternal fatherhood and eternal motherhood. [‘To the Elect Women of the Kingdom of God,’ Nauvoo Illinois Relief Society Dedication, 30 June 1978.]” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 506–7, 548–49).

Here are a few other quotes that have helped me find joy in raising my children:

Elder Richard G. Scott, "The Joy of Living the Great Plan of Happiness," October 1996

One of Satan’s most effective approaches is to demean the role of wife and mother in the home. This is an attack at the very heart of God’s plan to foster love between husband and wife and to nurture children in an atmosphere of understanding, peace, appreciation, and support. Much of the violence that is rampant in the world today is the harvest of weakened homes. Government and social plans will not effectively correct that, nor can the best efforts of schools and churches fully compensate for the absence of the tender care of a compassionate mother and wife in the home.

This morning President Hinckley spoke of the importance of a mother in the home. Study his message. As a mother guided by the Lord, you weave a fabric of character in your children from threads of truth through careful instruction and worthy example. You imbue the traits of honesty, faith in God, duty, respect for others, kindness, self-confidence, and the desire to contribute, to learn, and to give in your trusting children’s minds and hearts. No day-care center can do that. It is your sacred right and privilege.

Of course, as a woman you can do exceptionally well in the workplace, but is that the best use of your divinely appointed talents and feminine traits? As a husband, don’t encourage your wife to go to work to help in your divinely appointed responsibility of providing resources for the family, if you can possibly avoid it. As the prophets have counseled, to the extent possible with the help of the Lord, as parents, work together to keep Mother in the home.²² Your presence there will strengthen the self-confidence of your children and decrease the chance of emotional challenges. Moreover, as you teach truth by word and example, those children will come to understand who they are and what they can obtain as divine children of Father in Heaven.

President Hinckley "To the Women of the Church, 2003:

Then we have you older women who are neither young nor old. You are in the most wonderful season of your lives. Your children are in their teens. Possibly one or two are married. Some are on missions, and you are sacrificing to keep them in the field. You are hoping and praying for their success and happiness. To you dear women I offer some special counsel.

Count your blessings; name them one by one. You don't need a great big mansion of a house with an all-consuming mortgage that goes on forever. You do need a comfortable and pleasant home where love abides. Someone has said that there is no more beautiful picture than that of a good woman cooking a meal for those she loves. Weigh carefully that which you do. You do not need some of the extravagances that working outside the home might bring. Weigh carefully the importance of your being in the home when your children come from school.

Mothers, take good care of your daughters. Be close to them. Listen to them. Talk with them. Lead them from doing foolish things. Guide them into doing the right thing. See that they dress in a comely and modest fashion. Safeguard them from the terrible evils that are all about them.

Nurture your sons with love and counsel. Teach them the importance of personal cleanliness, of neatness in their dress. Sloppy ways lead to sloppy lives. Instill in them a sense of discipline. Keep them worthy of service to the Church as missionaries. Give them things to do so that they may learn to work. Teach them to be frugal. Labor and frugality lead to prosperity. Teach them that nothing really good happens after 11 o'clock at night. And do not spoil them. If they go on missions, they may be compelled to live in circumstances that you would not wish for them. Do not worry about them. Give them encouragement.

Stir within your children the desire for education. This is the latchkey to success in life. And at the same time, teach them that as President David O. McKay was wont to remind us, "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." 1

Elder Richard G. Scott, "The Power of Correct Principles," May 1993

“When as mothers, you are consistently in the home, at least during the hours the children are predominantly there, you can detect the individual needs of each child and provide ways to satisfy them.  Your divinely given instincts help sense a child’s special talents and unique capacities so that you can nurture and strengthen them.

Recently I reviewed the history of many missionaries and found a powerful correlation between exceptional missionaries and mothers who chose to remain home, often at great financial and personal sacrifice.

How grateful you mothers of youth like these must feel as you see some of the fruits of your sacrifice.  You have a vision of the power of obediently, patiently teaching truth, because you look beyond the peanut butter sandwiches, soiled clothing, tedious hours of routine, struggles with homework, and long hours by a sickbed.

You must be willing to forgo personal pleasure and self-interest for family-centered activity, and not turn over to church, school, or society the principal role of fostering a child’s well-rounded development.  It takes time, great effort, and significant personal sacrifice to ‘train up a child in the way he should go.’  But where can you find greater rewards for a job well done?”

Now the most important principal I can share: Anchor our life in Jesus Christ, your Redeemer.  Make your Eternal Father and his Beloved Son the most important priority in your life--more important than life itself, more important than a beloved companion or children or anyone on earth.  Make their will your central desire.  Then all that you need for happiness will come to you.” 

Elder L. Tom Perry, “Mothers Teaching Children in The Home, April 2010”

My mother understood the value of teaching her children about standards, values, and doctrine while they were young. While she was grateful to others who taught her children outside the home at either school or church, she recognized that parents are entrusted with the education of their children and, ultimately, parents must ensure that their children are being taught what their Heavenly Father would have them learn. My siblings and I were quizzed very carefully by our mother after we had been taught away from the home to be certain the correct lessons were reaching our ears and shaping our minds.

Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), ultimately this responsibility rests with parents.

Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world.

I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation. We see so many challenges today from distracting and destructive influences intended to mislead God’s children. We are seeing many young people who lack the deep spiritual roots necessary to remain standing in faith as storms of unbelief and despair swirl around them. Too many of our Father in Heaven’s children are being overcome by worldly desires. The onslaught of wickedness against our children is at once more subtle and more brazen than it has ever been. Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home adds another layer of insulation to protect our children from worldly influences.