Crazy Cotton Kids: March 2009

Alright, so I have been thinking about what the next challenge can be this week. I came across this talk given by President Spencer W. Kimball in September of 1978. I was truck with awe at how again, the prophetic words of a prophet are ageless. And second. I was struck at how much JOY I felt after reading this talk about women. I feel so blessed to be a women and to be striving for all these things he talks about- however imperfectly- I am doing all he asks and thats to just work at it.

So my Joy challenge for those of you are are up for it- read this talk and tell me what struck YOU- what JOY did you gain from the things he says? I would LOVE to know.

talk is as follows:

...As one of the few men privileged to be with you in this momentous gathering, I come to you tonight with a message of peace and hope and love, a message of advice and counsel, a message of faith and encouragement and confidence. I trust that what I say will be helpful and beneficial to you. When I think of the women of the Church, I think of my own beloved Camilla and how greatly our family has been blessed because of her talents and leadership. What makes her—and literally millions of others of you like her—so trustworthy and so trusting? I think there are some realities to look at. For one thing, Mormon women are basically strong, independent, and faithful. They have chosen to live by a creed and a way of life that can be demanding at best. From the earliest days of the Church, active membership has meant faith, fortitude, denial, selflessness, and good service. The great women of the kingdom have often been uprooted with their husbands and families and have been moved hither and yon, yet they never worried about God’s forgetting them, because they worshipped a God who governs the galaxies but who, in the midst of such vastness, continues to love each of his children perfectly, individually, and constantly. Each of you should be grateful to be a woman!

Self-pity is always a sad thing to see and especially when there is no justification for it. 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. She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is society’s basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife. One of the important messages that emerges from the history of great women in all ages is that they cared more for the future of their families than for their own comfort. Such good women had a grasp of what matters in life. When called upon to do so, they could fashion a lovely city in the midst of a swamp or make the desert blossom as a rose. Selflessness is a key to happiness and effectiveness; it is precious and must be preserved as a virtue which guarantees so many other virtues. There are so many things in the world which reinforce our natural selfishness, and neither our men nor women should be partakers thereof. We have grown strong as a people because our mothers and our women have been so selfless. That ennobling quality must not be lost, even though some of the people of the world may try to persuade otherwise. While there is much variety in the circumstances in which the women of the Church find themselves, they still have much more in common with each other than with other groups. Let us be conscious of doctrines which preach unity but which end up dividing. We hope our women as well as our men will be conscious of the philosophies of the world which would attempt to reverse the wisdom of the Lord when he told us that we can find ourselves only by losing ourselves. There is a constant need to develop and to maintain tenderness. The world’s ways harden us. The tenderness of our women is directly linked to the tenderness of our children. The women of the Church do so much to teach our sons and daughters and to prepare the rising generation. Let us make no mistake about it—the home is the seedbed of Saints! Both sin and selfishness destroy our spiritual sensitivity. Women display a remarkable capacity to love, to cope, along with a remarkable empathy for others in difficulty, which moves women to service as they express their goodness quietly. Women, so often, are charity personified. It is true of all of us that, as we progress spiritually, our sense of belonging, identity, and self-worth increases. Let us create a climate in which we encourage the sisters of the Church to have a program of personal improvement. It ought to be a practical and realistic program, which is determined personally and not imposed upon them. Yet it ought to cause them to reach for new levels of achievement. We are not asking for something spectacular but rather for the women of the Church to find real self-fulfillment through wise self-development in the pursuit of righteous and worthy endeavors. We should be as concerned with the woman’s capacity to communicate as we are to have her sew and preserve food. Good women are articulate as well as affectionate. One skill or one attribute need not be developed at the expense of another. Symmetry in our spiritual development is much to be desired. We are as anxious for women to be as wise in the management of their time as we are for women to be wise stewards of the family’s storehouse of food. We know that women who have deep appreciation for the past will be concerned about shaping a righteous future. We desire women to develop social refinements because these are very real dimensions of keeping the second great commandment—to love one’s neighbor as oneself. We know that women who will improve their relationships with the Father in Heaven will also improve their relationships with their neighbors. The women of God in all ages have been able to reflect with awe upon the handiwork of God in the heavens without neglecting the practical skills needed not only to survive on this planet but to live an abundant life. There is more of a connection than many realize between the order and purpose of the universe and the order and harmony which exists in a happy and good family. Each of you sisters has the right and the responsibility to direct your own life. But be not deceived; you must also be responsible for your choices. This is an eternal principle. The law of the harvest is ever in evidence. Home is a place for all that is good and enlightening and true. It should provide a climate for constant growth and learning for all who live there—father, mother, and children. Whether or not it provides such a climate depends upon each individual concerned making the right choices in life. It is against the home and family life that Satan has aimed his greatest efforts to destroy. He strikes the moral sanctity of the home. Old values are not upheld by the Church because they are old, but rather because through the ages they have proved to be right and because God has thus spoken. Satan makes yet another powerful effort, and that is an attempt to destroy the happiness and sanctity of God-ordained family life. We can hardly emphasize it too much. No matter what you read or hear, no matter what the differences of circumstances you observe in the lives of women about you, it is important for you Latter-day Saint women to understand that the Lord holds motherhood and mothers sacred and in the highest esteem. He has entrusted to his daughters the great responsibility of bearing and nurturing children. This is the great, irreplaceable work of women. Life cannot go on if women cease to bear children. Mortal life is a privilege and a necessary step in eternal progression. Mother Eve understood that. You must also understand it. It was never easy to bear and rear children, but easy things do not make for growth and development. Loud, blatant voices today shout, “Fewer children,” and offer the pill, surgery, and even ugly abortion, which has reached monumental numbers. It is an awful thing when mothers without righteous cause take the lives or participate in the taking of the lives of their unborn children. Much is said about the drudgery and the confinement of the woman’s role in the home. In the perspective of the gospel it is not so. There is divinity in each new life. There is challenge in creating the environment in which a child can grow and develop. There is partnership between the man and woman in building a family which can last throughout the eternities. Mothers have a sacred role. They are partners with God, as well as with their own husbands, first in giving birth to the Lord’s spirit children and then in rearing those children so they will serve the Lord and keep his commandments. Could there be a more sacred trust than to be a trustee for honorable, well-born, well-developed children? We reaffirm the Church’s strong, unalterable stand against innovations or any unchastity or breaking of the laws that could possibly reflect in the lives of the children. Of these matters I have spoken to you plainly tonight because we are greatly concerned about the trends of the day which bring many serious problems and require the making of the important choices as true daughters of God. Never let it be said that you did not understand. Please think on these things. Pray about them, for surely I have. Prepare for and live as full a life as can be your privilege. We thank the sisters of the Church, young and older, for being such great defenders of the Church, in word and in deed. We love you and respect you! As Moroni quoted to Joseph Smith from the Prophet Joel, so I quote to you: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: “And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:28–29; italics added.) May the Lord bless you and your loved ones this day and always, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jackson is officially deemed ready for the church nursery. Giving me a break so I can have two arms back as I run around mad at the church trying to fulfill my calling in the Relief Society. I have missed my other arm desperately. And with Aaron always traveling in other wards, I was left to battle the crazy haired child myself. But wouldn't you have it that this, my fourth, my only child to be the one who hates nursery. WHY ME. OK, I know that sooo many other kids go through this, I was the nursery leader for two years, however. I have never had one of my own do this. So lucky me, I apparently don't get to have my arm back just yet. `Aaron did come today to keep Jack Jack which was way to nice but, now I know what I could be having EVERY SUNDAY! So, for those of you who have had children, oh so lovely children, refuse to go to nursery as if you were sending them to baby jail, have any advise. I would love to hear it. Bring it on.