This past week flew by. I'm trying to remember what we did, but I really can't. I know that I've run, and we've had school, Steve was in Toronto again, I have had school, Alexis has been babysitting like crazy, Tommy has been social, Michael is pronouncing his"R"s so well, Amy earned a 100% on her spelling test, Burke is hilarious but didn't take any naps this week, Amelia cut her eighth tooth, and is being weaned. Our sleeping schedule has been terrible. I don't know how I manage to function on as little sleep as I have had. Burke and Amelia have colds, again. I am fighting it. I love my essential oils, and they seem to help a lot.
I thought I should write about something that has been bothering me this week. LDS feminists (all feminists). I am sick of them. Last month I noticed a woman in another ward wearing pants to church. I didn't know the reason behind it. It just seemed odd to me. This past week I was talking to a friend of mine and the topic came up. She told me that there was a movement in the LDS feminist community to wear pants to Sacrament meeting on December 16, as a protest against women being oppressed by the church. It made me think. Have I ever felt oppressed? Have I ever been made to feel like I was less important to my Father in Heaven because I am a woman? Have I ever felt that it was unfair that I could not hold the Priesthood? I have to honestly answer "no". Then I thought about the fact that women everywhere were wearing pants to church that one Sunday. At first I thought it was dumb, and not that big a deal. The more I thought about it, though, I realized what an unfortunate display it was. These women went out of their way to direct the Spirit of Sacrament meeting away from Christ. They directed attention to themselves, and disrupted the most sacred meeting we have all week. When we attend church, we are in the house of the Lord. He deserves our best. Now, I understand that there are women who can not afford to buy a dress or skirt to wear to church, and so pants, even jeans, is their best. I love that those women are making the effort to be in the Lord's house. I feel that we should dress respectfully and appropriately for church. Wearing pants adds a casual quality to the service, and to me that is not why we attend church. We have plenty of opportunities to dress casually for church functions. Why can we not be more formal on the Lord's day?
The idea that women in the church are oppressed makes me laugh, and cry. I laugh because we are made to feel so loved and important. Ours is a sacred role that our Heavenly Father has placed us in. We should be honored to be his daughters. I am honored to be His daughter. The Young Women program in the church does strongly encourage our girls to strive to become wives and mothers. That is what our bodies were created for. The Young Men program prepares the boys in our church to serve full time missions and prepares them to become responsible husbands and fathers. I cry because those women don't understand their divine role. I love my womanly body. I am not ashamed of the form Heavenly Father placed my spirit in. My body is capable of miraculous things. As I was listening to my recording of the General Relief Society broadcast this afternoon, I felt the love that Heavenly Father has for each of his daughters. He has placed us in such high regard. He has given us the divine responsibility to bring His children into this world and raise them in a righteous manner so that they can return to live with Him. He has given us the privilege to be married to our husbands eternally and to be sealed to our children forever. He doesn't only give blessings to men. He doesn't only let men attend the temple. He doesn't give men the same great responsibilities that He gives us. He has given men the responsibility of holding the Priesthood. I don't want that responsibility. I have enough to worry about without having to worry if I'm worthy to hold the Priesthood. Women and men are different. We are equal, though our roles are different. I do not cower from my husband. I do not walk a step behind him. I honor him as he honors me. He holds me above all else.
Do all women in the church want to be stay at home moms? No. Do they have to be? No. Does it mean that they are thought less of in the church? No. I chose to stay home and raise my kids. That is my choice. I always wanted a large family. I always wanted to be a mom. I decided that it would be better for me and my kids if I stayed home to take care of them. Do I look down on working mothers? No. I don't know what their situations are. I don't know why they choose to work, and it is none of my business. Does the fact that they work mean that they are not loved by the Lord? No. No one should judge anyone else's family decisions. We all do what we feel is best for our families. I feel that women in the church are revered. I feel that being a woman the Church of the Lord is the highest calling on earth. It breaks my heart that there are women out there that can't feel that same love, can't see past wearing pants. They are missing so much.
So these are my thoughts. I needed to share them. They may be a little unorganized, but so am I.
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