Being a liberated woman in a traditional Christian church is not easy. I am trying to figure out why. In my mind, true Christian women would embrace and support each other in their divine personal callings. Instead, we try to level the playing field, I suppose, by expecting sameness. In my experience that sameness almost always involves interpretation of the woman's divine role as nurturer.
I do believe that the feminine in all of us, male and female, is manifest in our desire and ability to nurture. That's a good thing. A holy thing. And there are many ways to nurture. We nurture at home, in our neighborhoods and churches, and in our workplaces. We even nurture on the subway, or the grocery store. It's a pretty great instinct.But some people expect that the way they nurture is the way everyone should nurture.We tend to feel confirmed in the way we do things when other people do it the same way.
Just as sacred as that natural nurturing instinct is the presence of a living entity, divinely appointed to assist keepers-of-faith with their daily decision making. By expecting sameness, we discredit the power of the Holy Ghost, who is that divinely appointed entity.
Right here, right now, I would like to tell my children and grandchildren...cut it out! Not that you generally have a problem following the Holy Ghost. From what I can tell you are all (and how amazing is it that a person can say this?) followers of the general direction of the finger of the Lord. But because you exercise your faith within an imperfect social unit called a church, you will be given less-than-holy advice from other imperfect humans. I remind you that, while people may be entitled to the Holy Ghost in their own lives, they are not entitled to know what the Holy Ghost tells you. Even I, your mother and grandmother, do not have the right to know what the Holy Ghost tells you. While the Spirit of the Lord will not direct you to live contrary to the Word of the Lord, manifest in scripture, he can guide you in its unique manifestation in your own life.
My advice is to LISTEN LESS to the promptings of your neighbors and some people who profess to have authority over you; and LISTEN MORE to those divine whisperings that are heard in quiet moments from the back of your head and confirmed in the heartbeat deep within your chest.
Today's sabbath quote is from a modern-day apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, M. Russell Ballard.
This quote holds a position of prominence on my kitchen fridge. It is directed to women, and to men who interface with women (so, basically, all of us):
This quote holds a position of prominence on my kitchen fridge. It is directed to women, and to men who interface with women (so, basically, all of us):
"One sister may be inspired to continue her education and attend medical school, allowing her to have significant impact on her patients and to advance medical research. For another sister, inspiration may lead her to forego a scholarship to a prestigious institution and instead begin a family much earlier than has become common in this generation, allowing her to make a significant and eternal impact on her children now.
“Is it possible for two similarly faithful women to receive such different responses to the same basic questions?
"Absolutely! What’s right for one woman may not be right for another. That’s why it is so important that we should not question each other’s choices or the inspiration behind them."
Amen!
