Brightening My Light

Feminism has brought many blessings to women. However, sometimes it seems that feminist views are not about being feminine at all, but about being masculine. The glory of womanhood--motherhood--is demeaned and attacked. Being masculine is more prized. How is that "equality of the sexes" if the characteristics and purposes of only one sex are praised and encouraged and the other is still viewed as inferior? Both the brain and the heart are vital organs. Although they have very different responsibilities, neither is better nor more important than the other, for without either one, the body cannot live. Both are necessary for a fully functioning, healthy body: the brain tells the heart to pump, and the heart pumps blood to the brain so it can work. The same principle applies to family life. In General Conference April 2011, President Packer said, “The great plan of happiness” centers on family life. The husband is the head of the home and the wife the heart of the home. An...

President Monson said in the August 2012 Ensign , Are you ever guilty of murmuring when a calling comes to you? Or do you accept with thanksgiving each opportunity to serve your brothers and sisters, knowing that our Heavenly Father will bless those whom He calls? I would hope that we would not lose the real objective of our cherished opportunities to serve. That objective, that eternal goal, is the same spoken of by the Lord and found in the Pearl of Great Price: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”   May we ever remember that the mantle of membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a cloak of comfort but rather a robe of responsibility. Our duty, in addition to saving ourselves, is to guide others to the celestial kingdom of God. . . .   I pause when I think of the words of President John Taylor (1808–87): “If you do not magnify your callings, God will hold you respo...

lds.org Receiving a testimony of the gospel and its specific principles is not a single event. It is something that happens repeatedly as our spirituality changes. We are familiar with Alma's analogy of faith, and thus a testimony, as a seed that we plant and care for as it grows. But once the seed becomes a tree do we stop nourishing it? Alma counseled: . . . And now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?  Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.  And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.  But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold...

One Sunday, my husband was teaching the young men a lesson on preparing for their missions. One young man replied, "I don't need to learn that yet. I have a few years before I go on a mission." Too many youth have that terribly wrong perception. Preparation for a mission--most essentially, the temple--is a lifelong pursuit. It starts at childhood, not the year (or month for most women) before entering the temple. Two Primary songs emphasize this point: While I am in my early years, I'll prepare most carefully, So I can marry in God's temple for eternity. ("Families Can Be Together Forever," Children's Songbook , p. 188) I love to see the temple. I'm going there someday . . . I'll prepare myself while I am young; This is my sacred duty. ("I Love to See the Temple," Children's Songbook , p. 95) "Someday" comes sooner than you think. And it's hard to break years of bad habits and repent of years ...

Do you know what the Perpetual Education Fund is? “Ten years ago President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) outlined a problem—the inability of many returned missionaries and other worthy youth in developing areas to escape poverty—and provided a solution: the Perpetual Education Fund (PEF). A revolving fund that would be established using donations from members and friends of the Church, the PEF would supply educational loans to young people with the expectation that they would prepare for gainful employment in their communities and repay the loans so that others could have similar opportunities. . . . “As of February 2011, nearly 90 percent of those who have sought work after completing their schooling have found employment. Some 78 percent of those now employed say that their current employment is an improvement over what they had before receiving training. The average income after schooling for PEF participants is three to four times greater than income prior to schooling, re...