Women

Today the Young Women and Relief Society sisters met together to practice a song we are singing in church next week. It is the EFY version of As Sisters in Zion combined with We'll Bring the World His Truth. The song is beautiful and uplifting--one that I have loved for a long time. It fills my heart with joy and easily helps me feel the Spirit. Today, as we sang, I loved looking at the faces surrounding me, singing along in harmony. Those women, young and old, are such a force for good. There is truly power in being a righteous woman--young ones making incredibly hard choices in order to stay virtuous and pure, older ones raising families and trying very hard to teach and love and discipline all at the same time, and even older ones still deeply concerned about children even when they are grown and raising families of their own.

I looked at these women today, my neighbors and friends, and felt so proud of them. Proud of their good choices. Proud of their tested and true faith. Proud of their innate goodness and tenderness. Proud of their desire to be better and try harder. Proud of their obedience. It was an empowering experience for me. I am lucky to know them, to learn from them and to worship with them.

I am so grateful to be a woman--a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother. I cherish each of these roles and cherish the women in my life who fill these roles for me--my daughters (tiny as they are), my sisters and my mothers (in-laws included). They are stellar examples of goodness and service and love and integrity. They are powerfully affecting the world, each in her own right. And I can feel it.

Happy Mother's Day