February 2009 Message

The link for the February Visiting Teaching Message is: http://www.lds.org/library/display/0,4945,2044-1-4782-1,00.html

Espaniol Maestras visantes - Mensaje Febrero 2009 - http://www.lds.org.ar/SocSoc/Maevisit/200902mensajefebrero.htm

Before I share my thought on the March 2009 message, I wanted to bring your attention to the two wonderful video clips that are located to the right of this message. They go along so well with this message, so I thought I would share them with you. One is from President Hinkley on "Lessons I learned as a boy", and "Save the Family" by Janice Kapp Perry and Joy Lundberg, Produced by Maurine and Scot Proctor, Edited by Truman Proctor. Enjoy!

As always, I like to share the thoughts, stories, feeling and promptings that come to me with each Visiting Teaching months' message. You will have ideas of your own as to how to present the lesson to the sisters you Visit Teach but since I am blogging... here are my thoughts....

As I began to read the different Quotations in this lesson, my thoughts were first drawn to The Family: A Proclaimation to the World (Proclamación al mundo) which starts out by saying in the second paragraph “All human beings – male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal and eternal identity and purpose.”
The Proclaimation goes on to say in following paragraphs… “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”
Sister Julie B. Beck Relief Society General President said, “I have a testimony gained from pondering and studying the scriptures of a plan of happiness given to us by our Father in Heaven. That plan has a part for His daughters. We have the female half to take care of, and if we don’t do our part, no one else is going to do it for us. The half of our Fathers plan that creates life, that nurtures should, that promotes growth that influences everything else was given to us. We can’t delegate it. We can’t pass it off to anyone. It is ours. We can refuse it, we can deny it, but it’s still our part, and we are accountable for it. There will come a day when we will all remember what we knew before we were born. We will remember that we fought in the great conflict for this privilege. How do we meet this responsibility? We daily put our energies into the work that is uniquely ours to do.”

It is clear to me that Women have a divine destiny while they are in this mortal existence. Motherhood and the nurturing of children is that primary role, and this was given by the divine design of our Heavenly Father.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “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.”

Women have the ability to influence lives, and most importantly the lives of their children. Some women may not have the opportunity to bare children of their own in this life, but they can still have a righteous influence through their goodness and example, in the lives of many children of this generation. It is our sacred duty and obligation, and we must put forth our very best efforts… with all the talents, skills and abilities that our Heavenly Father has given us to raise children in righteousness, in these “less than tranquil times.”

As I ponder the future and know not exactly what is to come,… what I do know is that one day Jesus Christ will return to this earth, and that He is going to need some valiant brothers and sisters to do the work that is left to be done. These individuals will most likely be our very own sons and daughters, and grandsons and daughters, which puts so much more emphasis on teaching our children right now, to love God, His word contained in the scriptures, to be temple worthy and willing to be Saviors on Mount Zion.

We must teach them to have strength to endure temptation, courage to do what is right. We must exemplify and teach honesty and integrity in dealing with their fellowmen, even when others do not respond likewise. We must teach our children how to pray, to repent and ask forgiveness, and experience the Atonement in their lives. The teaching list goes on and on. I pray that we will ponder our role in the “Divine Design of Womanhood” and do our parts to fulfill this glorious plan.