Women are daughters of God with an integral role in Christ’s restored Church.
Photo by Ashley Rowe
All people born into this world are children of God and, as such, have great worth. The words “I am a child of God,” found in a beloved Latter-day Saint children’s song, are true for all men, women, and children. Everyone is important, and all have opportunities to serve in Christlike ways.
The article “Women in the Church”, published in the Gospel Topics section of LDS.org, describes many ways women serve and participate, including “missionary work, convert retention, activation of less-active members, temple and family history work, teaching the gospel, and caring for the poor and needy.”
Women receive specific assignments in the Church to bless the lives of the men, women, and children they serve in many capacities, such as the following:
- Relief Society—the largest organization in the world for women over the age of 18
- Young Women—the Church’s organization for girls age 12 to 18
- Primary—the organization for children under 12 years of age
- Sunday School—the organization for teaching youth and adults truths and doctrines of the Church
Women who serve in presidencies attend council meetings and contribute in making decisions to help members of the Church on a general level as well as on local levels. They are considered integral to the ways the Church functions and are necessary to the structure of equal standing by which the Church abides.
Women follow the Savior’s example as they fulfill their divine responsibilities. As children of God, all of us can be disciples of Christ.
Read the full Gospel Topics article, “Women in the Church.”
Source: Gospel Topics
—Katie Hollingsworth, Mormon Insights
Photo courtesy of Morgan Sessions
As a lifelong member of the church, I’ve never felt like a second-class citizen. I remember how important my own mother was to the weekly running of our ward, and I’ve seen how much the other women contribute as well. I’m grateful for the knowledge that God loves each of his children equally, regardless of gender, and that we all have an important role to play in building the kingdom of heaven.
We are all divine children of God! I was recently called to serve in the Primary and it is simultaneously touching and humbling to serve these young children of God. They’re not always reverent in the traditional sense, but they get so excited when they see a picture of Christ. My calling inspires me to remember my own search to know the Savior.
It is interesting how easy it can be to lose sight of our divine nature. Sometimes I wish we sang “I am a Child of God” more often as adults. I have a friend whose Facebook profile reads: “I am a son of God, and other aspects about me are comparatively unimportant details.” If we truly understood this I am sure it would change everything we do. It is so important to remember who we are.
I think in the world today, it’s so easy to feel offended or wronged. Many women in the Church feel like they are less important than men because they hold the priesthood, but none of the doctrine of Christ supports that thinking. Christ loved the women in His life, and all of the women today fall into that category. We are the women in His life. We have an important role to play in hastening the work. Feeling wronged or offended aren’t feelings from God. God will always help us realize our divine worth.
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