As women, it can be easy to forget our purpose and place in God’s eyes, but the foundational truths in the Young Women Theme can remind us that we are divine daughters of our Heavenly Mother and Father.
When I was a teenager, I participated in the Young Women program. I loved my time as a Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel and felt sure of my place within the gospel. I looked up to my female leaders because they made me feel confident in who I was as a daughter of God; I wanted to be just like them. But as I grew older, I began to doubt my own importance. Like others, I had questions about gender equality in the Church and my divine role as a woman. How did my Young Women leaders stay so strong in a world that seems to favor men?
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I discovered that the answers to my questions lay in the new Young Women Theme. In Elder Dale G. Renlund’s general conference talk “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny,” he emphasizes that these eternal truths found in the Young Women Theme apply to each and every woman:
- We are all beloved daughters.
- We have heavenly parents—a Father and a Mother.
- We have a divine nature as children of God, which is our most important identity.
- We each have an eternal destiny.
These truths can help us understand our own significance—not only as mothers or wives, but as divine creatures that are strong, compassionate, and unique. We can take comfort that our roles in the Church are important because we know of the existence of our Heavenly Mother and we have a knowledge of our eternal destinies.
We must always remember the most important truth: “God loves you because you are His spirit daughter. Sometimes we may not feel His love, but it is always there. God’s love is perfect.” Our heavenly parents see us perfectly, know us individually, and love us unconditionally. We can use our unique natures and talents to be disciples of Christ and “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9).
Read Elder Dale G. Renlund’s full talk “Your Divine Nature and Eternal Destiny” to discover more about our divine role as daughters of God.
Source: General Conference
—Taryn Hervey, Latter-day Saint Insights
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Find more insights
Take a look at President Russell M. Nelson’s talk “A Plea to My Sisters” to learn about our pricelessness and roles as women in the Church.
Read Sister Rosemary M. Wixom’s article “Discovering the Divinity Within” to understand that our divine nature as women comes from God.