We often hear about the divine nature of women as nurturers. Why don’t we always apply this characteristic to men?
We are all loved by our Heavenly Father. To him, we have infinite worth and potential, and we are capable of immense acts of service and love. However, as both women and men, sometimes we forget about our divine nature as nurturers.
Photo by Anshu A
In the 2015 women’s session of general conference, Sister Rosemary M. Wixom delivered the talk “Discovering the Divinity Within” to the women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about remembering their divine nature and using this nature to serve and build up God’s kingdom. However, many of these beautiful messages are oftentimes left out of the priesthood sessions of general conference and young men’s lessons.
It is important for the men of the world to hear the same messages about spreading love as a supplement to the lessons on priesthood power and serving as a provider. In his 2003 Education Week speech titled “The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood,” Elder M. Russell Ballard stated, “We know that a father’s role does not end with presiding, providing, and protecting family members. On a day-to-day basis, fathers can and should help with the essential nurturing and bonding associated with feeding, playing, storytelling, loving, and all the rest of the activities that make up family life.” All of us are capable of spreading love and are ultimately expected to nurture God’s children.
When we actively work towards spreading love and kindness with a strong sense of nurturing, we are able to feel the divinity within us. As Sister Wixom points out, “We identify with our divine nature as we feel and give the love of our Father in Heaven. We have the agency to nurture it, let it flourish, and help it grow.” Although she addresses the women and girls of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we would do well to teach this same message to the boys and men as well.
Discover the importance of love, nurture, and service by reading Sister Wixom’s full talk “Discovering the Divinity Within.” For added learning, while reading the article try replacing references to the divine nature of daughters of God with that of sons of God.
Source: General Conference
—Aaron Tobler, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY IRENE STRONG
Find more insights
Read more from M. Russell Ballard’s talk “The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood” to learn about the important roles and partnership of women and men.
Check out the divine nature of masculinity in the context of fatherhood in “Divine Masculinity: What it Means to be a Man” by Maegan Sugrue.
Be sure to read Cynthia Chan’s “Of Infinite Worth: Discovering Our Divine Potential” to learn more about our divine nature.