A perfect inspirational thought for the celebration of women and mothers

Sister Vasquez (a former member of our ward) sent me this wonderful thought from Sheri Dew. The actual article is at http://www.mormontimes.com/WC_education.php?id=1006

The text of the article is as follows:
Published: Thursday, May. 1, 2008

Women of the church need to do more to differentiate themselves from the world by exerting their influence and making themselves ministers of Christ, Sheri Dew said at the opening session of Women's Conference at Brigham Young University on Thursday morning.


'We should be far more distinctive than even the very finest women in the world. Are we?' said Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book and former member of the Relief Society general presidency.

Because women in the church have access to the Holy Ghost, the teachings of living prophets, and the blessings of the priesthood and the temple, they should be noticeably di fferent from other women, Dew said. They shouldn't base their personal worth on their size, shape or accomplishments made outside the home.

Referencing a magazine article entitled 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women,' which featured politicians, businesswomen and entertainers, Dew said, 'What I dispute is the bold distortion that in order to have influence, a woman must have money, fame or a title. That is a big, fat lie ... We are here, my sisters, to influence the world rather than be influenced by the world.'

Dew, who mentioned her personal heartache from not marrying or bearing children, said every individual in the church has a profound influence on others. She said many women are complacent, though, and buy into Lucifer's lies that men are more intelligent, more powerful and more important. These false notions can lead women to try to be more like men, or to view marriage and family as menial.
'Nothing is more important than bearing children and leading them along the path home,' she said.

Societies are representative of the women within them, she said, and women have tremendous impact on their husbands and children, for better or for worse.
'Show me the women of any family or community and I will show you the character and the soul of that family and community,' she said.
This far-reaching impact is why women need to realize their potential and use it for the betterment of the world.

'It is time for us to wake up to the potential magnitude of our full influence as latter-day women of God and to arise and do what we were sent here to do,' she said. 'If (God) came to minister, then so did we.'
Each day needs to begin with a commitment to be a minister of God. Dew said that can include talking to friends of other faiths about the church, starting a blog to share personal beliefs or mentoring young adults, in addition to being mothers and wives.

Because women are innately nurturing, they will sometimes become so busy they don't make time for their own spirituality. In order to be effective ministers, Dew said women need to take time for themselves to be holy.

'If our lives are so busy that we don't have time for our personal worship, something needs to change,' she said. 'If we could unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom of God and the world would change overnight.'