She was to write

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Women's Session of the October 1984 Conference.

Speaking of doing things "before we are ready" (as we were…uh…several months ago, but it feels recent) I liked this statement from Sister Dwan J. Young about learning to be a responsible member of the Lord's church. It's a good reminder that it's not really that important if we FEEL ready for new responsibilities. Instead, we should be seeking to become ready when the Lord wants us to.

It is the Lord’s will that children at the age of eight begin to be responsible for the kind of lives they lead. You girls who are ten and eleven, and all of us, must assume this same responsibility. In so doing we are becoming a Zion people, which the Doctrine and Covenants says are people who are “pure in heart.”

I also loved President Hinckley's talk to the women. He used the revelation to Emma Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants (Section 25) to pull out some counsel that is relevant to all women. I have always liked that section (and of course, it does specifically say, "What I say unto one, I say unto all"). One of my favorite bits of advice (probably because it's something I like doing—ha ha—but also something I'd like to do more of) was this:

She was to study the gospel. She also was to study the things of the world in which she lived. That was made clear in subsequent revelations applicable to all of us. She was to devote her time “to learning much.” She was to write, giving expression to her thoughts. 

To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous educational effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many—your families and others—now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings.

Good motivation not to give up on journals and blogs! I like that he includes "musings" among the writings that have value—since I often feel like it's pointless to write down such badly-formed thoughts as I can put together in my fragmented free moments. But if I wait to think of insights that seem profound, lucid, and posterity-worthy—I will be waiting forever. And he's right that expressing even our more…er…disorganized thoughts can provide "discipline" and "assist [us] in various ways"—I've found that myself.

Other posts in this series:

All of us striving together—by Jan Tolman