This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Relief Society Session of the October 1996 Conference.
I found such a great quote from Sister Aileen H. Clyde! It is such a sober and clear call to action, especially contrasted with the world's norms in our day. I have been supremely bothered by the sort of smug refusal to grow up that's popular in some circles (I won't subject you to the popular word, but you've heard it…it means "acting like an adult" but put in the most annoyingly juvenile of terms)—because, although I sympathize with the desire to avoid hard things, I also WANT to grow up and be a functioning, contributing member of God's kingdom!
Here's the quote:
As women in the Church, we have knowledge many others lack; consequently we remind ourselves our work is not dedicated to triviality or entertainment. We have all been blessed with the truths we feel when we sing “I Am a Child of God,” but we need to remember in our hearts that our experiences here require us also to be adults of God. Again, the scripture verifies the maturing required of us: “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became [an adult], I put away childish things.” We do not seek to lose the fresh teachableness of children; we seek to claim steadfastness and the courage to act on our hard-won convictions.
It reminds me of another quote I've always liked, from Eliza R. Snow:
Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time. I know we like to be appreciated but if we do not get all the appreciation which we think is our due, what matters? We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish or desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities.”
It's just so bracing to be spoken to like that! I like a good "you're doing great!" as much as the next person, but I do feel in my heart this is true—if things are hard, oh well! I need to be a woman and square my shoulders and press onward, knowing that God will bless me as I do so!
Other posts in this series:
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