Not perfect, but a woman of God

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Relief Society Session of the October 1999 Conference.

Sheri Dew's talks are so good! I try not to automatically assume I'm going to like hers best—but I always do. In this session, she talked about an experience where she felt a strong feeling of foreboding before traveling out of the country. So, she asked for a priesthood blessing. In it, she says, 

I was warned that the adversary would attempt to thwart my mission and that physical and spiritual danger lay ahead. I was also counseled that this was not to be a sight-seeing or a shopping trip and that if I would focus on my assignments and seek the direction of the Spirit, I would return safely home.

Well, the warning was sobering. But as I proceeded, pleading for direction and protection each step of the way, I realized that my experience wasn’t all that unique. Might not our Father have said to you and to me as we left His presence: “The adversary will attempt to thwart your mission, and you will face spiritual and physical danger. But if you will focus on your assignments, if you will heed my voice, and if you will refuse to reduce mortality to a sight-seeing or a shopping trip, you will return safely home”?

First of all—I wish I could know what would have happened on that trip if she hadn't listened to the warning! I'm so curious! (Although glad, of course, that she came out okay!) But second of all, it just reminds me that the little distractions and troubles and hardships of life I face every day are, actually, ways the adversary is attempting to thwart my mission! I usually just blame my own ignorance or weakness—and there is plenty of that, of course—but it's sobering somehow to think that Satan is actively working against me and against my family, trying to pull us away from the right path! It reminds me of a quote from another talk in this session, where Sister Jensen quoted Elder Packer saying:

“The ultimate purpose of the adversary … is to disrupt, disturb, and to destroy the home and the family.”

That's a very scary thought! Sister Dew reminds me of President Nelson when she then says, 

We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ. That is the litmus test for Relief Society, as well as for our lives. In the days ahead, a casual commitment to Christ will not carry us through.

She was so prophetic in speaking those words. And she is obviously right. It takes absolute determination to continue our efforts to follow Christ in the face of such strong cultural and worldly headwinds! And it is tiring. Tiring to constantly worry about your children, to try to fight so many prevailing attitudes, to remain strong and positive and hopeful when you see reasons for discouragement every day. But I loved how she emphasized that our commitment to Christ will actually bring us so much joy:

As a young girl I saw commitment in my grandmother, who helped Grandpa homestead our farm on the Kansas prairie. Somehow they outlasted the Dust Bowl, the Depression, and the tornadoes that terrorize the Great Plains. I’ve often wondered how Grandma put up with years of meager income and hard work and how she went on when her oldest son died in a tragic accident. Grandma’s life wasn’t easy. But do you know what I remember most about her? Her total joy in the gospel. She was never happier than when she was working on family history or teaching with her scriptures in hand. Grandma had laid aside the things of this world to seek for the things of a better.

To the world, my grandma was ordinary. But to me, she represents the unsung heroines of this century who lived up to their premortal promises and left a foundation of faith upon which we may build. Grandma wasn’t perfect, but she was a woman of God. Now it is for you and for me to carry forward the banner into the next century. We are not women of the world. We are women of God.

I love the idea that being a "woman of God" is an identity we can choose, and one we can hold to even when we don't feel very successful at it. I was talking with a friend about that this week and thinking how to keep reaching for God even when we feel tired and faithless is one of the very best ways to show our faith! 

I also loved this: 

At times the demands of discipleship are heavy. But shouldn’t we expect the journey towards eternal glory to stretch us? We sometimes rationalize our preoccupation with this world and our casual attempts to grow spiritually by trying to console each other with the notion that living the gospel really shouldn’t require all that much of us. The Lord’s standard of behavior will always be more demanding than the world’s, but then the Lord’s rewards are infinitely more glorious—including true joy, peace, and salvation.

Then, of course, it wouldn't be a Sheri Dew talk without a stirring call to action:

Tonight I invite each of us to identify at least one thing we can do to come out of the world and come closer to Christ. And then next month, another. And then another. Sisters, this is a call to arms, it’s a call to action, a call to arise. A call to arm ourselves with power and with righteousness. A call to rely on the arm of the Lord rather than the arm of flesh. A call to “arise and shine forth, that [our] light may be a standard for the nations.” A call to live as women of God so that we and our families may return safely home.

To return safely home (with my family!) is my greatest desire.