This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 2002 Conference.
The talks in this Young Women's Session sounded so "old-fashioned" (in a good way). I almost can't believe that these things were said and I thought nothing remarkable about them at the time. First this beautiful statement by Sister Margaret D. Nadauld about the divine characteristics of women:
The divine light which you carry within your soul is inherited from God because you are His daughter. Part of the light which makes you so magnificent is the blessing of womanhood. What a wonderful thing it is for you to know that your female, feminine characteristics are an endowment from God. Our latter-day prophets teach that “gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” It is a holy blessing to be born with the exquisite qualities of a daughter of God. Women of God, both old and young, are spiritual and sensitive, tender and gentle. They have a kind, nurturing nature. This is your inheritance.
It is a wonderful thing to know! And I wish so much that more people did know it!
Sister Nadauld also talked about modesty, and it was so refreshing! There's a mindset that seems to be floating around in the church so much these days, something like: "Modesty isn't about how you dress." And it annoys me so much because even though obviously modesty isn't ONLY about how you dress, this attitude seems to say that it doesn't even INCLUDE how you dress, nor how you act, nor how you present yourself. In fact, modesty as a virtue seems to be neglected altogether in this way of thinking, in favor of power statements like "No one gets to tell you what to wear!" or "You're not responsible for what impression you make on others!" It just seems like the pendulum has swung way too far the opposite direction, in an attempt to counteract an idea ("It's girls' fault if boys have immodest thoughts about them!) which was always a straw man anyway. No one ever taught that.
Anyway, I love these teachings about modesty, which you will notice ALSO acknowledge "it is more than how you dress." These six virtues seem all-but-forgotten in our world today, and it made me want to study this talk with my girls to make sure they learn these things! Living like this would certainly make any girl stand out from the world around her!
You have made modesty your way of life. It is more than how you dress. It includes at least six things that I can think of: (1) your behavior is decent and modest, and yet you are very fun to be with; (2) your language is never crude but happy and interesting; (3) you are well groomed, and that is appealing; (4) you are focused on developing your talents and achieving your goals, not piercing and tattooing and flaunting your body; (5) you play sports with gusto but never lose control; (6) you don’t seem to care about what the latest pop star wears or does because you have a certain style of your own. In summary, you do not imitate the world’s standards because you know a higher standard. You know who you are, and that puts you at a real advantage. You know that you really are a daughter of Heavenly Father. You know that He knows you and that He loves you; you want to please Him and honor His love for you.
These things remind me a little of Elder Bednar's teachings about meekness, another forgotten virtue in today's world, and I'm so grateful we have prophets to teach and remind of these things—things we might neglect or discard altogether if we only had our own wisdom to rely on!
Other posts in this series:
Timely reminder from the past—by Rozy
Your daughters just look so beautiful in that picture! Like the embodiment of all of this! (And I was thinking this very week, reading Paul’s caution to the Corinth saints about idol meat—acknowledging that idols mean nothing and it really wouldn’t matter eating that meat EXCEPT that it might negatively influence others. I was thinking how Paul’s counsel that we DO need to consider how our actions influence others is in direct contrast to what so many, even in the church, say about modesty. We don’t get to just wash ourselves of all responsibility over our dress and speech and how it might negatively impact others.)
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