As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I have been taught and firmly believe that motherhood is a divine and sacred calling. In "A Proclamation to the Family" a modern prophet and apostles state, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation."
I recently listened to a very disheartening program on National Public Radio that contrasted this. It was a discourse about women in the corporate world. Opinions varied. Some women felt guilty for leaving their children with a day care provider while at work. Others felt that even though they would like to be home with their children they couldn't abandon the feelings of self-worth that come from "meaningfully" contributing to society through gainful employment. Many felt their contributions and skills in the workforce were under-appreciated. A man called in and said something to the effect that women who went to school, earned a bachelor's degree, and weren't using it in the workforce were wasting their degree. I couldn't disagree more.
I know that many women work outside the home out of necessity and are still great mothers. They don't, however, need to spend all of their time trying to be exactly like their male cohorts because they aren't.
Salt will never taste like pepper. We couldn't get salt to taste like pepper if we wanted to. They serve different purposes. Women and men will never be the same, they have inherent differences. I could work construction, but I could not lift 75 pounds. My husband can nurture and love our little boy, but he cannot feed him when he's hungry. Why? Because by divine design we are different. Are we equal? Yes. Same and equal are not synonymous. Do men contribute more to society than women? No. They serve different purposes.
As women, we use our knowledge, education and the gifts Heavenly Father has blessed us with to be good mothers and in turn better society. Through motherhood we "meaningfully" contribute to society.
In the short six weeks time that I have been a mother, I've learned the importance of motherhood. It has been much more than feeding, changing diapers, and consoling a crying baby. It has brought overwhelming feelings of joy and contentment. I'm so grateful to be a mother.
