lasting happiness, peace, and joy

The talk I'm studying this week from Conference is by none other than my heroess, Julie B. Beck. You can read here entire talk here. She reminds women that it is still our responsibility to "strengthen the homes of Zion and build His kingdom on the earth."

In this talk she helps us find answers to two questions. How does one increase faith, strengthen families, and provide relief? How does a woman in our day find answers to her own questions and stand strong and immovable against incredible opposition and difficulty?

"A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently." I guess the first step is to stop listening to afternoon talk show hosts and silly women's magazines and start listening the the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.

In addition to constantly renewing our covenants, Sister Beck encourages us to "...read the scriptures because the scriptures are an aid to revelation. Insight found in scripture accumulates over time, so it is important to spend some time in the scriptures every day. Daily prayer is also essential to having the Lord’s Spirit with us. " This message is not new; its truths have been shouted from the rooftops for generations.

Here's where it gets hard. "When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power and peace can descend to guide when help is needed. For instance, mothers can feel help from the Spirit even when tired, noisy children are clamoring for attention, but they can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children." Loosing our temper is so easy and just what Satan desires; patience and long-suffering, charity, are Jesus' way.

"We are told to put our trust in that Spirit which leads us “to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously”... this Spirit will enlighten our minds, fill our souls with joy, and help us know all things we should do. Promised personal revelation comes when we ask for it, prepare for it, and go forward in faith, trusting that it will be poured out upon us."

That is the recipe--be where we should be with the right Spirit at the right time. Being good and doing right rarely bestow any worldly fanfare. Eliza R. Snow had this to say about that. "...Women should be women and not babies that need petting... 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."

I think that is where my own homemaking/child rearing went amiss; I was rather a baby. I also looked to the world for my affirmation, a world that despised who I was and what I wanted to accomplish. "Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding...in a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources."

So how can a woman, who is not seeking to follow the feminist ideal of womanly success know if she is really getting it right? "...we are doing well when we:

1. develop attributes of Christ

2. strive to obey His gospel with exactness

3. seek to improve ourselves

4. do our best

5. increase faith

6. personal righteousness

7. strengthen families and homes

8. seek out and help others who are in need...

9. live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit...

When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased, when we feel the Spirit working through us. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly."

With these things in mind, I see that I have done well but still have areas that need improvement before I can be counted with those of whom Joel speaks. "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." Joel 2: 28-29

If we are to fulfill this mighty obligation we need to listen to this echo of Joel's prophecy from sweet Spencer W. Kimball, after whom I named my youngest son. "President Spencer W. Kimball echoed this prophecy when he said: “...many of the good women of the world (in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality) will be drawn to the Church in large numbers. This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world...Thus it will be that female exemplars of the Church will be a significant force in both the numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in the last days."

Nurturing children/grandchildren, strengthening families, working to improve my relationship with God and personal revelation, studying to increase knowledge and articulateness, and seeking to be righteous are exactly what women should be doing. It is alright to be distinct and different from the world. These are the only things that will bring true, lasting happiness, peace, and joy.