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Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a great talk about The Moral Force of Women. In it, he discussed a few "pernicious philosoph[ies]" that the world has about a woman's nature and place in society. He also shared what the truth is--how God really feels about women--along with some personal anecdotes. I highly recommend that you give it a read (or listen).
I had a lot of fun summarizing some of his points in the infographic below. I'll also provide a little extra personal commentary after the graphic.
Before I begin sharing some of my feelings on these topics, I want to first express my gratitude for the Atonement. The Atonement grants us pure power to overcome trials, tribulations, and sorrows in this life. Not only does it provide us with an enabling power, but it also gives us the opportunity to repent when we do wrong. What I say below will sound harsh to some, and it will hit close to home for some.
I will not apologize for sharing or standing up for my deepest beliefs. However, I do not want to give the impression that people who sympathize with what I will refer to as "worldly ideologies" deserve to be mistreated. And I absolutely want to make clear that if someone has violated any of God's fundamental teachings, repentance is possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
Having said that, I'll share a few thoughts on the above-listed topics and quotations.
Marriage and motherhood are essential to God's plan for us. Of course, personal family circumstances may require adaptation. Not everyone receives the blessing of eternal marriage in this life, and sometimes even eternal marriage can be broken when one or both spouses break sacred covenants. Some couples, for whatever reason, may not have the opportunity to rear children in this life. Regardless, I believe our Heavenly Parents have no greater joy than serving as parents, and if we live deserving of it, we will receive the same blessing.
The world has developed and continues to develop many degrading and false beliefs regarding sexuality. We know that sexual intimacy has been reserved for a husband and wife. Not only are extramarital sexual relations inexcusable in God's eyes, but when a women conceives--within or without marriage--and subsequently elects to end the human life that has begun, she is in violation of one of God's greatest commandments. The reason is that the sanctity of life and the power of procreation are two of God's greatest gifts to us. We can remain strong and steadfast as we rely on the Lord for help in combating the false ideologies the world confronts us with.
Men and women are inherently different. This isn't to make one sex "better" than another. Rather, it is because each gender holds equally unique and essential characteristics and abilities that complement the other's. God expects us to work together, sharing our special gifts, in order to create a more perfect unity.
Finally, the world proclaims gender equality and feminist ideologies. However, what they proclaim and what they actually fight for are in many cases hypocritical. Where someone might say, "Women deserve the right to end unwanted pregnancies because she deserves to live her life as she wishes," they imply that the other human life directly involved in that pregnancy does not deserve the right to live as he/she would like to. And, of course, an abortion affects more than the aborted and the woman aborting him/her. People whose lives could have been touched and changed by this precious soul are denied that blessing because of a woman's decision to deny that soul mortal life.
As we do our best to live as God would have us live, we will make a difference. More importantly, we will be able to stand before God, clean and pure, at the last day. As women, we have within us a moral force that is strong enough to combat the lies of these days. And when we make mistakes, whether little or great, we can rely on the Atonement to return us to a previous, cleaner state. I know that this is true.
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