Elder Nelson's Talk Perfectly Defines LDS Womanhood

Last week as Elder Nelson got into his talk at General Conference I realized that it was perfect for my blog. In fact, I could just copy it here and be done with entire blog, but I feel it deserves careful study and I plan to come back to it each week as I strive to follow his counsel.

He began by talking about the wives of the recently departed Apostles. The picture he paints of Sister Packer as "showing the tranquility of a faith-filled woman" even as she was aware of her husband's decline was simply beautiful. He sees us as so much more than we currently are and believes in a greater vision of women as we can be. He says that it is "impossible to measure our influence" on families and the church as wives, mothers, and grandmothers, sisters and aunts, as teachers and leaders BUT "especially as exemplars and devout defenders of the faith". Perhaps this is why he titles his talk "A Plea to My Sisters"; he wants us to be more than we are. He says the distinction we have brings both privileges and responsibilities!

Elder Nelson shares President Kimball's famous quote:


and says that we are those women President Kimball saw and talked about! "We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices." That doesn't sound like women are second class members of the Church as many nay-sayers lead the world to believe.

Elder Nelson then quotes another talk from the past on the role of women in the church, President Packer's famous "We Need Women who are. . ." quote and then adds many of his own additional "we need women who are . . ." My friend came up with a list of 63 "We need Women who are" qualities just from this talk. She suggests that this list would be a great place to get ideas in that weekly quest to find out where the Lord wants us to improve next.

We need women who are...

1. Seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world
2. Virtue
3. Light 
4. Love 
5. Knowledge 
6. Courage
7. Character
8. Faith 
9. Righteous 
10. Draw good women to the Church 
11. Strength 
12. Conversion 
13. Conviction 
14. Ability to lead
15. Wisdom
16. Your voice
17. Women who make sacred covenants and then keep them 
18. Speak with the power and authority of God 
19. Organized and can organize 
20. Executive ability who can plan and direct and administer
21. Women who can teach 
22. Women who can speak out 
23. Women with the gift of discernment who can view the trends in the world and detect those that, however popular, are shallow or dangerous. 
24. Know how to make important things happen by their faith 
25. Courageous defenders of morality in a sin-sick world
26. Courageous defenders of family in a sin-sick world
27. Devoted to shepherding God's children along the covenant path toward exaltation 
28. Know how to receive personal revelation 
29. Understand the power and peace of the temple endowment 
30. Know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families
31. Women who teach fearlessly 
32. Vision 
33. Grit 
34. Love 
35. Inspired prodding
36. Sisters, do you realize the breadth and scope of your influence when you speak those things that come to your heart and mind as directed by the Spirit?
37. Whatever your calling, whatever your circumstances, we need your impressions
38. We need your insights
39. We need your inspiration
40. We need you to speak up
41. We need you to speak out in ward and stake councils
42. We need each married sister to speak as a contributing and full partner as you unite with your husband in governing your family
43. Married or single, you sisters possess distinctive capabilities and special intuition you have received as gifts from God
44. We brethren cannot duplicate your unique influence
45. The culminating act of all creation was the creation of woman
46. We need your strength!
47. Because attacks against the Church, its doctrine, and our way of life are going to increase, we need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ
48. And who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin-resistant generation
49. We need women who can detect deception in all of its forms
50. We need women who know how to access the power that God makes available to covenant keepers 
51. Women who express their beliefs with confidence and charity
52. We need women who have the courage and vision of our Mother Eve
53. Nothing is more crucial to your eternal life than your own conversion
54. It is converted, covenant-keeping women—women like my dear wife Wendy—whose righteous lives will increasingly stand out in a deteriorating world and who will thus be seen as different and distinct in the happiest of ways
55. Today I plead with my sisters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to step forward!
56. Take your rightful and needful place in your home—more than you ever have before
57. Take your rightful and needful place in your community—more than you ever have before
58. Take your rightful and needful place in the kingdom of God—more than you ever have before
59. I plead with you to fulfill President Kimball’s prophecy  
60. I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that as you do so, the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way!
61. As one of His Apostles, I thank you, my dear sisters
62. As one of His Apostles, I bless you to rise to your full stature, to fulfill the measure of your creation, as we walk arm in arm in this sacred work
63. Together we will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord

I loved Elder Nelson's story he shared about his wife Dantzel and what she said to him after she had stayed by his side as he cried through the night over a failed heart surgery. He states  "How I needed her vision, grit, and love!" The he asks us "Do you realize the breadth and scope of  your influence when you speak those things that come to your heart and mind as directed by the Spirit?" We've been given that gift of being able to receive messages from the Spirit, so we need to share those things we receive. The story of a Stake Council is shared where they were discussing a difficult problem when the Stake President asked the Primary President if she had any impressions. She shared the impression she had and it changed the direction of the meeting. The Stake President said, “As she spoke, the Spirit testified to me that she had given voice to the revelation we had been seeking as a council.” She did not need to hold the Priesthood to receive that revelation, she just needed to be the kind of woman Elder Nelson is asking us and insisting that we can be.

Because attacks against us will increase, "we need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ and who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin-resistant generation. We need women who can detect deception in all of its forms." I have felt this in recent years as I have felt guided to champion and organize White Ribbon Week at our elementary school to educate students and parents about the dangers of Internet Pornography. Recently, I was asked to substitute teach in Relief Society when the given topic was "The Law of Chastity". I assumed those asking me knew about my passion for teaching this topic, but they were not. They were led by the Spirit to ask me and hopefully those present caught my urgency and ability to "detect deception" by Satan and were inspired to share with others and teach their own children to be sin-resistant.

Elder Nelson urges us to take our rightful place in home, community and kingdom. He promises the Holy Ghost will magnify our influence in unprecedented ways. We need to walk "arm in arm" with the men in this Sacred Work. I LOVED this talk and plan to come back to it over and over as I strive to fill my divine role as a woman.