True Feminism Is Spelled Motherhood.

Every year when Mother's Day approaches I think of the women in my life. I quickly realized they taught me everything worth knowing. Yes, the men in my life also taught me. But, more often than not, it was the women who mothered me who made the difference.

These women were not CEOs who ran large corporations, they did not manage hedge funds worth billions of dollars, they did not have their picture on TIME magazine, and they never appeared on the Forbes list of most influential women. But the work they did was far more important: they mothered me, and countless others.

Feminism once meant the advancement of the equal rights of women. It was a movement that valued men and women as equals. But it has been hijacked and become an anti-men movement. Feminism now is equated to supporting abortion and being anti-men and even anti-motherhood. I have had countless friends who were shamed by self-proclaimed feminists for being "just being a stay-at-home mom." Well, the truth is, true feminism is spelled motherhood.

Motherhood Precedes Maternity.

I know countless people who think that motherhood means the mothering of your own children. If that is the scope of motherhood, then I could see why it would bring up sensitive feelings, but it is not the case. Motherhood is the act of being a mother to ANYONE. Think of Mother Eve, she was given the title: the mother of all living. Long before she had had children she was a mother, speaking of Mother Eve Patricia T. Holland taught, "her motherhood preceded her maternity." (Ensign, Oct 1987)

Because God does not see us as we are, but as we can become if we keep our covenants: every faithful woman is a mother in the eyes of God. The single, the barren, and the wife of a large family, God see each one as a mother. A true mother, mothers more than just her own offspring. She mothers all of those around her. The influence of a true mother sends ripples through the eons of time. I have but one biological mother, but God has blessed me with a multiplicity of women who have mothered me. From my two mission president's wives to the tender wives of my many bishops. To the women who took me under their wing with my work and travels over the past years. God has blessed me with many mothers and grandmothers.

“Every woman is a mother by virtue of her eternal divine destiny.”
Russell M. Nelson

The Most Feminist Christian Religion.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the most feminist religion. There, I said it, now let me explain it. Satan is attacking the women of the church all the time, telling them that motherhood is not as important as other things. His lies tell them that in order to make a difference they need a degree, a fancy job, or a title. We don't need more CEOs, Presidents, or hedge fund managers: What the world needs now is mothers who know! And mothers who will teach it to those around them. The world needs righteous women! And what do righteous women do? They mother! 

Once we understand the gospel plan, we realize that for a man or woman to settle for anything less than becoming a mother and father is to live beneath their privileges. It is not the other way around! Anyone who chooses to forgo a family in favor of personal ambition is cutting their eternal potential short. What is their potential? Becoming like Heavenly Father/Mother Sister Sheri Dew (Ensign, Nov 2001) taught, "No woman who understands the gospel would ever think that any other work is more important or would ever say, 'I am just a mother.'"

The restored gospel teaches the unique truth that we not only have a Father in Heaven, but also a Mother in Heaven. We believe that the order of the universe is not only patriarchal like the rest of Christianity, it is also matriarchal. In other words, we believe that the family unit on earth is a reflection of our heavenly home. James E. Faust taught, "Every father is to his family a patriarch and every mother a matriarch as coequals in their distinctive parental roles." (Ensign, May 1996) We are a matriarchal and a patriarchal Church. And whereas "We do not speak much of matriarchs; we call them instead, mothers. The mother is the counterpart to the patriarch of a home." Shirley W. Thomas. (Ensign, Nov 1981)

The Divinity Of Motherhood.

The media and magazines love sharing lists of the most powerful and influential women, but they are often full of CEOs, politicians, actresses, and models: In the eternal scope of things, it will be mothers who are the most influential women. You can not take your stock portfolio with you to heaven, you can not take your political office or your money. At the end of the day, the most lucrative and investment-savvy option is to enter into the noble occupation of motherhood. It pays eternal dividends.

The whole plan of salvation revolves around our families. As President Ezra Taft Benson put it "Exaltation is eternal fatherhood and eternal motherhood." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 548) Do you get the picture yet? Motherhood is not settling for less.

Motherhood is infinitely more important, noble, and praiseworthy than being a CEO, Politician, Doctor, Supermodel, or Actress! Anyone can be a CEO but it takes a daughter of God to be a mother! The First Presidency has declared that  “Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind” (Messages of the First Presidency, 6:178).

Our Heavenly Father is the ultimate example of masculinity and our Heavenly Mother of feminism. We should strive to emulate them. In the words of President Russell M. Nelson, "There are no greater roles in life for a man than those of husband and father. Likewise, there are no greater roles for a woman than those of wife and mother."

True Feminism Is Spelled Motherhood.

A true mother does not just sit at home and do nothing all day, she is engaged in raising her family and helping those around her. As a missionary, I saw countless mothers with small children who were engaged in the work of not just raising their own family but sharing the gospel. They would befriend those we were investigating, they would offer up their homes as places to come and teach lessons.

I can still close my eyes and I am back in Bangor, Maine. I can still remember one night having a lesson with the Bench family. When they asked their young primary-aged son to give the opening prayer for a lesson. The spirit rushed in and filled the room as he prayed for everyone in that room. He not only prayed for his own family and us, but also our investigators, and everyone by name! It left a distinct impression on me that I want to be a parent like Brother and sister Bench. They were parents who understood that true feminism is motherhood and true masculinity is fatherhood.

The most effective teaching a child will ever receive is in their own home. A child learns the gospel and how to treat others by watching mother and father. A mother's example is a powerful force, In the Oct. 2015 General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child."

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