Selling one's self short is a common practice in our society. Whether we do so because we are misinformed about our true worth or because we have chosen to diminish the light we bear within so others will not feel "uncomfortable" in our presence, either way, the world is a darker place because of that choice.
Many women particularly have become masters at the art of selling themselves short.
I do not speak of merely self deprecating speech, false modesty or false humility for accomplishments garnered through the use of God-given talent. Instead, what I think about are those souls who have been sold into a kind of bondage that has falsely been sold to them about who they are because they are women.
Women are a crowning touch on the creations of God. There was a reason God chose to bring His fair daughters to the earth as the last portion of His Divine creation. We are WORTH MUCH to Him. He kept us in reserve to come forth when the world was ready, when our protector in man was already here to be in place conspicuously for our good.
We are not second class, instead, we are created to be first class. Not above man or the rest of creation, but to be equal to man but granted a defined and distinct purpose that goes beyond the mere physical attributes God divinely appointed to our gender.
We have half of the procreative power within. We need the man to complete that action. The man needs the woman to complete him just as the woman needs the man.
Completion doesn't imply neediness the way the evil world chooses to define it. To need completion means that we recognize our worth, our value and our place in the plan of God as a continuation - a part of perpetuation for this creation.
Selling ourselves short or for a very cheap price means that we do not understand who we really are. It means that we allow - by 'accidental' choice or design - someone or something else to tell us who we are and how much we are worth... or most likely, not worth.
Women have been trapped for generations in the nonsensical belief that they only have worth as defined by someone other than themselves and God. Nudity, promiscuity, vulgarity, coarseness, worldly worship and abandoning the role of nurturer and keeper of home and hearth are all the prices paid to be what the world said we should be. Becoming hard, rough, tough, and without feeling is the result of the price of trying to take an eternal spiritual being on a journey away from God and into the worship of the idol of man and his approval. That never brings true happiness but instead leaves an aching void of emptiness that cannot be filled with twerking, sexting, lewd and crude behavior or allowing our light to be diminished because we are ashamed to live up to our eternal potential.
Man is a creation of God just like Woman is... he isn't any better than us, just different. He has his OWN mortal and moral journey to make. Sometimes he chooses poorly. Just like the Father of Lies, fallen man wants others to share in his misery, so he LIES to women. And for women to take the word of fallen man over the Just and Holy words of our perfect and loving God does NOT make sense.
Mankind - both male and female components - are often petty, jealous, grasping and self-serving. It's the mortal and carnal nature we are striving - or SHOULD BE striving - to overcome to become Godly by CHOICE and action. Sadly, many have fallen victim to the ideology that becoming Godly is so far removed from the realm of possibility that all other substitutes for that pursuit are somehow not only acceptable but worthy of acceptation. THAT IS A LIE. The world would have us believe that we cannot change. The world would have us believe that we are inferior and destined forever to be so. The world tells lies.
Stop listening to that element world!! They would have you sell your sacred birthright for a mess of pottage for their own amusement. They would have you throw away the divine and holy light God has placed within you so that they can laugh when you stumble in the darkness. They are not your friends even if they have money and seem popular. FIND BETTER GUIDES.
Within the creation and the people who inhabit it are beings filled with light BY CHOICE. They are guides along our way - those brothers and sisters who point us toward our better self. They do not mock when we stumble, nor do they place a stumbling block in our path to create our fall. Rather, they are standing as sentinels that point the way toward that which is best, that which is holy, and that which is Godly toward which we may strive.
Do not sell yourself short!!
You are a Child of God - a divinely appointed heir to ALL that He has to give us. Jesus Christ paid for us with His Precious Blood! Don't throw that sacred offering away for the temporary praise of fallen man!
Elaine L. Jack once said, "The world would have you believe that you are of worth only if you have
money, a certain physical appearance, sylish clothes, or social
position. The gospel assures you that your value is not dependent on
your looks or material possessions. … Part of what it means to be a
Latter-day Saint is to know within your soul your eternal worth, who you
really are, and why you are here on earth."
Barbara Day Lockhart opined, "Our
eternal worth is given to us by God; it cannot be manipulated or
decreased by anyone. Of course, if we are not living the commandments,
we may lose sight of our divine worth and potential. Nevertheless, each
soul’s inherent worth is always great in the sight of our loving
Heavenly Father. I think that is imperative to know! Worthlessness is
not an option for anyone".
John the Beloved taught us of the depth of God’s love:
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In
this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (
1 John. 4:8–10).
We have to live in this world. It is the place we agreed to come as part of our mortal portion of the eternal journey we are on. However, we do NOT have to be "of the world" just because we live in the world. We CAN choose something better.
Just as the prodigal son 'came to himself' after living a shallow life of debauchery and misery and found himself returning home to his earthly father broken and in need of mending, we are all prodigals seeking our way home to our Eternal Father in Heaven and seeking His healing hand upon the brokenness of our lives.
We are of infinite worth to Him. God the Father and His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ WANT us. They desire that we return home to their presence to live with them.
Russell M. Nelson spoke of our infinite worth when he stated, "A worthy woman personifies the truly noble and worthwhile attributes of
life. A faithful woman can become a devoted daughter of God—more
concerned with being righteous than with being selfish, more anxious to
exercise compassion than to exercise dominion, more committed to
integrity than to notoriety. And she knows of her own infinite worth".
"Important
lessons about her divine mission may be learned from women of the
scriptures. Mother Eve was a great example. She labored beside her
husband as a partner. They both knew the plan of salvation. They both
heeded commandments of obedience to God. Likewise, she prayed for divine
guidance. She bore children. She taught the gospel to them. (See
Moses 5:1–12;
D&C 138:39.)
Sarah, in becoming the mother of Isaac in her advanced years, verified that nothing is “too hard for the Lord.” (
Genesis 18:14.)
Mary, mother of our Redeemer, was the perfect example of complete submission to the will of God. (See
Luke 1:38.) She kept confidences. (See
Luke 2:19.) In faith, she endured grief. (See
John 20:11.)The stories of these and other scriptural heroines show that women are essential in God’s plan for His children".
"So
much is expected of a woman. Often she is a detective; she must search
for lost articles and solve on a daily basis baffling “who done it”
mysteries. Frequently,
her eager audience requests her talent as a musician by calling upon
her to sing—any time, any place. She is an artist, using crayons and
coloring books, needles and thread, or other means to create works of
art by her own hands. (See
Psalms 90:17;
D&C 42:40.) During
the early life of most children, a woman is the principal
disciplinarian. She treads the tightrope of judgment between being too
strict or too permissive.
Mother is “secretary of labor” for her home. She teaches the work ethic with its responsibilities and rewards".
"A
woman is a master communicator. And she communicates best in humble
prayer. How many of us first learned to pray beside the bended knees of
our mothers? Surely she knows that her children can walk alone only when
they have found their pathway to Father in Heaven through prayer.
Certainly,
a woman is a teacher. Someone said, “When you teach a boy, you teach an
individual, but when you teach a girl, you teach a whole generation.”
J. Edgar Hoover said that “the cure of crime is not the electric chair but the high chair” (in Emerson Roy West, comp., Vital Quotations, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1968, p. 78.)
I
honor women who are not mothers. They know that motherhood is but one
of the realms of womankind. The virtue and intelligence of women are
uniquely applicable to other realms as well, such as compassionate
service and teaching.
I
am indebted to so many wonderful men and women who were my teachers.
From grade school, I remember Miss Crow, Miss McLean, Miss Starr, and
others. Later, Miss Bradford, Miss Cunningham, and Miss Snow were among
my favorites. They were modest, gracious, and moral examples. They were
not concerned with what I was to acquire, but with what I was to become.
These marvelous unmarried teachers exerted an influence distinct from
that of my angel mother. Their gleaming hopes, vicarious ambitions, and
exacting demands were vitally important to my preparation for life.
A
wise woman renews herself. In proper season, she develops her talents
and continues her education. She musters the discipline to reach her
goals. She dispels darkness and opens windows of truth to light her way.
A
woman teaches priorities by precept and example. Recently I watched a
television program in which a female lawyer was being interviewed. She
was at home with her child on a full-time basis. When asked of her
decision, she replied, “Oh, I may go back to the law sometime, but not
now. For me, the issue is simple. Any lawyer could take care of my
clients, but only I should be the mother of this child.”
Such
a decision is made not in terms of rights but in terms of obligations
and responsibilities. She knows that as she rises to meet
responsibilities, rights will take care of themselves".
She need not have majored in physics to know divine truths, as “there is no such thing as immaterial matter.” (
D&C 131:7.)
She need not have graduated in astronomy to learn lessons taught by God
to Abraham—the relation of the earth to the sun, the sun to the
planets, the planets to the center of the universe, and more. (See
Abraham 3.) When she sings “Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are,” she knows scriptural answers".
Of
course, there are times when a woman’s ability to endure is taxed to
the limit. A teacher may have had enough of childish pranks, or a mother
might be heard to say she’s “ready to resign.” She could become
discouraged, especially if comparing herself unrealistically to others
or focusing on what she is to do instead of on what she is to be.
Her
self-esteem cannot be based on physical features, possession or lack of
a particular talent, or comparative quantities of anything. Her
self-esteem is earned by individual righteousness and a close
relationship with God. Her outward glow is generated by goodness within.
And her patience is much more apparent than any imperfection. (See
D&C 67:13.)
Sweet
serenity is found in fervent prayer. Then, we forget ourselves and
remember the reaching hands of the Savior, who said, “Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (
Matt. 11:28.) As our burdens are shared with Him, they do become lighter.
Feelings
of worth come when a woman follows the example of the Master. Her sense
of infinite worth comes from her own Christlike yearning to reach out
with love, as He does.
When
her husband, children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews return from a
day marred by the world’s rude realities, a loving woman can say, “Come
unto me. I will give you rest.” Wherever she is can become a sanctified
place, safe from the storms of life. Refuge is there because of her
ability to nurture and to love unconditionally.
The Good Shepherd said, “Feed my lambs.” (
John 21:15.)
So a woman feeds her loved ones, providing succor and sustenance just
as the Savior would do. Her divine gift is to nurture, to help the
young, to care for the poor, to lift the brokenhearted.
The Lord said, “My work and my glory [is] to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man.” (
Moses 1:39.) So His devoted daughter-disciple may truly say, “My work and my glory is to help my loved ones reach that heavenly goal.”
To
help another human being reach one’s celestial potential is part of the
divine mission of woman. As mother, teacher, or nurturing saint, she
molds living clay to the shape of her hopes. In partnership with God,
her divine mission is to help spirits live and souls be lifted. This is
the measure of her creation. It is ennobling, edifying, and exalting.
Her saintly calling is opposed by Satan. He would shatter the
family
unit and demean the worth of woman. He would triumph if one man would
offend or fail to honor her, or if one woman would deny her infinite
worth and behave beneath her dignity. The vulgar portrayal of her beauty
as an object of lust, the vile invasion of her private purity, should
provoke righteous indignation from all caring people.
The
gospel has been restored in these latter days so that the light of the
Lord can prevail over efforts of the adversary. This day has long been
prophesied. The Lord has promised worthy Saints of our time: “Upon the
servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my
spirit.” (
Joel 2:29.)
A
woman’s richest rewards will come as she rises to fulfill her destiny
as a devoted daughter of God. To all faithful Saints He has promised
thrones, kingdoms, principalities, glory, immortality, and eternal
lives. (See
Rom. 2:7;
D&C 75:5;
D&C 128:12, 23;
D&C 132:19.) That is the potential for women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is exalting, everlasting, and divine.
God bless us to honor each woman in her divine mission as a woman of infinite worth, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen".
REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE! REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE! AND MOST OF ALL, REMEMBER THAT YOU MATTER!
