I have been pondering, praying, discussing and researching the subject of gender: purpose, reality, and recognition. To begin, I always defer to the One who has greater knowledge and wisdom than any human. Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;...The Spirit of truth is of God... The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth....He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light....Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence. In addition, all truth will fit together. If it's true, it exists outside of individual opinion or preference and will work for the best for ALL.
I have titled this "part 1" because I think it's going to be longer than what I have time to write in one sitting, and probably longer than anyone reading wants to devote in one sitting.
I am volunteering in our local library several times a week- not to restock books or anything like that, but to read to young children or allow them to practice reading to me, to help younger school-age children with homework, and to sit in on a conversation with non-native English speakers so they can practice the language. In this last instance, we use lists of suggested questions on specific topics to initiate discussion. Currently, the topic is gender roles: in your culture who is head of the household, are there jobs that are limited to one gender or another, what behaviors/emotions are acceptable for one gender in public and not the other...etc. I have spent literally YEARS pondering the purpose of gender. During the "women's lib" movement, I went to Seneca Falls (the birthplace of women's suffrage in the US) for a women's convention. I participated in lots of discussions about the value and meaning of gender. Before that, I resented any kind of treatment by males that indicated I was in any way inferior, including the well-meaning chivalrous gesture of opening doors for me. (I can open my own door- thank you very much! Which, as it turns out, was really a slap in the face to some innocent man who only wanted to do something kind. I'm sorry now.)
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion.... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it....the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him an help meet.. God didn't just make a work partner for man nor a slave. He made a female for him to have as a companion and to provide a way to be fruitful and multiply. In the New Testament, we have the writings of Paul which can sometimes seem complicated but he said in 1 Corinthians 11: Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. More recently, words of modern day prophets in The Family, A Proclamation to the World: marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and...the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children. All human beings- male and female- are created in the image of God...Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose....God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force....the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife...
So basically, if we acknowledge God's existence and make the effort to learn from Him through study of scriptures (writings of prophets) and through prayer (whisperings of the Holy Spirit), we can learn that He made gender on purpose in humans based on the characteristics we had before birth . So there is definitely a difference between male and female, even beyond testosterone and estrogen, breasts and uterus and penis and testicles. I understand that all humans are different, including our views on the existence of God and His nature and opinions. It has been my personal experience that anyone who has a sincere desire to know if God exists and is willing to give up their pride to accept what He might teach them, that person can know for him/herself by asking God directly. Because He wants us to become like He is, He doesn't want clones or puppets. He wants us to gain our potential to be wise, intelligent, and powerful like He is. God our Father in Heaven and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, are male. Yet, He declared that man should not be alone and chose to make for him a companion who was also made in a Godly image, but female. The two united, together, is how the human race is to be multiplied. There needs to be BOTH.
No comments:
Post a Comment