Monday, October 7, 2013

Conference Weekend

Dear Family and Friends,
Hello everyone! This week was SO good. So many good things happening in Midwood!
I don't know what happened to our ward but a lot of people are jumpin' on board with the missionary work thing. A few people brought their friends for Conference... it was fantastic!

I ABSOLUTELY loved conference. I hope everyone else did too.
It's crazy that one year ago I was given the opportunity of a life time. I found out I could serve a mission without waiting to turn 21! And here I am today. I can remember that moment as if it was yesterday. I think that Saturday morning conference session was the mutual answer to thousands of prayers. Seeing as the numbers in the missionary force have grown SO MUCH.

Incredible. I can't really remember what I pictured life would be like as a missionary on that day... I know I must've had something in mind.... Regardless of what it was, I know I didn't picture THIS. Haha. It's so much better than I could've imagined! Life is just great. It's hard. But it's great.

What was everyone's favorite talk? I can't say I really had a favorite. I just loved them all. I must say... Elder Christofferson really nailed it. WOW! What an inspired talk. I know I needed to hear it. I'd submit that EVERYONE needed to hear that.

The confusion surrounding the topic of gender roles and the value of womanhood is simply raging right now. We see it everywhere. And well, quite frankly I've never really been good at discussing this particular topic without getting angry. As a young teenager I always had views on womanhood and motherhood that were slightly different from the majority of latter-day saint women. Quite honestly, I never wanted to be married or have children and the constant reminder that being a wife and a mother was the greatest thing I could do this life in Young Women class just made it less and less appealing to me for some reason. That sounds ironic, but those of you who know me know exactly what I'm talking about.

But I'd say that since those days I have learned a lot about the specific divinity of women and I've grown to love and really respect my calling and my duty as a woman. It is my duty and privilege to defend virtue, to defend purity, and to defend all sacred things of God. As women we are given unique attributes... that of compassion, tenderness and softness of heart that enable us to stand for righteousness by nurturing others. Is that not the job of a mother? Are we not all mothers? As Sheri L. Dew once said, Motherhood is not bearing children...though that is a grand part of it. Eve was named by Adam and by God the Father as Eve, "the mother of all living" long before she bore children. We were foreordained to mother the children of God. I'm so grateful that we as women have the abilities and strengths that we do. We have so very much to offer the world!-- as wives, as mothers, as missionaries, and as church members. The Lord has given us a sacred trust, he has shown how much potential we have BY giving us that sacred trust. He trusts us to teach, nurture, and care for the children that are HIS. SO I would declare God would not give such a great responsibility to some creature whose only purpose in life is to be "sexy". NO. We were born to help our Father to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL CALLING.

THANK YOU Elder Christofferson.
I hope you all learned great a deal! I sure did!
I wish everyone a happy October and I hope everyone is well!
LOVE, Sister Franklin


Beehive from Midwood teaching me how to make rubber band bracelets.  They are all the rage.


A picture of me rockin' the work at a Lemonade Stand.  Someone found it on Instagram and sent the link.

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