Women of the Church hold a special place of love and honor in the hearts of prophets, apostles, and other Church leaders, who often share their feelings of respect and admiration for women who strive to fulfill their divine roles.
“God placed within women divine qualities of strength, virtue, love, and the willingness to sacrifice to raise future generations of His spirit children,” Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles says in a message of appreciation for the women of the Church. “Dear sisters, we love and admire you. . . . You are incredible!”
Choice Daughters of Heavenly Father
“You are choice daughters of our Heavenly Father, and . . . you are a great power for good,” says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “You will make the world a better place.”
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles agrees, saying, “Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman.”
“Who can justly measure the righteous influence of a mother’s love?” asks Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “I know what it is to love a daughter of Father in Heaven who with grace and devotion lived the full feminine splendor of her righteous womanhood.”
Be Aware of Lofty Purpose
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles counsels the men of the Church to constantly keep in mind the divine heritage of women: “As daughters of God, their potential is divine. Without them, eternal life would be impossible. Our high regard for them should spring from our love of God and from an awareness of their lofty purpose in His great eternal plan.”
Be proud of your womanhood, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles tells the sisters of the Church. “In the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman . . . occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator.”
“We respect you and appreciate your influence in preserving the family and assisting with the growth and spiritual vitality of the Church,” Elder Ballard says. “I pray that God will continually bless the women of the Church to find joy and happiness in their sacred roles as daughters of God.” He continues, “My dear sisters, we believe in you. We believe in and are counting on your goodness and your strength, your propensity for virtue and valor, your kindness and courage, your strength and resilience. We believe in your mission as women of God.”
Strong and Compassionate
“I am grateful for all the women of the Church who in my life have been as strong as Mount Sinai and as compassionate as the Mount of Beatitudes,” says Elder Holland. “Somehow the too-often unheralded women in this church are always there when hands hang down and knees are feeble. They seem to grasp instinctively the divinity in Christ’s declaration: ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these . . ., ye have done it unto me.’”
“I hope all of you dear sisters . . . never wonder if you have worth in the sight of the Lord and to the leaders of the Church,” says Elder Ballard. “We love you.”
