Area Leadership Message
In God’s Plan, Men and Women are Valued and Needed
The Lord’s plan is for both men and women, both are His beloved sons and daughters, both are essential to the fulfilment of the plan.
“And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.
“And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Moses 2:27–28).
Our Heavenly Father’s plan is for us to pass through this mortal existence and to qualify to come back to Him and to be like Him. The great plan of happiness, peace and joy is for everyone both male and female. It was on this premise that He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:18).
The need for a woman to be created was part of God’s plan. This shows the importance both men and women have in helping to fulfil Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. Both are given responsibility by our Heavenly Father of which cannot be fulfilled without the other.
In 1995, the First Presidency summarized this responsibility in “The Family, A Proclamation to the World,” “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose”1
Because of our Heavenly Father’s love for us, He wants us to become exalted as He is. He has given us the plan of happiness. Those who know about the plan and follow it faithfully can someday become like Father in Heaven and enjoy the kind of life He lives.
The Family
To help us prepare ourselves for life with Him, our Heavenly Father has appointed roles that allow us to live to our full potential and recognize our value to Him. He has also organized us into families that will help us grow and has commanded us to create our own families when the time comes. Through sacred ordinances and covenants made possible by the restored gospel, our family can be united eternally (see Doctrine and Covenants 138:48). The eternal unity of a family requires both women and men who are aware of our Heavenly Father’s love, desire, and purpose for them. No gender is more important or superior to the other. A man and a woman are the pillars needed to hold the Lord’s sacred organization, the family, and a crack in one pillar will affect the organization or even destroy it.
Councils
Heavenly Father has established councils as an important part of receiving inspiration, making decisions, and accomplishing His work. Both men and women participated in a council before coming to this earth (see Doctrine and Covenants 121:32). Men and women are essential to all councils on earth. The purpose of a council is to help accomplish Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).
The contributions of council members, both male and female whether at Church, home or work are necessary for the plan to work.
While presiding at a stake conference, a bishop testified to me of the importance of family councils and the role each of us has in Heavenly Father’s plan. His 19-year-old son refused to serve a full-time mission because of peer pressure. The father, who was a bishop, had many discussions with his son but still the boy insisted on not going on a mission. Father and mother decided it was best to call a family council. In the family council, the boy’s younger sister convinced her parents that she could help the situation. Both parents wondered what the little girl was planning on doing that she believed would make a difference. He later found out that the little girl went to the Lord in prayer and got the inspiration to show more love and care to the brother. One day, she got an impression and asked her brother, “What kind of man would you want me to marry someday?”
The brother answered, “My lovely sister, I want you to be happy, and for you to be happy, I would love for you to marry a good member of the Church.”
She then asked, “Good member? What makes a good member?”
He replied and said, “A man that loves the Savior and will serve Him and obey His commandments, and more especially, a return missionary.”
The girl looked at her brother and said, “This is why you need to serve the Lord through a full-time mission.”
Months after, the young man went on mission and returned honorably. Ponder on the little girl’s contribution to the plan.
I have, in my service as a bishop and stake president, witnessed the inspired contribution of men and women to the plan as they serve and participate in councils and as active Church members. I have witnessed a brother help a family enjoy the blessings of temple sealing ordinances, a Relief Society leader assisting a young man to enjoy the blessings of serving a full-time mission, and a Sunday School president assist a young woman gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. I know if you think long enough, you’ll realize that you have a testimony of great examples such as these in your own life. Think of how important these brothers and sisters have been to the success of God’s plan.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, “Becoming one is a recurring theme in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in God’s dealings with His children. With respect to the city of Zion in Enoch’s day, it is said that ‘they were of one heart and one mind.’ Of the early Saints in the primitive Church of Jesus Christ, the New Testament records, ‘The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.’”2
The essence of the Lord’s plan is for us to be one, both men and women.
I know that Heavenly Father lives and He loves each of His children equally. I testify that each of us has a divine purpose and has been granted the opportunity to help in Heavenly Father’s work. I know that prophets are the Lord’s mouthpiece on earth, and I testify that President Russell M. Nelson is truly called of God.