Better Together

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I cannot adequately express how I feel about the topic of today’s blog, or why I feel so strongly about it, without acknowledging the role my religion has played in shaping my perspective. 

While I fully recognize my opinions are shaped by my religion, I need to express that although I hope you find that my thoughts fall directly in line with the doctrines and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, my opinions are my own and I am not the church. I am simply one if it’s believing but imperfect followers.

I have always been a believer that gender is eternal. I feel very strongly that men and women complement each other. This week, I was able to look at the characteristics of men and women a little closer. As I did so, my knowledge that men and women possess different qualities, and that those qualities enhance each other, was strengthened.

There are certain qualities that are typically more prominent in females. For example, women are relationship oriented, cooperative, detail oriented, and communicative. On the other hand, men tend to be more logical, aggressive, competitive, and spatial oriented. They also have more physical strength.  In the world today some people think that some of these characteristics are bad, or they think that men and women don’t have differences. I disagree. I believe men and women are different and they should be different. I also believe that all of these characteristics can be good if we use them properly.

I believe that this life was not the beginning neither is it the end. Each of us has a spirit. Our spirits have personalities. They also have genders. When we are born, our spirit is united with our body. Our spirit and body work together to accomplish wonderful things.

Bringing in my belief of eternal gender, we are born with instincts to fulfill certain roles. Women typically take on the role of nurturer, while men are usually protectors and providers. I think that the characteristics that I spoke of earlier come from our bodies. They provide us with the opportunity to fulfill our spiritual roles. For example, the tendency for men to be physically stronger, more aggressive, and competitive allows them to fulfill that role of protector. Because women are more relationship oriented, communicative, and cooperative, they are able to fulfill their role of nurturer. I would like to say that men aren’t strictly protectors with no nurturing ability, nor are women nurturers with no instinct or ability to protect and provide.

A lot of people in the world think that we should get rid of these differences. I think that this could never fully happen because of our innate characteristics. But I have seen these differences fade, this saddens me.

The differences between men and women are good. They are essential. They complement each other. They enhance one another. If we tried to merge the characteristics of men and women into one, we would not get even close to the capabilities that men and women possess TOGETHER.

I see these characteristics in my parents. My mom is very compassionate. She has an incredible ability to feel for others. She loves everyone. My dad is very similar, but the way he shows his compassion and love is different.

If I have a question, about almost anything, I usually go to my dad. I know that no matter what my question is about, he will give me the best answer he has. If he doesn’t know, or if he feels that his answer is not adequate, he will study my question and then get back to me.

If I want to talk about my day, if have something I am worried about, if I am stressed, or if I have exciting news, my mom is who I go to. This isn’t to say that my mom is not capable of answering my questions and that I never would go to my dad just to talk. This is to show that they are different. I am so grateful for my parents and how they work together. I would be very different if I was raised by my mom or dad separately. My parents have different strengths, and they build off of each other. They work together. They are better together.

This is how it should be. We should be seeking to utilize our strengths as men and women to work together. When we do this, we will be able to accomplish great things.