Families, communities, and nations are strengthened
when men and women, boys and girls recognize the nobility of womanhood. Girls and women are daughters of a loving
Heavenly Father and as such should be treated as royalty rather than treated
with abuse, disrespect, or as sexual objects.
Husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons who recognize the nobility of
womanhood will show all girls and women proper love and respect.
President Gordon B. Hinckley stood before the
women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a general Relief
Society meeting on September 23 1995.
After expressing "gratitude for the faithfulness and diligence of
Latter-day Saint women - young an old, married and single, with children and
without children," he gave us "encouragement, counsel and
warning."
Near
the end of his remarks, President Hinckley said, "With so much sophistry
that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and
values, with so much allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the
world, we have felt to warn and forewarn.
In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the
Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a
declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative
to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have
repeatedly stated throughout its history."
President Hinckley followed this statement by
reading "The Family: A Proclamationto the World." As the title indicates, this truly was
"A Proclamation to the World," and it reminded all people in all
nations of the eternal importance of the family. Copies of this proclamation were presented to
many leaders of nations, states, and cities.
In a press conference in Tokyo , Japan
I was in the meeting when this proclamation was
presented to the sisters, and I recognized at once that this statement of
doctrine had meaning not only for the entire world but for individuals and
families. I was in awe of the plain-spoken
words contained in the proclamation. I
knew that I was listening to a prophet of God.
After reading the proclamation, President
Hinckley showed his respect for the women of the Church as he explained why he
had chosen to announce the proclamation in a general Relief Society
meeting: "You are the guardians of
the hearth. You are the bearers of the
children. You are they who nurture them
and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as
does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God."
President James E. Faust, President Hinckley's
second counselor explained further:
"Because you mothers are the heart and soul of any family, it was
appropriate that it [the proclamation] was first read in the general Relief
Society meetings."
The proclamation does not contain any new
teachings; it simply reaffirms the ones already in place. President Hinckley stated that they were a
"reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices" which had been
"central to the Creator's plan" even before this earth was created.
Another prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball,
explained the important place of women in The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints: "To be a righteous
woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of
our Savior, is an especially noble calling.
… She has been placed here to help to enrich, to protect, and to guard
the home - which is society's basic and most noble institution."
When men and boys treat women and girls with the
love and respect that all daughters of God deserve, families, communities, and
nations will be strengthened.
Facts and ideas for this essay came from Daughters in My Kingdom - The History and
Work of Relief Society, pp. 145-150.
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