PROVO, UTAH
Offering a plea and an expression of complete confidence in the women in the Church, Sheri Dew asked them to rally to "the most demanding, but most inspiring of all causes" — the cause of Jesus Christ.
"My message today is about influence — our influence as latter-day women of God," said Sister Dew on May 1.
Delivering the opening address at the 2008 BYU Women's Conference, Sister Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book Company and a former member of the Relief Society general presidency, addressed the topic, "Awake, arise, and come unto Christ."
"There are five principles about influence we need to understand," she said. "First, we all have more influence than we think; second, righteous influence is a spiritual gift; third, having influence is not about elevating self but about lifting others; fourth, it isn't possible NOT to have influence; and fifth, women of God have influence that has no limit and no end."
Sister Dew told the congregation of women, gathered in the BYU Marriott Center, that they are on earth to influence the world rather than be influenced by the world.
"If we could unleash the full influence of covenant-keeping women, the kingdom of God would change overnight. No one has more influence on husbands than wives, on children than their mothers, or on young men than young women," she said. "Show me the women of any family or community, and I will show you the character and soul of that family and community."
This, she said, is why Satan has never underestimated women. "He knows we are at the heart of the Father's plan."
From the beginning, Lucifer has worked with a vengeance to distort the very definition of womanhood, she said.
"Here are just a few of Lucifer's lies: That men are smarter, have all the power, and are more important, so if we want to have influence we should be more like them; that marriage and family are confining; that motherhood is menial and a waste of any talented woman's time; that women are perpetually frazzled and failing; and that a woman's value is based on her size, shape and what she accomplishes outside the home.
"Too many women have bought these lies."
The truth about womanhood is different, she said. "Our Father gave His daughters a divine endowment of gifts that give us unique influence. First and foremost, we have the high privilege of bearing children. If mortality is the time in all eternity to prove ourselves, then there is nothing more important than bearing children and leading them along the path home....
"Our Father also gifted us with the nature to nurture, keen sensitivity to the Spirit, selflessness, discernment, and heroic faith. No wonder our Father placed us at the heart of the family and thus at the center of the Plan of Salvation. We are the Lord's secret weapon. Premortally, when our Father described our role, we must have shouted for joy because of the ennobling stature He gave women in His kingdom. The world won't tell us this stunning truth, but the Spirit will."
Every woman in the Church has the unique opportunity to change the world, said Sister Dew. "It is time for us to wake up to the potential magnitude of our full influence as latter-day women of God and then to arise and do what we were sent here to do."
Further, she said, "Making of your life a ministry means consciously asking yourself in everyday situations, 'Why has the Lord brought me here today?' and then looking for ways to build up people and the kingdom. It means asking the Lord what He needs you to do rather than feverishly working down your list of To-Do's that may or may not have lasting significance. Ministering might mean talking to your friends of other faiths about your spiritual journey, or starting a blog to share what you believe online, or mentoring a young adult. It is our stewardship, after all, to pass along the legacy of what it means to be a woman of God to the next generation."
If Latter-day Saint women truly want to walk away from the world, their single most important pursuit is to seek to hear the voice of the Spirit, she said. "There is no simple formula for learning to hear the voice of the Spirit. But purity is key, for it makes us a more pure receptacle. The scriptures are key, because they teach the language of revelation. The temple is key, for there we learn how to come out of the world and into the presence of God while in mortality. And regular personal worship is key....
"We are followers of Jesus Christ. And we have been His followers and have loved Him for a long, long time. Nothing is more important than working and sacrificing and enduring for Him. Let us be the generation of women that finally walks away from the world. If we will awake to who we are, arise by making of our lives ministries, and come unto Christ by steadily becoming more holy, we will have a degree of influence the world and the kingdom of God have never felt before — an influence that has no limit and no end. We can do this. I know we can."
E-mail to: sarah@desnews.com