An answered prayer

I have been reading a lot, probably too much, facebook lately. I joined a group out of curiosity called Feminist Mormon Housewives. There are lots of nice women who post things. But there are some pretty self-righteous and mean posts too. There is a big movement right now about Ordaining Women in the church. I find it fascinating. But mostly the group has been posting things about how women are so ill treated and how tired they are of patriarchy and how it isn't right that women are told how to dress and what to think by the media and by men. And sometimes I wonder if they realize how much they are like the things they say they hate. They too try to tell women how to think and how to live their lives and what is right and what is wrong. Anyway.

Reading it has left me feeling uninspired, dejected, and confused. I am pretty satisfied with my life. I have never had a crappy bishop or other male leader who has made me feel like less of a person or like my opinion mattered less in the church because I am a woman. Most of those women either have had experiences like that or they read too much into situations they have experienced.

I don't think they are wicked or apostate or anything like that. I think they are just strong personalities who want a bigger voice in the church governance and priesthood power. And that is okay with me. But I don't always like the way they respond to traditional viewpoints. They get all upset when others respond to their viewpoints with vitreous gut reactions but they totally do the same thing!

Anyway. I have just felt confused and upset lately. I don't know who is right. Are they right to request the things they are asking for? Are the more traditional people right? What about the whole "Even the very elect will be deceived?" thing that is supposed to happen in these last days? Are they feminist groups being deceived? Are the traditional groups being lulled into a false sense of security? Who is right? And how will I know?

I thought those very thoughts last night and as I thought them I realized that Joseph Smith had that very same thought when he was young. He must have been as confused or more confused than I am.

So last night right before bed I said a quick prayer because I was pretty tired. I just told God I was confused and that I didn't know what to do or who was right. I pondered getting of facebook but that didn't seem right or necessary. I have thought a lot about posting some of my thoughts and feelings on the site but that didn't seem right either. So I just went to bed confused and thinking I would just let it go for now.

And my prayer was answered today. Isn't that interesting? It was a quick prayer. I didn't spend long in prayer. It was sincere and heartfelt, but didn't seem particularly more important than my other nightly prayers. But I think Heavenly Father felt differently. I think he knows that this is an important question. This is an important issue for me and he wanted me to know he heard my little prayer.

The answer came through a talk I heard at church. I didn't think too much about it other than that I really liked it. Then when I was reading my scriptures tonight in Deuteronomy 6 what was talked about in church was reemphasized and I felt then a gentle thought that this was the answer I was looking for.

The answer was this: The greatest of all commandments is love. And if you truly love everyone and love God you will be on the right path doing the right things. You won't be stealing, or murdering, or looking at pornography, or committing adultery, or worshipping idols, or treating people badly, or judging them unrighteously while you have a beam in your own eye, etc...  God's answer to me was simply to work on loving Him and Others and as I do I will be doing the right things and I don't need to worry about who is right and who is wrong. As long as I love God and others I will not be deceived. Maybe those women who are pressing for the priesthood and other feminist agendas have a special calling by God that I don't have. So I am going to let them have their calling and love them and their traditional counterparts from afar and just not worry about it. Because God answered my prayer and it is simply to love others and love Him.

Isn't that neat? How God answered my prayers so simply through another person and through the scriptures. I just wanted to write it down so I wouldn't forget it.