"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies"
Proverbs 31:10
"The colour of rubies varies from vermilion to red. The most desired colour is pure red with a hint of blue. If the colour is too pink, the stone is a pink sapphire. The same is true if it is too violet - it is a violet sapphire. The best rubies and star rubies are bright red....The Mogok Valley in Upper Burma was for centuries the world's main source for rubies. That region has produced some of the finest rubies ever mined, but in the recent years very few good rubies have been found there....."(Wikipedia)
A virtuous woman, as valued as a bright red ruby, is fast becoming a rare possession in today's world. The glare of the telestial world has blinded so many of us to the inherent spiritual nature we as women are born with. In his last conference talk, Elder D. Todd Christofferson pointed out that 'women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a divine gift, that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships and in cultures'. This statement suggests that women have been gifted in this way because they have a particular responsibility in this life to lift others to higher ground. The adversary knows this and he also knows that if he works on women to dull their spiritual natures, they will not accomplish this divine responsibility. He uses the world and its ideals to weaken and eliminate our influence to the great detriment of our families and the society at large. Elder Christofferson mentions three ways as a caution and a warning:
1. The devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career. I remember some years ago I heard a woman of prominence discuss child care on the radio. Her suggestion was that women use the cost of child care as an excuse to stay at home and 'do nothing'. It saddened me greatly to hear a woman say such a thing. The attitude that homemaking and rearing children is unimportant and demeaning to women is getting more and more prevalent in our society.
2. Sexual immorality which reinforces the lie that a woman's sexuality is what defines her worth.
I think that women have played a large part in the undermining of marriage by becoming sexually available to men. Elder Christofferson says this:
"There has long been a cultural double standard that expected women to be sexually circumspect while excusing male immorality. The unfairness of such a double standard is obvious, and it has been justifiably criticized and rejected. In that rejection, one would have hoped that men would rise to the higher, single standard, but just the opposite has occurred - women and girls are now encouraged to be as promiscuous as the double standard expected men to be. Where once women's higher standards demanded commitment and responsibility from men, we now have sexual relations without conscience, fatherless families, and growing poverty. Equal-opportunity promiscuity simply robs women of their moral influence and degrades all of society. In this hollow bargain, it is men who are 'liberated' and women and children who suffer most."
3. Erasing of differences between the masculine and the feminine. Lara Croft, as gorgeous, wealthy and adventurous as she is, has done much to push women to adopt more masculine traits. Through the media's influence women are encouraged to be more aggressive, tough and confrontational. It is so common now to see women in terribly violent roles, leaving dead bodies and mayhem in their wake. Elder Christofferson goes on to say that it is "soul-numbing to see men in such roles and certainly no less when women are the ones perpetrating and suffering the violence".
Former Young Women general president Margaret D. Nadauld taught: "The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity".
The only source of our moral power is God the Father. Elder Christofferson says that Jesus' power came through His single-minded devotion to the Father's will. Submitting ourselves to Him in likewise manner can endow us with power also. It is only through this relationship that we can continue to cultivate the spiritual divine nature we were born with. The Father made us gentle, He made us kind and tender and loving. These are all attributes that the Saviour possesses. Nurturing our spiritual selves and putting aside the values of the telestial world will ensure that we sharpen these attributes and become powerful enough to lift others to higher ground. This means our children, our spouses, our extended families, our friends, our co-workers, our communities. We all know how to immerse ourselves in things of the spirit: prayer, scripture study, fasting, temple attendance, church attendance, service and living the commandments. All this goes a long way towards enabling us to identify with our spiritual identities from day to day. When we know who we are and don't allow the world to confuse us, we are being single minded, in other words, being at one with God. Having our feet in two camps never works. Being double minded often finds us sitting on the fence not being truly committed to either masters. Know who you are and do everything you can to uphold that knowledge and you will be a power for good.
"Yet I will own them, and they shall be mine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels".
(D&C 101:3)
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