mother's day service

the most gag worthy part of church on mother's day was when a woman from the rs presidency opened by saying, "nice to see all you nurturers today!!"

but the worst part of church on mother's day was when the stake president got up at the end of sacrament meeting and said the following:

"i was surprised to learn not long ago that some sisters actually feel quite uncomfortable or sad on mother's day. rather than having them tell you why that is, i'm going to offer what i think: i think it's a matter of perspective." he then went on to talk about how women are easy to forget they are daughters of god and then tell us all why women (yes, talking in the third person about all us ladies there) are so wonderful. (i don't think he ever addressed the women.)

i hated it so much i wanted to scream. i have no doubt that he, as a church leader, has had some women--or more likely, couples--open up to him about issues, most likely infertility. i am sure he loves the women in his life and feels he respects him. i can also understand that he wouldn't/shouldn't have gone in to any specifics about what people have told him in private. but why does he think he gets to diagnose and tell women what their problem is? especially after he KNOWINGLY denied women a voice, even through him.

it also makes about 0% sense to me that he decided that the problem was that women just forget they're daughters of god. i'm guessing what he meant was that women who struggle with becoming mothers should feel better because they're daughters of god and all blessings are promised in this life or the next blah blah. but he didn't say that, and even if he did, that doesn't make it better. 

seems to me so many lds women struggle on mother's day in church because the church places suffocating focus on becoming and being a perfect mother, so much so that women become depressed and feel they aren't valued for every other thing in their lives. and even if a woman does struggle with infertility and is comforted by knowing 'blessings' will come to her in 'the next life,' that does not ease or erase the fact that she will spend her life in a church that defines womanhood in only one way, champions misnomers as doctrine, and gives her no other guidance or goal besides one she can't obtain. and if she doesn't take comfort in it, it especially doesn't make her silly or shortsighted or just teehee a typical woman.

also, "women" and "mothers" are NOT interchangeable. "mother" is the name for a woman who has children. women with no children are not mothers. the possibility that they will have children in the future does not make them a mother. so if it was actually women's day they were wanting to celebrate, they missed it because it was on march 8th. 

so many things to say about this but it's getting long, so poo on you stake prez, and you can stick your advice up your--.