"Mormon" Mothers Must Stay at Home: Truth or Myth? Part 2

I want to follow up from last week's blog about mothers working outside the home.
My husband says I did not voice my opinion out right. That I quoted the prophet and apostles and said, "It's up to you to decide." In the responses I received some seemed to feel that the blog supported their decisions and others did not. That's the beauty of the gospel and the gift of the Holy Ghost. God gives His words through the prophets, and then it's up to us to pray and discern the voice of the Spirit to know what is best for our families.
How exactly do we figure out what Heavenly Father wants us to do? How do we separate His voice from those around us? I listened to an excellent episode on parenting: How to Know if You are a Good Parent - Part 2. Jean A. Stevens, Neill F. Marriott, and Linda S. Reeves, all leaders in the general women leadership of the church, discussed this topic. In the children's song, The Church of Jesus Christ, we sing, "I know who I am. I know God's plan." How do we know God's plan for us, individually? Should I work outside the home? Should I be home with my children? Should I have a side business? Should I finish my degree? Is what I'm doing good enough?  Neill F. Marriott said, "How do you know who you are? We know who we are when the Spirit whispers to us. And we need to seek that. Once we know. Once we've made the effort to kneel down and ask, 'Heavenly Father, who am I? Am I important?' That knowledge will come. We do need to take some action and ask, 'Am I important to you? Am I someone important that you love? Who am I, Heavenly Father?' We will begin to get feelings that will draw us in, that will give us an opportunity to compare to the other voices saying, 'You're nothing. You don't have a degree. You just have children. You have a messy yard.' But we can turn from those voices and say, 'No.There's another voice that feels right and good.'"
Our Heavenly Father wants us to be anxiously engaged in good things. In a revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord said, "Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness" (Doctrine and Covenants 58:27). We can use that question as we kneel and ask the Lord what he wants us to do. Am I engaged in a good cause? Am I bringing to pass much righteousness? How can I do better? Am I good enough?
A few weeks ago I was able to attend a women's regional church training. Sister Wendy Nelson, wife of apostle Russell M. Nelson spoke to us. I wrote in a previous blog that she said if we are not happy we are not following our mission in life. She also taught that the Holy Ghost speaks to us personally, individually. She told a story from her own life where as a young single adult she was praying to know if she should marry a young man. She lived in Provo, Utah at the time and during the weekend of general conference she tape-recorded the talks from the TV. Every single talk was about marriage. By the end of conference she knew she should not marry that young man. Years later she was asked to teach a church class about marriage. She remembered the general conference where all the talks were about marriage. She thought it would be wonderful to play the words of the prophet and apostles to those she was teaching. But when she listened to the talks again, not one was about marriage. When we are humble and prayerful, the Lord will instruct us through his prophets and apostles and the promptings of the Holy Ghost. During the regional meeting Sister Nelson would share a story or teach a principle and have members of the audience share one sentence about what the Spirit taught them. I wrote down my thoughts. Not one of the ideas shared was exactly what I learned or the same as those shared out loud.
The Lord wants us to be happy. He wants us to be good mothers, wives, women. Let's embrace our roles as mothers and not apologize for those efforts. Let's support each other as sisters and not judge one another for the choices we each make. As I like to tell my children, the only person I can control is myself. I cannot change the world by thinking, wishing, pleading that others will alter their opinions. Although I'm doing that here. :) I can ask the Lord if I'm doing what he would have me do. If I can improve. If I'm enough. And He will answer.