This line was the subject of our conversation: Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).
Gender isn't something we can vote on or choose to change on a whim. Before this life I believe we had the genders we were born with and after this life we will still have the genders we were born with.
We asked our daughters about what it means to be a girl, a boy, a mother, and a father. I thought I'd post some of their responses.
Little Nielson #2:
What does it mean to be a girl?
To be kind
What does it mean to be a mother?
to help people
Little Nielson #3:
What does it mean to be a girl?
Not being a boy.
Jesus makes me a girl. Things I do that boys don't: I make a truck
What does it mean to be a mother?
Mommys make food. Mommys scrape sheep off the star.
(Sister Nielson apparently I'm doing a good job at explaining this)
Little Nielson #1:
What does it mean to be a girl?
You have different
parts of your body that boys don't. We have different
spirits, we have girl spirits. Girls wear dresses to church and boys
don't. Girls like to dance.
What does it mean to be a mother?
- To have kids and be a family.
- Mommies help their kids learn how to count up and how to count down.
- Mommies feed their children.
- Mommies help clean up after their kids.
- Mommies love their kids.
- Mommies kiss boo-boos.
Mama Nielson
What does it mean to be a girl?
Heavenly Father
gives us amazing gifts and taught us to be mommys before this life.
Heavenly Father
made Little Nielson #1 nicer and more charitable. Little Nielson #3 nicer and more loving.
Little Nielson #2 excited for life and fun and being aware of her sisters needs.
Girls I think are a
little bit better at being aware of other's needs. We can cry
together I could always cry together with my mommy (Papa Nielson: and still do).
What do Daddys do?
Little Nielson #1: Daddy's help kids be reverent in church.
Little Nielson #2: Daddy's eat spiders
during lunch. Boys have fun.
Little Nielson #1: Daddys work on stuff
and build stuff
Little Nielson #2: They make mountains
Little Nielson #1: Daddys help us learn
our numbers and coloring in the lines
Final Words:
Little Nielson #1: Mommys help us learn
the articles of faith
Little Nielson #2: Mommys and Daddys
love each other
Little Nielson #1: Mommys have babies
and Daddies don't have babies
As you can see there are a number of things we still need to teach and cover about gender but at least it's a start. Also we ran out of time for Papa Nielson to speak as the kids de-volved into fighting and we had to stop -- oftentimes the stopping point of our family home evenings.
My final words are from this article:
https://www.lds.org/liahona/2008/10/gender-is-an-essential-characteristic-of-eternal-identity-and-purpose?lang=eng
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “[Gender] in large measure defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, and what we are to do and become. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary. … The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness” (“Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan,” Liahona, June 2006, 51; Ensign, June 2006, 83).
