Our Eternal Identity

As a family Mama Nielson and I have been talking with our children about our eternal identity and our how our gender is part of that eternal identity.  For our family home evening we watched the following video and talked about our genders.

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).