Plural Marriage

I'm only on page 49 of September's book, but I really like taking my time with this. Isn't it great? On page 49 it tells a bit about the history of relief society relative to plural marriage. There were only a handful of decades where it was a part of the church. Can you imagine hearing the prophet, Joseph Smith's command to practice plural marriage and reconcile yourself to that, and then decades later hear President Woodruff's manifesto? Yikes!

That would have required such a deep reservoir of faith for those women. It's something I haven't spent a ton of time studying or thinking about, but yikes! Can you imagine?

Conference is this weekend and whether this controversial or not, we will receive instruction from God at the general level, and on a very personal and spiritual level. I hope I can build my reservoirs of faith so that when I hear those commands, promptings, and principles my heart can say yes because of the covenants I've made.

Yikes! I feel like the plural marriage issue is as controversial as the gay issue. But both just require faith.

THoughts?

An Idea

I know September is Debbie's month to choose a book, but I have an alternative idea since she hasn't chosen one yet (which is totally fine, by the way).  Last week in Relief Society we were all given the new "Daughters of My Kingdom" book.  I started to read it and I'm actually really enjoying it.  Not so much because of the actual words I'm reading, but because I feel the spirit helping me understand what my role is and what I need to focus on and improve upon. 

Do you all remember Sister Beck's talk last fall at the general RS broadcast?  She talked about this book. Here is what she said:

"Our presidency has prayed, fasted, pondered, and counseled with prophets, seers, and revelators to learn what God would have us do to help His daughters be strong in the face of “the calamity which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth.” ⁶ An answer has come that the sisters of the Church should know and learn from the history of Relief Society. Understanding the history of Relief Society strengthens the foundational identity and worth of faithful women.

In consequence of this, a history of Relief Society for the Church is being completed and will be available for our use next year. In anticipation of this, Relief Society history is receiving increased attention, such as on the visiting teaching page of the Liahona and the Ensign. The preparation of the history has been an inspired and revelatory experience.

As we have studied the history of Relief Society, we have learned that the Lord’s vision and purpose for Relief Society was not of a sleepy meeting on Sunday. He had in mind something much, much bigger than a women’s club or special-interest entertainment group.

He intended Relief Society to help build His people and prepare them for the blessings of the temple. He established this organization to align His daughters with His work and to enlist their help in building His kingdom and strengthening the homes of Zion."

So I suggest that we all read this book in September.  I have complete faith in the revelation the general RS presidency and the quorum of the twelve received, that the women of the church need to know about the history of Relief Society to help us do the work we are supposed to do.  And I know from experience, by just reading the first couple of chapters, that the spirit will motivate us and guide us as we read this book.  What do you guys think? Do you have copies of the book yet?

Authenticity

So has anybody finished Camille's book yet?  I am about half way through.  So far, I have agreed with most of the author's ideas.  Randi posted about courage and having courage to be vulnerable and honest about who we are.  The author...can't think of her name right now and too lazy to find it...says that living with the courage to be who we really are is living an "authentic" life.  As I read the section about authenticity, it made sense, don't do things just to fit in, be who you really are, etc.  However, I am curious about where you draw the line.  I don't believe that life is about just sitting back and being "who we are".  I think we have to try to become something more; to grow and progress. 
For example, if I were honestly to be who I am naturally, I would always have a dirty house and spend my evenings being lazy.  I don't like to clean and after work I don't feel like doing anything.  However, I don't want to be known as a lazy person or have a nasty house, so I try to force myself to clean and to be productive, even though most of the time I don't want to.  So does that make me unauthentic?  I'm sure the author would agree that setting goals and trying to improve ourselves is a positive thing, but don't we have to set goals because our natural selves aren't accomplishing that specific thing?  If it were something we did or loved to do naturally, it would already be getting done!  Right? 
So what do you guys think?  Are there certain goals that we shouldn't try to achieve because it is just so far from who we really are?  What do you think about this concept of "authenticity"?  and how does it still leave room for trying become better people? 

"If we have a friend, or a small group of friends, or family who embraces our imperfections, vulnerabilities, and power, and fills us with a sense of belonging,

we are incredibly lucky."