Gender Roles

Gender Roles

The blog post this week will inevitably be more of a sensitive topic for many people so I hope to speak carefully about these things. 

Gender is an essential characteristic of all forms of life. Every creature from dogs, to cows, to humans have gender. God created gender from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. In the year 2020 there are many different opinions regarding the importance of gender and what defines someones gender. There is increasingly more and more support for gender switching operations to alter a persons body in order to appear as a different gender. These actions of switching genders are a very controversial topic in media currently. 

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints a document was released in 1995 stating the importance and sacred nature of Gods children and their divine identity and role. This document was made many years before society started to question gender and to contort gender roles. As a member I believe this document to be written by a prophet and apostles of the savior and inspired by God.

As stated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in The family: A Proclamation To The World, "ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God". This statement explains that genders, male and female are both created before this life. Gender is a part of who we are and from this proclamation we learn that it isn't something that we can just change because we want to.

For many years another concern of gender is having equal rights. More women are entering the workforce. More women are also receiving better education which is helping them be able to have better jobs and higher positions in companies. Although on the surface this seems to be making women equal with men there are still many arguments made. One major issue women have is with the pay gap. A man and a woman in similar positions could be making very different pay checks even if they have nearly identical responsibilities and duties. This issue has been argued and discussed to death so I will move on to another important aspect of gender.

God teaches us that the purpose for men and women is to replenish the earth with offspring and that marriage is to be between a man and a woman. In the Family: A Proclamation To The World it states, "HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations." Although it is more difficult than ever to raise a family it is still part of our purpose. Having many children isn't possible for many families due to finances, health, or many other various situations. No matter what the situation is our purpose is still to multiply and replenish the earth. Not only are we supposed to have children but we are supposed to raise them. God commands us to raise them with good values and strong ethics. What God is asking of us is to create a Christ-centered family despite the wickedness we see today.

The concept of gender and gender roles are not an man-made and are not choices we make but callings we are asked to fill. It is up to us today if we will choose to accept or deny this calling.