(A course for the young women of the Church, 1908-09.)

Ethical Studies: Womanly Dignity

(For March 9th, 1909.)

“I believe in the sacredness of the human body, this transient dwelling place of a living soul, and so I deem it the duty of every man and woman to keep his or her body beautiful through right thinking and right-living.”

The Dignified Girl. What is more beautiful than a young girl, with a warm, loving heart, just budding into womanhood, who is pure, chaste, and sweet in her life and habits? Her language will be free from coarseness or vulgarity, she will shrink from gaudiness or boldness, she will not appear on the street in cheap shoddy finery, and laugh and talk to attract the attention of others, but she will be reserved, modest, and quiet, and her dress will be plain and neat. It is not necessary that she live in a mansion or be crowned queen to be dignified and womanly, when she is adorned with that most beautiful crown that woman can wear modesty, virtue, and chastity, she has great power and influence for good over mankind, the libertine is awed in the presence of such a queen, she has the reins in her hands and can command the respect of all, for she respects herself, she has set her aim high and intends to reach it.

Self Distrust. One writer has said, “Self distrust is the cause of most of our failures, in the assurance of strength there is strength, and they are weakest, however strong, who have no faith in themselves or their powers.” One should start out in life with a purpose in view and feel that she has a part in the great world, in its work, its joys, and its sorrows.

Dignity of Labor. To the true girl all labor is noble and holy, as a dutiful daughter she will grow and expand in tenderness and thoughtful consideration for others, and as a wife and mother she will adorn the home. She does not fear that she will lose her womanly dignity by cooking, washing, ironing, sewing, or mending she can be dignified and womanly even at the washtub, “I have to work like a slave,” said a good woman, weary with her worries; but the answer came from a more way-wise comrade, “Oh, but, my dear, you can work like a queen.” Yes, she can prepare a dinner and serve it like a queen, she can adorn herself with clothing made by her own hands, though sometimes they lack the finishing touches of professional made garments, the grace that has characterized her life lends a charm to her that the finest and most costly garment cannot give without it. She finds pleasure in her duties because they add comfort to her home and loved ones. Her children are wholesome and clean, though they are given their freedom in out-door exercise; she endeavors to keep their bodies beautiful “through right thinking and right living,” and she knows as some one has said, “There is strength in repose of mind and inspiration in fresh apparel.”

Self Improvement. She may have been deprived of a College education and in consequence she may fully realize that “one of the best methods of rendering study agreeable is to live with able men and to suffer all those pangs of inferiority which the want of knowledge always brings.” Therefore, she takes every opportunity to improve her mind. The true woman is not satisfied unless she is engaged in some instructive business that will enable her to perform her duties in life in an intelligent manner. She realizes that book learning alone will not lead her to the heights of usefulness and success. She is a mother, living souls are dependent upon her.

Their very helplessness appeals to her as she appeals to Him above, and many times she will call to him from the depth of her soul:

“Lo, Lord, I sit in the wide space.
My child upon my knee,
He looketh up into my face.
And I look up to Thee.”

A Mother’s Faith. Sickness may come, and the shadows of death may cross her threshold; she may be alone, with only the stars of hope, faith, and love shining down upon her. She has implicit faith in the goodness of God and through “weal or woe” she tries, to keep that beautiful star of faith the emblem of a glorious immortality constantly before her to light her through the dark places where she in her weaker reason is apt to stumble and fall by the way. Because of her faith she grows stronger in the midst of her trials; she knows that much depends upon her and that there are duties and responsibilities devolving upon her now as wife, mother, and mistress of the home that she will learn only by experience and that “mother love” that gives depth and power, grace, wisdom, dignity and honor to woman.

Woman’s Heaven-Appointed Mission. If there are girls who would rather earn their own living than marry, and married women who would rather be “bread winners” than to have children, something has gone wrong, for the motherly instinct is without doubt the ruling passion in the heart of a true woman. It is woman’s mission to be the home-maker, the mother of men, and there is no position she can occupy with as much womanly dignity as in the home. And in no sphere does woman display her grace of character as well as when fulfilling her duty nurturing and training for future usefulness the children which God has entrusted to her care. Would that we could thoroughly impress upon the minds and hearts of our girls, the prospective mothers in Zion, that in this heaven-appointed task she is fulfilling a mission that is lofty and sacred. It is not a lowly one, unsuited to the capabilities of a brilliant intellect; on the contrary a woman who really appreciates her position as wife and mother, who comprehends the opportunities for powerful influence that she possesses, and senses the grave responsibilities that rest upon her, will not complain that her sphere of usefulness is not as broad and her mission as high and sacred as she can desire. President Roosevelt says on this subject:

“When all is said, it is the mother and the mother only who is a better citizen even than the soldier who fights for his country. The successful mother, the mother who does her part in rearing and training aright the boys and girls who are to be men and women of the next generation, is of greater use to the community and occupies, if she would only realize it, a more honorable as well as a more important position than any successful man in it. The mother is the one supreme asset of national life. She is more important by far than the successful statesman, or business man, or artist, or scientist.”

The Woman with Small Means. They say, “Service is the crowning glory of life.” The good woman with small means can be just as dignified as the woman of wealth, the one will earn her pleasures, the other can buy hers ready made. In the practice of household arts, in the study and planning of clothes for herself and children, in her simple way of beautifying the home, in her careful expenditure of money, and in the watchcare of her children she will find her life is full of interest and opportunities for intellectual development. The competent mother of a properly ambitious family finds it is a lively and profitable exercise to keep in touch with them. She realizes that if she keeps pace with her children she, too, must progress. She must read good books, associate with good, intelligent people, and be able to put something into the common stock of society in return for what she takes out.

A Wrong Impression. The common impression among a certain class in this enlightened age, is that women must have an occupation similar to men to be bright and intellectual, and that it is a very ordinary mission — that of bearing and rearing children. They claim that woman’s position in society would be injured, that children would be fetters that would hinder her in her progress or advancement in her world of fashion. Is there anything womanly or dignified in the fashionable creature who turns coldly from a child to caress a dog?

Every Woman a Mother at Heart. Every natural woman is a mother at heart, and there is a yearning, a longing in her soul for something to love and caress. To hold a baby close to her breast and to feel her heart swell and thrill with mother love, that surely every woman has known whether the baby was her own or not. Thousands of homeless babies are cast upon the world and are at the mercy of charitable institutions. Woman need not waste her caresses, her time, and money on a dog. She can take to her heart and home a real baby. To be responsible for a child, be it hers by birth or adoption, will have an influence for good upon the heart of a true woman. There are always to be found empty homes, because to the yearning, out-stretched arms the baby has never come. To other homes children have paid a brief and happifying visit and then slipped back into the great beyond leaving the mother’s arms empty, her heart broken, and her home lonely and sad. President Smith says: “The highest aim and dignity of true womanhood is to successfully fulfill her divinely allotted mission in the world, her manifest destiny.”

QUESTIONS.

1. Give quotation at beginning of lesson.

2. What will a sweet, chaste girl avoid?

3. How will she conduct herself?

4. How will she dress?

5. What is woman’s most beautiful crown?

6. Why does the chaste woman command the respect of all?

7. What is the cause of most of our failures?

8. What does it mean to work like a queen?

9. If she works like a queen what will a woman find in her work?

10. Tell some of the things a good woman will do.

11. What will the association of able men inspire all to do?

12. Why do trials strengthen a Latter-day Saint?

13. What is woman’s highest mission?

14. Where does woman display her grace of character most?

15. Quote President Roosevelt on this subject.

16. Memorize President Smith’s words, at close of lesson.