A Message to Our Granddaughters | James E. Faust | 1985

With an eternal perspective, God will help you—our granddaughters, and all women—fulfill your divine missions in the family, the Church, and the world.

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"Because some may not agree with what I have to say, I would direct these remarks primarily to our granddaughters. The rest of you are invited to listen.

On Brittany’s last birthday, I told her mother with considerable grandfatherly pride that I thought I detected some seeds of promise developing in Brittany. Of course I feel the same way about Nicole, Melissa, Kelly Ann, Katy, Sarah, and little Ashley, our other granddaughters.

I do not want to tell you girls what you must be. That is for each of you to decide. You have your free agency. Each of you will have to work very hard to learn all you can and develop your skills. It will not be easy to achieve anything really worthwhile. I want only to tell you what I think will help bring to you identity, value, and happiness as a person. I also want to challenge you to reach your potential, to become a person of great worth, to become a great woman. Because you descended from great women, each of you has the potential to become a great woman.

Now you need to know that to me great does not necessarily mean you're becoming a great doctor, lawyer, or business executive. You may, of course, become any of these if you so desire, if you work hard enough, and I would be proud of such an achievement. However, to me greatness is much, much more. I hope that each of you girls will become an individual of significant worth and a person of virtue so that your contributions are maintained in both human and eternal terms.

You Have a Great Mission

Elder Boyd K. Packer tells me that among the species of birds where both male and female sing, they sing a different melody. Yet it is pleasant to hear them singing at the same time, and they harmonize beautifully together!

There can be no question but that women are wonderful and special. You also have a great mission, a great errand, and a great calling. The work of God was devised by God for both men and women. “All those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom” (D&C 25:1). Being born as women brings to you many endowments that are not common to men and therefore make you unique.

President Spencer W. Kimball, in speaking of the roles of men and women, said in a way that adds some personal perspective,

Within those great assurances, however, our roles and assignments differ. These are eternal differences—with women being given many tremendous responsibilities of motherhood and sisterhood and men being given the tremendous responsibilities of fatherhood and the priesthood—but the man is not without the woman nor the woman without the man in the Lord. . . .

Remember, in the world before we came here, faithful women were given certain assignments while faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood tasks. While we do not now remember the particulars, this does not alter the glorious reality of what we once agreed to. You are accountable for those things which long ago were expected of you just as are those we sustain as prophets and apostles! . . . This leaves much to be done by way of parallel personal development—for both men and women. [Spencer W. Kimball, “The Role of Righteous Women,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 102]

This statement suggests that before we were born we made certain commitments, female and male, and that we agreed to come to this earth with great, rich, but separate gifts. We were called, male and female, to do great works, with separate approaches and separate assignments and accordingly were given different songs to sing.

You say, Where do I begin? Rather than beginning with a wish list of all the things you want in life, the real question may be what you are not willing to do without. You should select two or three of life’s experiences you are absolutely sure you want to have—you should not leave important things to chance. Then you should think about what you can contribute to society by way of service to the Church, home, and community. You need also to think of what life will demand from you. Everything has its price. Much is expected of us.

It is unfortunate that it is taking so long to bring full economic justice to women. The feminization of poverty is both real and tragic...."

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