On Gender

Right before we went in for our ultrasound, I had a pretty profound realization. I had been thinking that our baby had a fifty-fifty chance of being a boy or a girl. (Chris and I like to joke that since he comes from a family of all boys and I come from a family of all girls that the odds are evenly split!)

But, with some great power I realized that it wasn't a game of odds. True, to us, the odds were fifty-fifty, but it wasn't a gamble to my baby. I know that the words in The Family: A Proclamation to the World are true. "All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." (My emphasis added.)

Baby girl didn't just happen to form into a female. Premortally, she was female and so her mortal life continues. Her gender is part of who she is, just as much as it's part of who I am. This understanding makes me appreciate the power the Lord gives us to bring new life into this world. It makes my duty as a mother so much more than feeding and clothing. I'm grateful for the above document, continued revelation and the blessing we have to pattern our families in the Lord's way.