Divine pattern
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PROVO, Utah — Saying that he felt much as King Benjamin must have felt when he saw dangers about the people and said, '(I came not) to trifle with . . . words' (Mosiah 2:9), President Boyd K. Packer noted, "It can be very uncomfortable when we see thickening clouds and feel responsible to protect our families."
President Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve, addressed thousands of women of the 2006 Women's Conference at BYU on May 5. The conference was based on the theme, "Rise to the Divinity Within You." BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson, who is also a member of the Seventy, introduced President Packer.
Some 17,000 women attended four general sessions and chose from 95 concurrent sessions, including several in Spanish. They also visited "service learning rooms" where they participated in service projects for local organizations and the Church Humanitarian Center. In addition, the women joined the traditional "Evening of Service" in buildings on May 4 for a variety of service projects and "Sharing Stations" where themes from concurrent sessions could be further discussed. (Please see womensconference.byu.edu for more information from the Sharing Stations.)
In his address, President Packer, who was accompanied by his wife, Sister Donna Packer, said, "Whenever we speak of home and family and motherhood, we fear that we may wound the tender hearts of those who never marry or those whose marriages have failed. There are those who are greatly disappointed in their children. There are heartbreaking gender problems, untimely deaths, abortion, abuse, pornography, and, in addition, an endless list of things which almost dissuade us from speaking with the plainness the scriptures command us to do."
He then explained a lesson he learned from Alberta Baker, a mission Relief Society president many years ago when he presided over a mission in New England. As she began explaining some changes that were to be made, a member of the congregation challenged her, saying, "That doesn't fit us. We're an exception!" Sister Baker responded, in part, "Dear sister, we'd like not to take care of the exception first. We will take care of the rule first, and then we will see to the exception."
President Packer told the Women's Conference congregation, "I will speak of the rules first and later consider the exceptions."
He spoke of transcendent power in the tender hearts of women, and quoted from a William Ross Wallace poem, "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand that Rules the World."
"The rules and principles are in the scriptures," President Packer continued. "The revelations make it very clear that humankind is the offspring of Heavenly Parents. We have in God our Father and a Heavenly Mother the pattern of our parentage."
Paying tribute to his wife and the mother of their 10 children, President Packer said: "After more than 50 years, I am still trying to be worthy of her and good to her. . . .We had our love and our faith and a determination to live the principles of the gospel—all of them, the difficult ones as well as the easy ones. We planned our life together and determined that we would accept each child born to us."
Speaking of the years rearing their children and teaching them the principles of the gospel, President Packer emphasized: "We are children of God! It is just as simple at that! We are, in fact, children of God. . . .
"In all that you do as women, do not forget that we are all children of God. If you get that doctrine in place, with that rule established, it will serve you well in times when you are confronted with those who equate humankind with animals."
President Packer brought a chuckle from the audience when he recalled years ago pulling two of his wrestling sons apart and saying to the 4-year-old, "Hey there, you monkey! You had better settle down."
The boy protested, "I not a monkey, Daddy. I a person!"
The divine pattern of the union of man and woman where "babies are conceived and cross that frail footpath into mortality" was planned and designed from "before the world was" (Doctrine and Covenants 49:17), President Packer said.
"It is 'the great plan of happiness' (Alma 42:8). We did not design it. If we follow the natural pattern, happiness and joy will follow. The gospel and the moral standards are set to prevent us from straying into unworthy and unnatural behavior that will result in disappointment and unhappiness."
President Packer emphasized that there "is a dangerous trap when tolerance is exaggerated to protect the rights of those whose conduct endangers the family and injures the rights of the more part of the people."
Speaking tenderly, he added that in mortality there are those who will not marry or rear children, or who will have marriages broken through death or divorce. "Those yearnings unfulfilled in mortality will be filled to overflowing in the life beyond where there is eternal love and eternal increase."
After quoting from "The Family: A Proclamation to the World," President Packer spoke of the dangerous trend of mothers, "sometimes beyond their control," being drawn out of the home. "What could a mother possibly bring into a home that can equal her being at home with the children while they grow and mature?"
Continuing, he spoke of the lowering birthrate throughout the world. "An aging population can neither work to sustain the people nor fight to protect them," he added. The trend is even seen in the Church. "Worldwide, the birthrate of Church members is only slightly higher than the world at large. Like the rest of the population, members of the Church must suffer the consequences of these trends. We face a particular set of issues because the pool from which missionaries are drawn is in steady decline."
President Packer urged members of the audience: "Teach the children the plan of salvation, the sacredness of the body, the supernal nature of the power to give life. Mothers, guide them, warn them against misusing those sacred powers in your gentle way. The future of the family depends on how those powers are protected."
Continuing, President Packer said: "Man and woman are separate but equal and complementary to one another. Both the equal and the separate natures are essential to the onrolling of the great plan of happiness."
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