Comments for Embodying Womanhood

Comment on The Woman in My Skin, by Candy Eash by Becky A. Lewis

Becky A. Lewis — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:29:36 +0000

Thank you Candy!! This is a masterpiece and I needed to read it this morning! We all need to be reminded that our bodies are “not perfect vehicles but perfecting vehicles.”

Comment on Learning About Mortality Through Childbirth, by Laura Beer by Cassie Beer

Cassie Beer — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:51:49 +0000

Thanks for this wonderful message! As I reflect on the love our Savior has for us, I learn that His love was perfect and everlasting because of how he was willing to suffer for us in Gethsemane and then die for us on the cross. I know His love for his brothers and sisters is what helped him cope through the pain he suffered. It’s remarkable that He has that perfect love. It truly humbles me and it’s what draws me nearer to Him.

I enjoyed how you likened that to the experience of a mother experiencing birth because I believe love also helps them endure the pain of labor. Parents just do so many sacrifices for their children and I see how as God’s children, we’ve inherited the potential to love like He does. They’re just tiny glimpses because His love goes beyond what we imagine.

Comment on Renewal, by Laura Beer by Ari

Ari — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:56:23 +0000

This poem is amazing. I like that there is always somebody waiting to comfort in times of need.

Comment on Learning About Mortality Through Childbirth, by Laura Beer by Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 02 May 2010 13:44:24 +0000

This article helped me to understand and conceptualize the experience I had following the birth of my baby. I felt so renewed and perfectly clean and innocent in the weeks just after Anne was born. Thank you for articulating how those feelings are part of the beautiful “types” of the atonement.

Comment on Learning About Mortality Through Childbirth, by Laura Beer by Jon

Jon — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 15:05:28 +0000

“The Savior would have us extend the significance of this experience of pain followed by joy and healing to help us to better understand mortality.”

The joy and healing that follow the pain of birth, or repentance as the article cites, do indeed help me understand mortality. It seems that all commandments fit into this pattern in one way or another. The healing joy that follows the pains of labor is a very convincing and strong example, i believe, of the smaller-scale experience of pain followed by healing and joy whenever i give of my time, talents or substance.

Comment on Motherhood and the Atonement, By Laura by Debbie

Debbie — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 04:52:24 +0000

Thanks so much, Laura, for your deep thinking about the connections between Motherhood and the Atonement. Your ideas reminded me of something I was taught many years ago by an Old Testament Scholar named Rebecca Stay. She pointed out that the richly symbolic elements of blood, water, and spirit are significantly present in the Atonement/Sacrament/Baptism, etc. AND in pregnancy/childbirth. She bore convincing testimony that those symbols are present in both because it is God’s intention and deep desire that we make the connections you have made in the article above. She even went so far as to say that childbirth is an ordinance and that motherhood is an ordination. I fear that most women, myself included, have little comprehension of the sanctifying blessings that God intends to bestow on us as we partner with Him to produce life. I believe that like any sacrifice that is called for by God, the potential blessings make the sacrifice seem puny in comparison. I also believe that our society’s diminishing respect for and support of the sacrifices required to bear and bear with children makes it even more important that we exercise faith in God’s ability to use the process of pregnancy/childbirth/nurturing to make us more like Christ.

Comment on Renewal, by Laura Beer by Emily

Emily — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:48:46 +0000

I feel like your poem speaks to spiraling within our lives–at each point in life, we draw on previous experiences and build knowledge upon which we will later rely. I appreciate the inclusion of both family and the Savior within the main characters life continuum.

Comment on Life’s Cycles, by Candy Eash by Emily

Emily — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:42:45 +0000

I just had a conversation with a friend who is a full-time caregiver for her elderly mother. She expressed some of the same sentiments you express here. Just as the elderly become child-like, the blessings for caring for the elderly can be similar to the blessings of parenthood.

Comment on Learning About Mortality Through Childbirth, by Laura Beer by Emily

Emily — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:39:26 +0000

Perhaps in the instance of giving birth, it is not only that we are meant to forget our pain, but to focus on our joy instead. This principle is powerful and could be carried into many other aspects of our lives in which we choose to focus on joy and service rather than wallowing in our own despair. Pregnancy and giving birth are both great acts of service, which bring joy and discomfort. Just as we choose to be joyous as new mothers, I hope to choose to be joyous and to serve in the face of life’s other trials.

Comment on A Tribute to Spring, By Nancy Jones by Emily

Emily — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:34:04 +0000

I agree that spring is full to the brim of hope, and I would add anticipation. In recent years I have developed a love for gardening, and always enjoy the thrill of seeing life reborn in the garden, as well as the spiritual reminders implicit in this time of year.