another look at Matthew 5

Today I went visiting teaching with my roommate Lydia to another girl in our ward (I know, I know, I put it off to the end of the month but it all worked out really well this way). Anyway, the lesson this month was about gender and how essential our gender is to our eternal personalities and divine nature. At one point there was a quote from Sister Nadauld in which she spoke about women:

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"Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. . . We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith."

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As I read that quote, I thought of Christ's Sermon on the Mount and His discourse on the Beattitudes. He did not say, "Blessed are the unyeilding...Blessed are they that are rough...Blessed are the prominent..." No, He said:

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"Blessed are the meek. . . Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness... Blessed are the merciful... Blessed are the pure in heart... Blessed are the peacemakers..."

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Let us try out Christ's wisdom. It is indeed contrary to what the world has come to think that men and women should be like, but it is truth and it will make us more like Him. Above all, that's our goal, right?