"An Innate and Great Capacity"

On the evening after the historic announcement that church is now switching to two hours instead of three, with the third hour's meetings to be conducted at home, President Henry B. Eyring spoke about Gospel Learning in the Home, and since his audience was composed entirely or nearly entirely of women, he focused particularly on them.

He spoke of women's "innate and great capacity to sense the needs of others and to love." This capacity helps them care for others and makes them natural nurturers. In a way, I'm somewhat jealous of this trait. Empathy is always a good trait to have, and Elder Eyring said that this empathy also "makes you [women] more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit."

I know that not all women feel like they have "an innate and great capacity . . . to love . . . [t]hat . . . makes [them] more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit," but I believe that all women do, not only because the nurturing of mothers is a natural advantage to all species blessed by it, but also because these quotes were given by a prophet of God. To quote him directly, Elder Eyring said, "As daughters of God, you have an innate and great capacity to sense the needs of others and to love. That, in turn, makes you more susceptible to the whisperings of the Spirit." If you are a "daughter of God," as all women are, Elder Eyring is talking to and about you.

I am grateful that the church is leaning more toward Gospel Learning in the Home largely because of how much of a blessing it will be for families to learn the Gospel from the women in their lives. It is good that families support each other in Gospel learning, and especially when much of the teaching and guiding is done by those who have a natural talent for doing so.