Latter-day Saint Life

Please, Tell Your Young Women These 4 More Important Things

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MR says: You all lovedthe first one, now here's part two in a series of 8 things every young woman needs to hear.

The teen years can be a troubling and confusing time for young women--but it can also be a time of excitement and growth. Here are four more important tips that will help young women keep a good perspective, make the most of their years now, and prepare for the years ahead.

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’ll want some milk. If you give a Mormon girl a Pinterest, she’ll proceed to make the most obnoxiously large Wedding Board. 

(I won’t even start on the hours and hours of time wasted on that site. Seriously ladies, we could have curled our hair four times, read a couple books, and probably saved a third-world country in the time we take to browse Pinterest.)

Don’t you deny your Wedding Board! I know most girls reading this are guilty. I am, too.

You’re thinking, “But Em, Pinterest is fun! We love it! Why are you freaking out?”

Because of this: Pinterest is already hurting your marriage.

When you open it you see delicious food and beautiful scenery. You see DIY projects, crafts, activity ideas, beauty tips, fashion trends, and oh, I almost forgot, the illusion that a sunset engagement photo is all you need for your relationship to mean something. Or just as bad, the idea that if you don’t have the pretty picture or gorgeous cake, your relationship won’t work.

Maybe it’s not the engagement shot for you. Maybe it’s the cake, or the dress, or the venue (hopefully it’s a Temple!) or the color scheme. But when it comes down to it girls, whatever distracts you from the sacred and eternal covenants you’ll be making on that day is not good.  You will be making a promise to your Father in Heaven and your spouse that day. Literally, the photographer could be a no-show, the cake could blow-up, and your dress could be destroyed and those covenants would still stand. 

Sisters, when you make your Pinterest board, fill it with articles that carry helpful marriage tips. Fill it with wholesome date ideas and activities to do as a family. Put reminders on it that love and marriage are blessings worth working for. They do not come with the perfect dress, pretty flowers, or even family pictures.

Keep your Wedding Pinterest board. Please, don’t delete it because of this. But be ever mindful that your wedding day is about so much more than anything Pinterest can offer or describe. I pray that day is as glorious as it should be. I pray that you and your sweetheart have prepared to enter into those sacred covenants. I pray that you feel like the beautiful daughter of God that you are when you kneel across the altar. I pray that nothing you found on Pinterest crosses your mind during those powerfully binding moments. 

6. Respecting the priesthood is worth your time.

I get it. You’re in high school right now and while young girls are still missing parts of their brains, young men are really missing parts of their brains.

Not every guy you know will care much about his priesthood. So what can you do?

Firstly, look forward to what it will be like when you’re no longer in high school. Fun fact: guys change when you get to college. You will undoubtedly come across men who do not honor their priesthood. That will happen at every stage in your life. However, you will also come across many that do.  The wearing of bro-tanks dramatically decreases, swearing is nearly non-existent, and they smell pretty good, too. Even if you don’t go to a church school, look forward to meeting young men that have the temple in their sights, and prepare for when you do.

Another fun fact: the best way to help a man honor and respect his priesthood is to honor and respect yourself. 

You are a daughter of God. The most mighty and glorious being in the entire universe is your father. Treat yourself as an offspring of glory, because sister, you are one. Dress modestly and know that it makes a difference. Be kind to others not only because it’s the right thing to do, but also because the type of man you want to marry will appreciate that kindness.

Stop tearing other people down. Stop tearing yourself down. Stop doubting that good men exist. Stop being a bitter old lady when you’re only in your teens; your time will come. Stop nodding off during baby blessings and setting-apart’s. Prepare for the blessings of comfort and health you receive. Treat the men around you with respect. Ask your guy friends about experiences they’ve had while using their Priesthood. Look forward to the opportunities you have to help them uphold that power, and thank them when they do.

Above all, respect yourself. Act like the glorious being that you are. Hold yourself to standards you know to be true, and watch as those around you treat you the way you deserve to be treated.

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