Gender and Family Life

Dear Kids,

I wanted to talk to you about this before your favorite TV show does or before your school teachers do, or before your friends do. It’s not that I don’t trust those sources at all but sometimes…I don’t trust those sources at all. 

I don't know if gender will still be such a hot-button issue when you guys are grown up a bit but something tells me, it very well could be. It’s a topic that many people discuss and it’s a topic that many people feel very passionately about. Any time anyone is passionate about something, miscommunications can happen and feelings can be hurt.

I want to talk about opinions. Some people say opinions are kind of like feet. Everyone has them and they all stink but mine. You'll see this everywhere in life with opinions about everything. I want you to know that it is ok to have an opinion. You are allowed to feel things and think things and voice those things. 

You are also allowed to observe things. An observation  is unbiased. It’s something that all people can see. The interpretation of why something happens or why something is the way it is might fall into opinions again but the observation itself should be not anything controversial or disputed.

Discoveries or learning might be something that only applies to you. It might be an “ah-ha” moment or something that helps you connect two observations together and make a theory about something. These are ok to have too but don’t be surprised if people do not agree with your discoveries just like your opinions.

You might be wondering why I’m talking about all this in respect to gender and family life. Well, I know that we go to church and that we are taught about families at church. Part of our church beliefs is that our gender is a sacred thing. We believe that our gender is part of our eternal identity. Some people in the world do not believe that. Some people believe that gender is changeable or fluid and always changing for that matter. They might not view things the same way we do. That's ok.

I want you to be able to have your views and opinions and not feel bad about that. I want the same for anyone else that does not believe the same way we do. 

I just want you to be prepared to love people regardless of how they view the world. I want you to be able to rise above political conversations that say we need to be divided and be able to see you fellow men as neighbors and as brothers and sisters.

Rely on prayer and the Spirit of God to show you how to love others like Christ did. There is a huge lie in the world that says, if you believe something differently than me, I cannot love you. That is so untrue. You are allowed to love people that think differently than you. 

I want you to teach your kids this concept as well. Someday you will wrestle with these same ideas. You will wonder how to teach your children values and morals and lessons without making them think they are better than people who have not been taught those same things. You kids will be smart so I know you’ll figure it out. I love you guys so much and I cant wait to see what kind of adults you will become. I know you will make me and your mother proud.

Just what I’ve been thinking about lately. I love you guys.