UNDERSTAND.OUR.POWER.

WRITER: JEN MAKIN

UTAH

As a female, I always knew that I loved who I was but I never understood the absolute power I had. Voices in the world want to influence women negatively by making them believe that they are small, weak and unnecessary.

Sadly, as women, we sometimes do it to one another. We allow the voices get so loud that we begin to pick on one another, say hurtful things and behave in unladylike ways.

I have three daughters and one son. My son is the oldest and I have taught him from a young age, as has his father, to respect girls. What I didn't know though, is that I have had to teach my girls the same thing. When one of my twin daughters was 6-years-old, she came home crying saying that her "best friend" called her fat and ugly.

Boys, it seems, get in trouble for fighting. For participating in physical altercations. Girls, on the other hand, often provoke emotional altercations. I want to raise my daughters to love themselves, their bodies and more than anything - honor themselves.

I as their mother have to be careful. I want my girls to know that they have big to shoes, my shoes, to fill. If I want them to believe they are beautiful, I have to believe I am beautiful. The "f word" in our home is "fat." I think the word should be deleted from Websters all together.

Words have meaning and words, when spoken by mothers, become the child's inner dialogue. If I want my children to become self-assured young women who believe they can conquer the world, which I do, I have to treat them like they can. I have to believe in them. Every accomplishment is a victory.

And lastly, the idea of morality. I believe it's lost in today's society. Our daughters hear voices that call good evil, and evil good. As their mother, I truly don't care if I'm cool, nor does their father. I do my best to allow my children to experience things and make the choice themselves to dress modestly and wait to have sex until marriage. I do my best to teach them how sacred they are and how every part of their body is sacred.

I too have to treat my body well. I have to eat healthy things and show it love. When looking in the mirror, I have to say positive things (in my mind) to myself so that I develop habits for when I speak.

One of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite people on earth, President Gordon B. Hinkley stated it best, "The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." At the end of the day, we as women need to know the power we truly have. The power to catch a man's eye because of our integrity and not our figure. The power to quiet a child with our presence, after a man has been tirelessly rocking. The power to love and support one another and use our life experiences to enrich the lives of others, not feel better then. And more than anything, the power to love and serve one another, which changes households, cities and nations. We can be an instrument for good, the choice is ours.