“When our Heavenly Father placed Adam and Eve on this earth, He did so with the purpose in mind of teaching them how to return to His presence. Our Father promised a Savior to redeem them from their fallen condition. He gave to them the plan of salvation and told them to teach their children faith in Jesus Christ and repentance. Further, Adam and his posterity were commanded by God to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to enter into the order of the Son of God.” (President Ezra Taft Benson, April 1986 Liahona) What a wonderful blessing, to have been put on this Earth in families to help us learn and grow together in the gospel. After Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, then learned that our Father in Heaven would provide a Savior for mankind, they must have rejoiced; rejoiced in the knowledge that they can repent and be forgiven of their sins. I am grateful for this promise and blessing as well. I am not perfect, in fact I sin daily, but the Atonement provides a way for me to repent and be made clean again. This blessing enables me to return to live with my Heavenly Father, and my family which has been sealed to me on this Earth, again. I am grateful for President Joseph Fielding Smith’s appreciation and love for women. I know that our Heavenly Father holds a special place in his hearts for his daughters and that we are not left out of the church in these latter days. I am grateful for his reminder, “I think we all know that the blessings of the priesthood are not confined to men alone. These blessings are also poured out upon our wives and daughters and upon all the faithful women of the Church. These good sisters can prepare themselves, by keeping the commandments and by serving in the Church, for the blessings of the house of the Lord. The Lord offers to his daughters every spiritual gift and blessing that can be obtained by his sons, for neither is the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man in the Lord.” (President Joseph Fielding Smith, Improvement Era, June 1970, pp. 65-66) I love being a woman and I love being a mother. I have a sacred responsibility, along with my husband, to raise my children in righteousness. It is my duty to raise my boys to love the Lord and to show them, by my example, that joy comes from obedience to His commandments. I love the Lord and I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My life is blessed daily as I strive to grow closer to Him through prayer and scripture study.