Gender Roles in the Home

     Hey everybody, today we are going to be covering a rather sensitive topic. That is, we will be talking about gender roles in the home. As this is a controversial topic, I want to clarify now that everything I am going to be sharing is simply my own views with the aid of a document called The Family: A Proclamation to the World. This document was written by modern day prophets through revelation, and we are going to use its help to answer a few questions such as: what are the typical gender roles in the family? Are these roles universal? How does this apply to single parent households? 

    Firstly, what are the typical gender roles in the family? Well, the roles we typically see with parents is that the husband will be the provider and protector of the family, while the mother is the nurturer and caregiver of the children. In the Family Proclamation, we are taught, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners." Men and women both have been found to have tendencies of natural talents and mental dispositions. Men are typically more inclined to be protective of their family, be aggressive, and competitive. Women, conversely, were found to be more inclined to avoid confrontation, think out other people's feelings when making decisions (or the overall effects), or even when in a confrontation they are more inclined to be passive aggressive rather than engage in a physical fight. However, of course everybody is going to be different. So, what happens if you have a more passive man who wants to stay home, and a woman who is more competitive and wants to further advance in her career?

    This brings us to our second question which is, are these roles universal? Well, as we read in the Family Proclamation, a husband and wife are meant to help one another as equal partners and support each other in their duties. This means that if you find yourself in a situation where a husband's natural talents are inclined to nurturing children while the wife is more inclined to financial success, then there is no reason that they shouldn't support one another with the development of those talents! This is especially not an issue at all if both the husband and wife continue to fulfill their roles as mother and father of their children and support each other in their efforts fully, as equal partners. However, this begs to question, "what about single parent households?"

    Well, as we know both of these typical roles (provider & nurturer) need to be fulfilled for the children. However, if a spouse breaks their sacred vows of their marriage or fails to fulfill their role, the burden then falls upon one parent to provide, protect, and nurture. And, as I'm sure you know, this can become very difficult for one person to do. However, I know that God will hold those who do his to their families accountable in this life or the next. And while we can agree that it is hard for a single parent to fulfill all the roles of a parent on their own, I know that if you put the Lord first in your life then he will strengthen you so that you can take care of our family. The Lord loves all of us, so continue to show love to each other and support your partners in their pursuits and talents.  mother and father are a team of divine design, and if you work together, you've only got to worry about one thing: How can I help my family today?