Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from his book 21 Principles—Divine truths that help you live by the Spirit, wrote:
I know what it is like to love a daughter of God who with grace and devotion served with the full feminine splendor of her righteous womanhood. Father in Heaven well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family.
When I was a young man, my father was not a member of the Church and my mother although she was a wonderful woman, was less active. That changed in our lives, and Mother and Father spent much of their lives as servants in the temple in Washington D.C. But during my growing-up years I didn’t know what it was to have a patriarch in my home or a mother who would teach all of the things an active Latter-day Saint can teach her children.
As I was about to graduate from the university, I fell in love with a beautiful girl, Jeanene Watkins. It took me a long time to date her. There were a lot of other young men who recognized her qualities. When I was with her it just seemed like time flew by; we had so much fun and she was such a strong wonderful woman. I could tell she began to have some strong feelings for me also. One night when we were talking about the future she said, “When I marry, it will be to a returned missionary.” I hadn’t thought much about a mission at that point or really understood what temple marriage meant. But I went home and couldn’t think of anything else. I was awake all night long. I couldn’t think of anything at the university the next day. Soon I was in the bishop’s office having prayed about the importance of a mission.
Jeanene and I both went on missions, and when we returned we were married in the temple. I don’t know how I could ever thank her for putting her principles before her heart. If you ever doubt the power of a righteous woman to influence a man to good works, remember that story.
So many of our sisters are disheartened, even discouraged, and disillusioned. Others are in serious trouble because of the choices they make. Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny. He well knows that women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family. He would focus their interests on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles as wives and mothers. He has convinced many of the lie that they are third-class citizens in the kingdom of God.
If there is any woman reading these words who wonders about how valuable you are, would you remember you are the last created, you are the best. He saved womanhood for the final magnificent creation, and you are not to feel otherwise. We need to help those women around us recognize how precious they are.
The daughters of Father in Heaven are extraordinary. Women are different from men in more than physical ways. Women just naturally want to help others, whether they are mothers or not. They have joy in serving others. But we men must understand they need to know from us whether their nurturing is appreciated and beneficial. I think many women worry about that. So whether you are a husband or a son or a priesthood leader, tell the women in your life specific things that you appreciate in what they are doing so that they can know that you are aware of it, and that you are grateful for their nurturing that is a part of their divine nature. You may even wish to put it in writing. ~Richard G. Scott (deceased), 21 Principles~Divine Truths that Help You Live by the Spirit (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013) p. 62-65 (continued. . . .)
