You may have heard this story before, but I think it bears repeating; there are many lessons to learn from it:

“After having a minor run in with a bishop, Belle complained, “In this church men have all the power, the women are helpless. A wise friend taught a great lesson with these words, “’Oh no, my dear, the women are not helpless. If someone came to you and had a great but different gift in each hand, one was power and the other was influence, which gift would you choose?’ I thought seriously for a moment and then I said, ‘I think I would choose influence.’ ‘You probably did, my dear.’ she said. ‘Influence is a great gift of God to women.’ Then she said, ‘Appreciate it and use it right. Do not envy that which has been given to the brethren.'”

I really love this story. It teaches the obvious lesson that while the men are bearers of the priesthood, women have the power of influence. This is an important lesson to accept with all our hearts. Each of us, men and women, have specific roles that enhance and complement one another, and I believe they are God-given.

One more lesson is one I have been pondering for a little while. There are some around us who say they want the priesthood because it has more power than what they feel they have already.

Having the priesthood won’t change anything. Our access to the priesthood is plenty as we reap the blessings from it daily. The priesthood brings light and life to us. It also offers us needed protection from Satan.

Satan had the priesthood at one time, but he lost all privileges of that power. Think how dark his world must be without the priesthood. Interestingly, Satan has influence. He influences people to do evil works. This is a great power we see in our world today.

But it’s the same power we women have been given. How can we use our power of influence to overcome Satan?

Elray L. Christiansen spoke in conference many years ago the following words:

“And they were expelled from heaven, retaining the malignant powers to tempt and to persuade men to disobey God.”

How does Satan operate? What are his tactics? Using his superior knowledge, his unique powers of persuasion, half-truths, and complete lies, the evil one uses the spirit children who followed him (which were many), plus mortal beings who have yielded to his evil ways, to wage war against Jehovah and his followers; and they will, if they can, influence us to become critical and to rebel against God and his work. Thus he destroys the souls of men” (Elray L. Christiansen, “Power of Satan,” GC, Oct 1974).

No wonder Satan attacks women so mercilessly. He thinks he can win us over by playing our own game; the game of influence. We can either be influenced, and be completely captivated by his deceit, or we can combat his influence with our own great gift of influence for good.

Make no mistake, a war is raging all around us and Satan will have our souls if we let him. If I were he, I too would be going after the women. But little does he realize that women, who recognize the power within them, and have chosen to keep their first estate, are far stronger than even he is. As daughters of the very God of heaven and earth, and all things, we have everlasting priesthood power to influence through the covenants we’ve made at baptism and in the temple. Look around at all the people you influence on a daily basis. The power is within you to set an example; make sure to use it for good.

So, let’s take a for instance. What if you are a woman who has been victimized? You don’t trust men or people in general, and there has never been resolution in your life to help you deal with these feelings? This is a fairly common feeling among women in one form or another.  

Imperfect people surround us all. Mistakes are made, and so many hurt feelings abound. But there is one person we can dump all “that crap” on to, and He will take it, and it isn’t Satan. Satan will use those feelings of despair and magnify them so they become so overwhelming and debilitating that you will want to strike out and make more people miserable, just as he does.

No, the person to turn to is the Savior, Jesus Christ. He stands ready to take all our crushing blows, all our uncertainty, all our pent up anger and hurt and releases us into a state of love, understanding, forgiveness, and happiness. Come unto the Savior, because indeed, the power to choose is within each of His daughters. And our influence will carry into the precious lives around us.