Sheri L. Dew

Sisters, we as women are not diminished by priesthood power - we are magnified by it. I know this is true, for I have experienced it again and again.

It is not possible to sin enough to be happy. It isn't possible to buy enough to be happy, or to entertain or indulge or pamper ourselves enough to be happy. It is not possible to hide enough or run far enough away from trials and troubles to be happy. Happiness and joy come only when we are living up to who we are... I have never met anyone who was happier because he was immoral, or because he was addicted to something, or because he was dishonest and compromised his integrity.

Am I the woman I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?

True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.

On those days when we're not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we're actually saying is, "Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today." Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest, the times it becomes clear that a change in behavior is not enough--that we must have a change in nature.