Equal Partnership

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints teaches that there should be an equal partnership between men and women both here on Earth and in the Eternities.  What does this mean?

Many people believe that because Adam was created first, and Eve second, that Adam was to rule over her.  They believe that Eve made a mistake by partaking of the fruit, and some even believe that women should still be ruled over because of this "mistake".  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints sees it differently.

Elder Earl C. Tingey said, "You must not misunderstand what the Lord meant when Adam was told he was to have a helpmeet.  A helpmeet is a companion suited to or equal to us.  We walk side by side with a helpmeet, not one before or behind the other.  A helpmeet results in an absolute equal partnership between a husband and a wife.  Eve was to be equal to Adam as a husband and wife are to be equal to each other."

Our Heavenly Father intended for Adam and Eve to be equals.  They each had unique skills, gifts, and talents, that made them different, but they are equal.  Equal doesn't mean identical.  The same is true for us today.  Husbands and wives are equal.  We should work together in an equal partnership to love and teach our children.  The Church stresses that any tradition that denies equality to either spouse is wrong, and we are to stop these immediately.

President Howard W. Hunter said, "The Lord intended that the wife be....a companion equal and necessary in full partnership...For man to operate independent of or without regard to the feelings and counsel of his wife in governing the family is to exercise unrighteous dominion."

As we have had a more recent push of feminism, we must make sure that we do not make a women's role so important that it diminishes the importance of the male role.  President Hunter's teachings apply to both male and female. 

Being in an equal partnership, means sharing the responsibilities of the household, and of teaching and raising the children.  We should work together in all aspects of these areas.  Being in an equal partnership also means there is room for both partners to have opinions and dreams, and there is room for the other partner to encourage and support.

When we follow this counsel from our leaders we will be entitled to many blessings in our marriages, such as:

*happier relationships
*better individual well-being
*less verbal aggression and physical abuse
*more satisfying physical intimacy
*deeper love for our spouse
*better functioning children
*better parents

We should work to make our relationships stronger, more equal, and happier as we work, counsel, grow, and learn together as equal partners.