"Who am I, and Who can I become?"

(On the board, I'll write "origin", "purpose" and "destiny"

Every week we stand and say our theme:

Young Women Theme 

WE ARE DAUGHTERS of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love Him. WE WILL “STAND as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9) as we strive to live the Young Women values, which are:

Faith • Divine Nature • Individual Worth • Knowledge • Choice and Accountability • Good Works • Integrity • and Virtue

WE BELIEVE as we come to accept and act upon these values, WE WILL BE PREPARED to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

And if you look at the first page of your Personal Progress book, you'll find these words: "You are a beloved daughter of Heavenly Father, prepared to come to the earth at this particular time for a sacred and glorious purpose."

Think about these words.  Pick them apart.  What are your thoughts?  When you read that you are DAUGHTERS OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER and that he loves you, what does that mean to you? Can you glean a little from these words what our purpose is?  How about our destiny?  What does Divine Nature mean? How do you feel about our Father in Heaven after reading these statements?

Our origin (as daughters of a king):
Sisters, those words are true (from your personal progress book)! They are not made up in a fairy tale! Isn’t it remarkable to know that our eternal Heavenly Father knows you, hears you, watches over you, and loves you with an infinite love? In fact, His love for you is so great that He has granted you this earthly life as a precious gift of “once upon a time,” complete with your own true story of adventure, trial, and opportunities for greatness, nobility, courage, and love. And, most glorious of all, He offers you a gift beyond price and comprehension. Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”-Uchtdorf

"You are truly royal spirit daughters of Almighty God.  You are princesses, destined to become queens. Your own wondrous story has already begun.  Your "once upon a time" is now"-Uchtdorf
Let's read:
Genesis 1:26–27  26 ¶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after ourlikeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Moses 1:39  For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass theimmortality and eternal life of man.

From those two scriptures, what do we learn?  
-We are not only daughters or God, but we are created in his image!  We are not creatures that randomly morphed to look how we do.  We LOOK like our father.  Just like my girls look like their dad, we look like our Father in Heaven.
-God's entire purpose; His goal and His desire, is to have His children return to Him!  He gave us our bodies (which we, as women, get to help with-We GET to HELP our Father in Heaven!  The thing that God wants MOST is something we not only have the privilege of being a part, but we're a critical part of the equation.  Think about that for a while.), our agency, the Plan of Salvation, etc. all to help US come home; to give us our "happily ever after"!  He gave us our "once upon a time" and so badly wants us to choose our "happily ever after"!  Unlike Cinderella, there is not one lone author creating the plot twist and writing the ending.  There's God, and there's us.  Together, we decide if it's a "happily ever after" or not.

(We are DAUGHTERS of GOD)
"It is good to remember that you are always a child of God. This knowledge will carry you through the most difficult times in your life and will inspire you to accomplish remarkable things. However, it is also important to remember that being a daughter of eternal parents is not a distinction you earned or you will ever lose. You will always and forever remain a daughter of God." Uchtdorf (Living the Gospel Joyful")

"You are loved.  You are dear to your heavenly parents.  The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you.  Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed—even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens—even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly—He knows you as you really are. And He loves you—today and always!"~Uchtdorf

Cinderella
-Noble birth
Did that mean that she automatically got to be a princess/queen? (No, it simply made her eligible)
Did her nobility prevent her from having to endure hardship? (Not at all...Dad died, horrible step-mother and sisters, worked to the bone etc.)
Now, since this is a fairy tale, our comparison is imperfect.  Like Cinderella, we are of a noble birthright.  We are daughters of a king; children of our Heavenly Father.  We are princesses and are destined to become Queens. We are also not simply thrust upon a throne.
We must earn it.  UNLIKE Cinderella, we do not have a fairy godmother.  WE DO, however, have a Savior.  We the ability to repent.  And instead of magic, we have His grace.  If we act in accordance to the will of our Father, we WILL have a "happily ever after," eternally living in His presence.  We WILL be given the opportunity (whether in this life or the next) to have our own "Prince Charming" as well as an eternal family.

As daughters of God, we have inherent gifts specifically bestowed upon us from our father.  What might those gifts be?
Gifts given to women (These are but a few and I pulled these from Elder Christofferson's talk):
-Virtue
-Able to instill faith, courage, empathy and refinement in relationships and in cultures
-Moral authority
-A mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship
-Sacred role in the creation of life
-An intention to do good and be good

Our purpose
-"God sent you here to prepare for a future greater than anything you can imagine." ~Uchtdorf
-"...you must humble yourself, exercise faith, take upon you the name of Christ, seek Him in word and deed, and resolutely "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.""-Uchtdorf
-Help our Heavenly Father with His work and His glory by giving his children bodies
-Raise spirits in righteousness
-Set an example
-Instill qualities of faith, courage, empathy etc. in relationships and cultures
-To walk the path of discipleship for ourselves, and our families, so we can choose our "happily ever after" with our Father in Heaven.

What things should we do to stay on the path to our "happily ever after"?

Are there warnings/advice given by the apostles/prophets specifically for US?
Uchtdorf, Your Happily Ever After
-Stay true to what you know is right, stand for truth and righteousness
-Trust your Father in Heaven.  Trust him enough to follow His plan
-Attend church meetings, read the scriptures regularly, pray to our Heavenly Father daily
-Love your Heavenly Father with all your heart, might, and mind.
-Fill your souls with virtue
-Love goodness (do what is right for the love of doing what is right)
-Always strive to bring out the best in yourself and others.
-Learn to accept and act upon the YW values
-Live the standards in "For the Strength of Youth."
-Stand in holy places
-Be strong and of good courage
Living the Gospel Joyful
-Obedience to God's commandments, walk the path of discipleship
-Live the gospel joyfully, with all our heart, might, mind, and soul.
-Walk the path of discipleship
"Discipleship lifts our spirits and lightens our hearts. It inspires us with faith, hope, and charity. It fills our spirits with light in times of darkness, and serenity during times of sorrow."-Uchtdorf
The Moral Force of Women
-The devaluation of marriage and motherhood and homemaking "there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage...no superior career, and no amount of money, authority, or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family.  Whatever else a woman may accomplish, her moral influence is no more optimally employed that here." -Elder Christofferson
-Attitudes toward human sexuality
-Abortion for persona or social conveniences strikes at the heart of a woman's most sacred powers and destroys her moral authority
-Sexual immorality, revealing dress that debases women and reinforces the lie that a woman's sexuality is what defines her worth
-In the name of equality, society is trying to erase all the differences between the masculine and the feminine...encouraging women to adopt more masculine traits--be more aggressive, touch and confrontational

Former Young Women general president Margaret D. Nadauld taught: “The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.”¹⁰ 

Why do we, as do all the fairy tale princesses, have to experience opposition and hardship?

"...Sandwiched between their “once upon a time” and “happily ever after,” they all had to experience great adversity. Why must all experience sadness and tragedy? Why could we not simply live in bliss and peace, each day filled with wonder, joy, and love?

The scriptures tell us there must be opposition in all things, for without it we could not discern the sweet from the bitter. ² Would the marathon runner feel the triumph of finishing the race had she not felt the pain of the hours of pushing against her limits? Would the pianist feel the joy of mastering an intricate sonata without the painstaking hours of practice?

In stories, as in life, adversity teaches us things we cannot learn otherwise. Adversity helps to develop a depth of character that comes in no other way. Our loving Heavenly Father has set us in a world filled with challenges and trials so that we, through opposition, can learn wisdom, become stronger, and experience joy."~Uchtdorf

"It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life's story will develop." -Uchtdorf

Is it enough simply to endure? Nope.  How we react to both adversity and temptation is a critical factor in our destiny

I know that our Heavenly Father has absolutely given us the tools we need not only to endure, but to endure well.  I know that as we we truly understand who we are, and have the desire for our "once upon a time" to end with an eternal "happily ever after", we CAN absolutely get there. We can claim our noble birth right to not only be princesses but QUEENS!  We can become the people we were sent here to become.

The Moral Force of Women, Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Living the Gospel Joyful, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Your Happily Ever After, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf