Grace is the active ingredient that enables progression (our becoming more and more like our Heavenly Parents) as well as that which heals the broken heart, the hurts, and the injuries that we experience here in mortality.

Line upon line, hear a little and there a little, and all in the Lord’s time.

Some of the progression and the healing will occur here on earth, and some will occur in the spirit world prior to resurrection (it has been said that we will be surprised at how much growth and healing we will all experience in the spirit world after this mortal life).

As we play on the Lord’s team, as He directs and instructs, in achieving His purposes (whether in this life or in the spirit world), we not only become acquainted with Him, but we come to feel of the power of the Atonement acting in our lives.

The two roles that evidence we are playing on the Lord’s team, as directed by Him and according to His design, are as follows:

(1) Motherhood
(2) Priesthood

There is nothing in this life that will require more selfless sacrifice – putting the needs of others above one’s own – than motherhood and priesthood (which involves giving of one’s self selflessly to one’s wife, one’s children, and the Lord’s flock).

As one gives of one’s self selflessly in loving and serving others, one is showing grace multiple times a day.

As one gives grace in loving and lifting others, one receives grace that lifts and elevates them.

The degree to which one gives grace, one also progresses and experiences the Atonement.

There is nothing in this life that one can experience that will require more selfless giving and service than motherhood.

In short, motherhood requires an exorbitant amount of love and service – grace. Consequently, motherhood also enables one to receive untold grace from up above.

Not to be trite, but the only thing marginally equal to motherhood in the amount of grace required is priesthood (if understood correctly … being more about selfless service than it is about exerting power and authority over others).

Said differently, God did not institute this program called the priesthood so that men could be superior to women (they are not), but so that men could be equal to women in the amount of grace expended that would then correspond to the amount of grace that would be received … which would then equate to how much progression one would experience while in this mortal life.

Just as men and women are equal in the eyes of the Lord, motherhood and priesthood are equal in that they require both men and women to forget themselves, to put the Lord first, to serving and lifting those whom the Lord cares about (we are His jewels), and to demonstrate faith in following promptings from the Holy Ghost to hold up the hands that hang down, and to strengthen the feeble kneed.

Motherhood and priesthood are both calls to action, or calls to give grace.

Likewise, motherhood and priesthood are both the conduits through which the Heavens are then able to pour out grace and to redeem and to endow our Father’s beloved children.

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Notes:

(1) Priesthood is the power and the authority to act in the name of God. God acts with grace. So to act in His name is to lift and to heal and to comfort as He would be doing if He were physically here. From that perspective, we realize we might not always measure up. We are to simply do our best. But when it comes to comforting someone who has experienced something heart wrenching, we know if our Father in Heaven were there physically He would act in a way that would dry all tears. When one considers that priesthood is to act as our Father if He were there physically, it sets the bar on what it really means to act in the name of God. Although we might not measure up, we can always do better, and with the direction of the Holy Ghost, we can say and do the things that our Father would want said and done.