Neutral night at the temple

Attended the temple tonight. Interesting event because it was directed at women. President White spoke specifically to the women of the stake in the chapel session. I didn't find what he said very empowering, but neither did I find it belittling. At one point he told a rather touching story of a Relief Society president who worked hard to be in touch with the sisters in her charge. One morning, after making a batch of cookies, she had an impression to visit a particular sister in her ward. Immediately following her instincts, she popped over with a plate of cookies, and had a nice chat. Come to find out later that the sister she visited had been very depressed recently, and had had a mouthful of pills in her mouth when the RS president rang the doorbell. After having the chat, the visited sister (having spit out the pills to answer the door) found the courage to talk to her husband about what was troubling her. President White was obviously touched by this story, and had tears in his eyes when he told it. I found the idea moving, but thought that it was such a pity that the marriage relationship between the man and wife had deteriorated to the point that she couldn't discuss her problems with him, and that he had failed to notice that there was anything wrong.

Anyway, as I said, it was an event directed at the women, although there were also men in attendance. I found that President White also followed the pattern of talking to the women as if we were to be the salvation of the men in the church. How we are so much more spiritual. How men cannot reach the celestial kingdom without us. How we can have such a wonderful effect on the world as righteous and loving mothers. All the pat (and paternalistic and patriarchal) themes that generally have the effect of empowering me to let my mind wander to other topics. And yet, as noted in the title of this piece, it was a rather neutral night for me. I wonder if it had anything to do with President White's relative youth ... that he is not as deeply entrenched with the whole "protect and provide" rhetoric that I hear so often from men in the church. Or that he was recently the bishop of a thriving student ward, where wives often are the sole support of their husbands, or at least equally yoked by school. Anyway, for whatever reason, his talk rested lightly on me.