Lesson 28: Respect for Womanhood

Aaronic Priesthood Manual 1, (2002), 99–101


Each young man will have greater respect for women.


  1. 1.

    Materials needed: a pencil for each young man.

  2. 2.

    Prepare a small statement for each class member:

    “I will show greater respect for women.”

    “I will respect and protect young women.”

Suggested Lesson Development



Read or tell the following story in your own words:

“Hey, Moose!” Jim shouted, laughing. Cathy just turned and walked away. Jim didn’t notice the pain in Cathy’s eyes as she fought back tears. He was just having a little harmless fun. A few weeks earlier he had heard Cathy’s little brother, David, jokingly call her “Moose,” his nickname for her. David liked to tease Cathy about the time a moose had scared her on a family vacation. Jim had heard the nickname but not the story.

Soon Jim called Cathy “Moose” every time he saw her. His friends, picking up on the joke, began thinking of ways they could compare her with a moose. In Sunday School, the young men in the class would taunt Cathy with the name when the teacher wasn’t watching. Although Cathy was once an active participant in the class, she began sitting quietly in the back, avoiding contact with anyone else in the class. Within a few months, Cathy stopped coming to Church activities. She told her parents that she would never go back to a place where she felt so unwelcome.

  • How could these young men have helped Cathy instead of hurting her?

We Should Respect All Women


Explain that a young man who holds God’s priesthood should respect and honor all women.

  • Who are the women in your life whom you love and respect?

  • How have they blessed your life?

  • How can you show respect for them?

Adviser presentation

Explain that one of the most uplifting and rewarding experiences a young man can enjoy is having complete harmony with his mother and sisters. It is refreshing to see a brother and sister who are genuinely concerned and love each other. Emphasize that the most important relationship a man has is with his wife. A young man who has learned to respect and appreciate his sisters and other young women is preparing himself for an even more rewarding experience with his wife. Young men should always be considerate of their mothers and sisters—helping, sharing, cooperating, and seeking opportunities to show love and appreciation for them.

Emphasize that young men should show great courtesy and respect for all women.

  • How old should girls be before they receive the same consideration as women?

Point out that young men should always treat girls as they would like their mothers and sisters to be treated and that a young man who holds God’s priesthood should respect and honor girls of any age.

Situations and discussion

Relate the following situations. Ask the young men to discuss what priesthood holders should do in each case to show respect and appreciation for women. Have the young men give possible conclusions to each situation.

  1. 1.

    Sister Hainsworth was called by the bishopric to teach a Sunday School course. Although she was well prepared on the first day, it was obvious that she was inexperienced and nervous. One of the Aaronic Priesthood holders in the class …

  2. 2.

    A group of boys were playing in the school gymnasium during the noon hour. As the play was getting a little rough and out of hand, Mrs. Rawlins, who was on supervision duty, blew the whistle and asked the boys to abide by the rules. A quorum member …

  3. 3.

    As Jenny, a young woman in the ward, was walking down the sidewalk on the way home from school, she dropped her books. A group of twelve- and thirteen-year-old young men were standing nearby. One of them was a priesthood holder. He …

Place a different young man in each of the following situations.

  1. 1.

    You are the brother of the girl who was trying to pick up her books. All your friends laughed when your sister dropped her books and no one offered to help. What would you do?

  2. 2.

    In your presence, one of your friends says disrespectful things about a girl. What should you do?

  3. 3.

    A little boy is arguing and fighting with a little girl. What should you do?

We Can Learn from the Example of Christlike Men


  • How can we learn respect for womanhood?

After the young men respond, point out that one of the best ways is to follow the example of great men.


Tell the following story about President Spencer W. Kimball, a disciple of Christ who showed respect for women:

“[There is] a story about a woman who was in O’Hare Airport in Chicago during a big snowstorm. Planes had been confused in their schedules and thousands of people were stranded. Her money had run out, she had a two-year-old child, and the child was hungry and dirty. The woman was two or three months pregnant and had been told not to hold this child because it might have an adverse effect on her physically. So the child was on the floor of the airport. The woman was in one line after another trying to buy a ticket to a Michigan point. People were criticizing her because she would reach forward with her foot to push the child up in the line as the line moved along, because she couldn’t pick the child up.

“She was in anguish when a man approached her with a kindly smile on his face. He said, ‘Young lady, it appears to me that you need help.’ He took the dirty, little two-year-old child in his arms and loved it, patted it on the back, gave it a stick of chewing gum. Then he went to the people in the line and he told them about the woman—how she had to get a flight out to Michigan. They agreed, under the influence of his spirit, to let her go ahead of them. He took her to the flight and got her started on her way. As she boarded the plane, the woman thought to herself, ‘What a wonderful man, and I don’t even know his name.’ But a few days later, in a newspaper, [she recognized the man when] she saw a picture of President Spencer W. Kimball.

“Now that’s a simple story, but how many would do it? Jesus would do it, and a representative of Jesus on earth did do it” (Norman Vincent Peale, “Remarks at President Kimball’s Eighty-fifth Birthday Dinner, 28 March 1980,” Ensign, May 1980, p. 109).

Scripture stories

Use one or more of the following scripture stories to illustrate the profound effect women have had on the Lord’s work throughout history:

  1. 1.

    Moses 5:11 (Eve was the mother of all living beings.)

  2. 2.

    Judges 4 and 5 (Deborah led the armies of Israel to victory over the Canaanites.)

  3. 3.

    The book of Ruth (Ruth was the great-grandmother of David.)

  4. 4.

    1 Samuel 1 (Hannah was the mother of Samuel the Prophet.)

  5. 5.

    Luke 1 and 2 (Mary was the mother of Jesus, and Elisabeth was the mother of John the Baptist.)



Tell one or two examples of how you learned respect for womanhood from your family.

Encourage members of the class to share examples of how they have learned respect for womanhood from their own families.

Handout and challenge

Give each young man a pencil and the small handout you prepared (see “Preparation”). Have them write on the back of the handout two or three specific things they might do to show greater respect for women. Have them set a goal to accomplish this during the coming week. Encourage the class members to place their goals where they will be reminded of their responsibility often.