Anyone who claims there are no significant emotional differences between men and women have never experienced Mother's Day and Father's Day in my ward.

Some wards don't even celebrate Father's Day, which should be one indicator right up front that there are gender differences. We observe both occasions in my ward. On Mother's Day, the men take over the Church jobs of all the women so they can relax and enjoy Sunday School and Relief Society. The bishopric agonizes over what gift to present. Plants are a frequent choice, but we have many apartment-dwellers who have noplace to plant them. Cut flowers seem to be out of the question--most men perceive them as a waste of money although women in surveys say they would rather receive fresh flowers than a plant. This year we got a nice booklet. Last year I was in Seattle on Mother's Day, and the bishopric in that ward presented large-size Cadbury chocolate bars, which I applaud most heartily except I know our bishopric shies away from those, too, as unsuitable for diabetics. They just don't want to offend anyone. That seems to be their primary goal on Mother's Day: It's not to honor the moms. It's not to honor motherhood or even womanhood in general. It's just to not make anyone upset.

On Father's Day, during the last 10 minutes of priesthood meeting, they gather all the classes from deacons to high priests together in the multi-purpose room and present them with "Fat Boy" ice-cream sandwiches. Everyone is happy. No one tries to probe for subliminal meaning in the choice of "Fat Boys." They eat their ice cream and yuk it up and go home happy.

What would happen in your ward if they tried to give "Fat Boys" to the women on Mother's Day? Almost too horrible to contemplate, isn't it?

And THAT, in a nutshell, is the difference between men and women.