"I'm going to pray that God is a woman"

This line, from HBO's "Iron Jawed Angels", (possibly one of my favorite films of all time), often resonates with me.  In the context of the film, a modernized yet historical account of the women's suffrage movement, the character Lucy Burns says this to Alice Paul in hopes that if this were true, women would get the right to vote.

However, this line does not come to mind for me in regards to women's suffrage, but rather on a much more personal level in my own exploration of who I worship and to whom it is I pray.  In my own journey towards spirituality and knowing God, I am striving to know the nature of the God that I worship.

Joseph Smith said, "It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God."  If this is indeed the 1st...not 2nd, not figure it out at some point, but indeed FIRST principle of the Gospel to which I belong, then for me this is the most fundamental thing I can learn.  Yet while it is fundamental, it is one of the most difficult journeys for me to undertake to date.

This concept intersects particularly with feminism for me as I explore the nature of who I am as well as a woman.  How does God view me as a woman?  As his daughter?  What does God want for his daughters?  If God is a man, how was I indeed created in his image?  How can God know the female experience?

I do not know the answers yet to these questions.  Therefore, the most important thing I am learning is that the nature and character of God is much more complex than I previously realized.  I think learning this first basic principle is a lifelong process.  As I strive to understand God's nature, I can begin to build a relationship with God based on who I know Him to be.  Most importantly, and the marked change I am beginning to let transform me, is that I am beginning to feel comfortable recognizing that this Higher Power, while it is the only constant in my life, is a lot more fluid than I previously have given room to accept.  I am just now learning to sit with, and be comfortable with the fact that, as Nephi, I do not know the meaning of all things.  But I want to.  Which I think is a great starting point for me in struggling with my relationship with my Maker.