To clarify, (I wanted honest opinions before I gave more details) I, the wife, joined the Army out of high school, where I met my husband, a Marine. When I found out I was pregnant, I decided to leave, at the behest of my command, who begged me to stay.
I've been a stay at home mom for two years now, and my husband really hates being a Marine. His contract is coming up and I offered to switch roles with him because what he wants to do is go to school and start a different career. He can do that with his GI Bill while I make money in the Military, which is what I've always known I wanted to do, and loved doing it.
But we got in a fight over it because I'm a woman and he said that the church states that I belong at home with the kids. But it doesn't as far as I can tell. It recommends that one parent stay home to build the family while the other works. The woman usually is the more nurturing so it's usually the woman.
That is not the case here. I have pretty much zero maternal instincts and have zero experience with children outside my own daughter, while he is the oldest of 11 kids and is totally at ease with her. I love my daughter but in more of a protective way. I don't want to cuddle and feed her, I want to be a role model and provide for her.
I've been feeling like women in the relief society are generally more at ease with stay at home mothers than they are with women like me, who just don't understand what to do with themselves all day and would rather go paintballing.
So from what I gather, from what you all have said and what I've looked up, it has more to do with the family unit sticking together and less to do with women and their "place" in the family.