Mother's Day Talk

Here's my talk from Mother's Day yesterday. Mom, I love you! Jeanna, I love you! Happy Mother's Day! Most of the talk is quotes from general authorities, although I haven't spent the time to do all of the quote attribution for online - if you have any questions, I'll find the links for you.

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God's plan is for us to come to earth, receive bodies, learn to overcome temptation, and return to him through the atonement of Jesus Christ. So we need God, a mother and father, people to nurture and teach us, and our Savior. Mothers are an essential part of God's plan. To all current and future mothers, thank you. To all who nurture and teach, thank you. To God and our Savior, we thank thee!
Mothers: your children will follow your example. Teach them to find joy in nurturing children, to avoid gossip and judging, to respect themselves and God through modesty and chastity.  Teach them these things by your example, during family home evening, and during meal times. The youth will be more likely to make and keep covenants if they learn how to recognize the presence of and the voice of the spirit. Spend time doing spiritual things with your children. When you feel overwhelmed, will you call on God for assistance? "The most important work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes." 

Some women can't or don't have marriage or children now. The atonement will compensate. E. Christophersen said: "No one is predestined to receive less than all the father has for his children". Sister Oscarson said "Not all women are experiencing what the proclamation [on the family] describes. It is still important to understand and teach the Lord's pattern and strive for the realization of that pattern the best we can. ... Heavenly Father is aware of our righteous desires and will honor His promises that nothing will be withheld from those who faithfully keep their covenants." When you are frustrated in your desires, will you fix your hope on the Savior?
God has many ways all of us can help. "All of us—women, men, youth, and children, single or married—can work at being homemakers. We should “make our homes” places of order, refuge, holiness, and safety. Our homes should be places where the Spirit of the Lord is felt in rich abundance and where the scriptures and the gospel are studied, taught, and lived." Will you bring the spirit into your homes?

Sister Stephens told this story: "I recently had the opportunity to visit with Sister Yazzie of the Chinle Arizona Stake in her hogan. When she welcomed me into her home, the first thing I noticed was the variety of framed family and missionary photos on her walls and tables. So I asked, “Sister Yazzie, how many grandchildren do you have?”

Surprised by my question, she shrugged her shoulders. Confused by her response, I looked at her daughter, Sister Yellowhair, who answered, “She doesn’t know how many grandchildren she has. We don’t count. All children call her Grandmother—she is Grandmother to everyone.”
Sister Yazzie doesn’t limit her love and influence to her biological family. She understands what it means to expand her sphere of influence as she goes about doing good, blessing, nurturing, and defending the family of God. She understands that “whenever a woman strengthens the faith of a child, she contributes to the strength of a family—now and in the future." Will you nurture and strengthen everyone around you?

God commanded: "Honor they father and they mother." (Ex. 20:12). We should honor the mothers and fathers that are our ancestors. We should be grateful tot he fathers and mothers who provided our earthly bodies. We should honor our heavenly parents. How do we honor them? By keeping the commandments." Will you live righteously so you bring honor to all of your fathers and mothers?
The prophets teach us about families in the The Family - a proclamation to the world. "Each of us is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such, each has a divine nature and destiny." God loves us and has a plan for each of us. President Joseph F. Smith taught about God's plan for women. "“It is not for you to be led by the women of the world; it is for you to lead the … women of the world, in everything that is praise-worthy, everything that is God-like, everything that is uplifting and … purifying to the children of men." Will you lead the world with your goodness?

Elder Ballard said: "Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman." Will you use your gifts to bless others? If you don't feel like you have those gifts, will you pray to God that He will give you those gifts?

Sister Oscarson tells this story: "I recently read the story of Marie Madeline Cardon, who, with her family, received the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ from the first missionaries called to serve in Italy in 1850. She was a young woman of 17 or 18 years of age when they were baptized. One Sunday, while the family was holding a worship service in their home high in the Alps of northern Italy, an angry mob of men, including some of the local ministers, gathered around the house and began shouting, yelling, and calling for the missionaries to be brought outside. I don’t think they were anxious to be taught the gospel—they intended bodily harm. It was young Marie who marched out of the house to confront the mob.

They continued their vicious yells and demands for the missionaries to be brought out. Marie raised her Bible up in her hand and commanded them to depart. She told them that the elders were under her protection and that they could not harm one hair of their heads. Listen to her own words: “All stood aghast. … God was with me. He placed those words in my mouth, or I could not have spoken them. All was calm, instantly. That strong ferocious body of men stood helpless before a weak, trembling, yet fearless girl.” The ministers asked the mob to leave, which they did quietly in shame, fear, and remorse. The small flock completed their meeting in peace.

Can’t you just picture that brave young woman, the same age as many of you, standing up to a mob and defending her newly found beliefs with courage and conviction?" Will you stand up for families and motherhood?

One mother named Abby did a presentation in her children's school about her job of being a mother. "In her very fun presentation to the children, Abby taught them, among other things, that as a mother she needed to be somewhat of an expert in medicine, psychology, religion, teaching, music, literature, art, finance, decorating, hair styling, chauffeuring, sports, culinary arts, and so much more. The children were impressed. She finished by having the children remember their mothers by writing thank-you notes expressing gratitude for the many loving acts of service they received daily. Abby felt that the children saw their mothers in a whole new light and that being a mother or father was something of great worth." S. Oscarson. Will you thank those who care for you for all they do for you?
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"The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
 Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

 The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God." Family Proclamation.

E. Ballard: "Young women, your mothers adore you. They see in you the promise of future generations. Everything you accomplish, every challenge you overcome brings them pure joy. And likewise your worries and heartaches are their worries and heartaches.

And so, my dear young women, with all my heart I urge you not to look to contemporary culture for your role models and mentors. Please look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them, not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lord’s standards and whose values may not reflect an eternal perspective. Look to your mother. Learn from her strengths, her courage, and her faithfulness. Listen to her. She may not be a whiz at texting; she may not even have a Facebook page. But when it comes to matters of the heart and the things of the Lord, she has a wealth of knowledge. As you approach the time for marriage and young motherhood, she will be your greatest source of wisdom. No other person on earth loves you in the same way or is willing to sacrifice as much to encourage you and help you find happiness—in this life and forever.

Love your mother, my young sisters. Respect her. Listen to her. Trust her. She has your best interests at heart. She cares about your eternal safety and happiness. So be kind to her. Be patient with her imperfections, for she has them. We all do."