Summer is a such a hard time to visit teach with everyone going in different directions. So this month, I decided to send my sisters I visit teach a letter. I love the message this month because it goes right along with what I've been studying in my class this past semester. I wanted to record the letter I sent to remember these wonderful words of prophets and apostles on motherhood.
This past semester, I have been in a class called “The
Eternal Family”, and we have studied the Family Proclamation in depth, so this
month’s message has been on my mind a lot.
Elder Anderson shared the following in a recent conference
address: “My
daughters recently referred me to a blog
written by a Christian
mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: ‘[Growing] up in
this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on
motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for
sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your
body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.’ She then adds:
‘Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children
because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can
squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”
I know I am so grateful for my calling as a
mother, but the truth is, I struggle to find the joy sometimes. President Benson gave a wonderful fireside in
February 1987. His talk titled, “To The
Mothers In Zion” is inspiring, and I would encourage you to read the whole
thing sometime. I wanted to share just a
few things he said. I hold on to
promises like these so much through all the difficult tasks and days! President Benson quoted President McKay,
“…she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters,
whose influence will be felt through generations to come, . . . deserves the
highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God”. President Benson instructed mothers to:
- · Be at the Crossroads (be there whenever your children are coming or going)
- · Be a Real Friend
- · Read to Your Children
- · Pray with Your Children
- · Have Weekly Home Evenings
- · Be Together at Mealtimes
- · Read Scriptures Daily
- · Do Things as a Family
- · Teach Your Children
- · Truly Love Your Children
Sometimes it’s hard to look at lists like these and not feel
guilty, but I don’t think that’s their purpose.
I believe that from these wise words we can pick one or two things we
can do better and do our best to a little better today than we were
yesterday.
One more story President Benson shared: “Here is a beautiful tribute by a son to his
mother: ‘I don’t remember much about her
views of voting nor her social prestige; and what her ideas on child training,
diet, and eugenics were, I cannot recall.
The main thing that sifts back to me now through the thick undergrowth
of years is that she loved me. She liked
to lie on the grass with me and tell stories, or to run and hide with us
children. She was always hugging
me. And I liked it. She had a sunny face. To me it was like God, and all the beatitudes
saints tell of Him. And Sing! Of all the sensations pleasurable to my life
nothing can compare with the rapture of crawling up into her lap and going to
sleep while she swung to and fro in her rocking chair and sang. Thinking of this, I wonder if the woman of
today, with all her tremendous notions and plans, realizes what an almighty
factor she is in shaping of her child for weal or woe. I wonder if she realizes how much sheer love
and attention count for in a child’s life.’”
Summer is the perfect time for us to slow down, look at our
children and find moments to spend with them and show them our love. I know that the Lord is with us in this
journey of Motherhood and He, more than anyone with all His forgiveness and
mercy, is rooting for our success.
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