Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel….
Photo: Mother Teresa, a woman who truly had a mother heart
Looking at some recent offerings from Mormon Times–Trusted LDS News and Perspective, I began to fervently hope that some of these perspectives are not trusted to be those of covenant members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps a better tagline would read Trusted “Mormon” News and Perspective. There appears to be a growing divide between what Mormons believe and what Latter-day Saints believe with regard to motherhood. It doesn’t seem to be on purpose, and there is no rancor here–I truly believe that the divide comes from the Mormon culture’s immersion in Babylon, and how it has created a hybrid culture that is not truly saintly, but looks that way, feels that way on the surface, and is inviting to many who see it as “the future of Mormonism.”
Nowhere is this strange hybrid culture and belief system more apparent than in Utah, and, I, having the unique opportunity at this particular time in my life to live in Utah Valley, am a front row spectator to the effects of this strange Mormon-Babylon union. This union invites a mist of darkness so thick that the line between holy and profane is unseen, and in fact, much of what is profane and unholy is considered enlightened and desirable.
One area in which we have been absolutely, phenomenally deceived is in our concept of mother. Mormon women just don’t seem to understand it, comparing it to everything from internships to a career in making dragon shaped cupcakes to whatever else–and they are actively preaching this as a trusted perspective to LDS women and, heaven forbid, women of other faiths who may happen upon their musings. Granted, I am not about to proceed to write about my profound insights into “mother”, but I can direct you to sources that will help you to understand it for yourself, through God’s whisperings to your heart.
The Concept Of Mother
Sheri Dew spoke of the concept of mother in her General Conference address, “Are We Not All Mothers?” She stated:
While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of all living”—and they did so before she ever bore a child.
Like Eve, our motherhood began before we were born. Just as worthy men were foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality, righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood.
Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.
President Gordon B. Hinckley stated that “God planted within women something divine.”That something is the gift and the gifts of motherhood. Elder Matthew Cowley taught that “men have to have something given to them [in mortality] to make them saviors of men, but not mothers, not women. [They] are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be the saviors of human souls … and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s children.”
This, then is a good start in our understanding of the concept of mother and motherhood. It is not, as one Mormon columnist put it, “like one very long, very unpaid internship from heaven….filled with all the menial, thankless tasks assigned to lowly interns…” nor is it necessary, as another trusted Mormon perspective wrote, “that every mother needs something that defines her outside of the parameters of motherhood,” because motherhood encompasses all that we are and could ever hope to be as individuals. Is it any wonder that when Sister Beck was recently asked what the greatest danger facing young mothers was she answered:
Escape. Running away. Distractions. Confusion for what our roles and identity are in this world.
Of course we are going to feel that way if we think that our purpose in life according to God is to be an unpaid intern or that God’s defining us as mothers is not enough–that we need to find something outside of His parameters. Yes, that will lead to a lot of confusion and disillusionment.
What “Mother” Is Not
A mother is not defined by any of the following:
- The number of children she has, whether none or 20 or more
- Making cupcakes in the shapes of dragons
- Completing “menial, thankless tasks” usually assigned to lowly interns
- Sewing, crafting and other homemaking skills
- Laying aside personal interests and losing all sense of self for children and family
- Compromising or putting off your hopes and dreams for your children and husband
In reading the articles at “The Mormon Times” and other “Mormon Mommy Blogs” I can understand why these columnists spend so much time justifying their “me” time. If their understanding of “mother” includes these types of mistaken definitions, they are just looking for eventual burnout and dissatisfaction. While a mother may make cupcakes in whimsical shapes, chore charts that look almost too gorgeous to touch, or have 20 children and a family closet, none of that is what defines “mother” or her role. This role, if understood and taken on, will consume her entire life–not in a way that depletes–but it will be the burning desire, the goal of her existence, the thing that gives meaning to her life–the ultimate dream. The fire and passion of a great Olympian, an acclaimed writer, or even The Jimmer, will pale in comparison to the fire and passion of a woman who embraces her identity as “mother.”
A Mother’s Purpose and Essence
It’s not rocket science.
Satan is determined to confuse and make completely indistinct the purpose of mother, and he is succeeding. But, like the entire gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s defining identity for woman is easy enough that a child can understand.
In April 2011, Elder Quentin L. Cook said:
The remarkable pioneer woman Emily H. Woodmansee penned the text of the hymn “As Sisters in Zion.” She correctly asserts that the “errand of angels is given to women.”
This has been described as “nothing less than to do the direct and immediate bidding of our Father in Heaven, and ‘this is a gift that … sisters … claim.’
That is the most succinct statement I have ever heard on the purpose, identity and essence of women, and it is plain enough for anyone to understand.
This is our gift, our mission, our calling, our ministry: to do nothing less than the direct and immediate bidding of our Father in Heaven.
What does that mean for the women who feel like motherhood and mothering is nothing but “menial tasks”? It simply means that they do not understand who they are.
One mother I read about said that she had to be paid as a writer before she could endure being a mother to her children. Another famous Mormon mother claims to have given up fame, fortune and an amazing career to just be a mother, but still works part-time on her career. Mothers who compare motherhood to the menial tasks of unpaid internship are lost to the idea that as a mother, there are no menial tasks…there is not a moment that goes by that a mother is unpaid. Many mothers have plans for graduate school and a more substantive career.
Still other mothers are being led by a prominent group of Mormon “deliberate mothers” who are attempting to professionalize motherhood by training each other to offer “Power of Moms Retreats,” in which they get paid to teach mothers how to mother. This, to me, is one of the most interesting of the Mormon-Babylon hybrid. It sounds good, but oh, how dangerous it can become. While these mothers are out training other mothers and going to retreats, who is at home? Who is really doing the mothering? And, what does it tell mothers if they need to go on a retreat to be better mothers?
This leads me to the “blind guide” reference at the beginning of my post. These voices from Mormon Times, these New York Best Selling Mormon Authors on Parenting, these Homeschooling Experts…when do they have time to be parents when they are writing professionally (which is very different from writing for yourself), showcasing themselves on Good Morning, America!, writing books, speaking, doing world tours, conferences, seminars….when in the world have they had time to practice what they preach? Why in the world would we listen to them?
If “Mother” is the title Father in Heaven wants for all of His daughters, then there is a way for every, single daughter of God to attain it–whether they live in Zimbabwe or Manhattan–whether they have money or none at all, whether they were educated at Harvard or in the trenches of a hard life, whether they have a perfect husband, a husband addicted to pornography or abuse, or no husband at all. The Lord can make a way, and He will restore all things to us. We don’t have to feel short-changed or slighted ever.
But, I digress.
If we are all called to be mothers, how do we prepare for it? What does it really mean to be a mother? What does it mean to be given the errand of angels?
And, can we imagine that angels often go to Heavenly Father complaining of burnout and asking if they can have a little “me” time in order to “define themselves” as something more than just angels?
I doubt it.
If we are feeling that way–if we strain at the simple instructions of doing Heavenly Father’s bidding and swallow the camel–the “Trusted Mormon Perspective” that we need something more, or that mother is equal to menial–then we must understand “mother” and prepare for it differently.
Preparation For Motherhood
From the time my little girls are born, they are taught that they are mothers. We celebrate Mother’s Day with all the girls in the family–from babies to grandmothers. We believe that their identity as daughters of God is defined best by the word “mother.”
How do we prepare all of our girls for motherhood? How have I tried to understand what “mother” really means.
Sister Beck said of her own mother:
Though it was uncommon at the time, she was university educated and advancing in a career. Following her marriage, children arrived in quick succession; and in a short span of years, she was the mother of a large family. All the knowledge she had acquired, all her natural abilities and gifts, all her skills were channeled into an organization that had no earthly bounds. As a covenant-keeping daughter of God, she had prepared all her life for motherhood.
It seems that Sister Beck is explaining that as we keep covenants and develop our natural abilities and gifts, we are preparing for motherhood. In this, we must still be careful. While a university education and career can prepare women for motherhood, a university is not the only way to become educated, and a career path is not the only way to develop skills. Not only that, as we begin our university education and career, are we focused on what the “direct and immediate bidding of our Father in Heaven” is, or are we focused on our dreams, passions, and what we think are our talents? Have we taken time to consider that while our dream in life might be to become a schoolteacher, it may not be what Heavenly Father wants us to do. In our limited mortal understand, our greatest passions may be just that–great mortal passions. A good choice. But, what about better or best? Have we considered throughout our growing up years and consulted with the Holy Spirit on what our university education should include and/or career, if any?
My daughter, Free ‘n Equal, loves horses and the country. She is most at home in coveralls, hay and a little muck. She decided to get involved in the vet program at BYU-Idaho, because all of her life she has loved animals, and everyone says she has a knack for taking care of them. After a few years of school and a lot of prayer, she has come to discover that she should use the intellect God gave her (she studies microbiology for fun!), and the nurturing skills she has on people, not animals, and is now involved in nursing. This came only after she was humble enough to realize that her passionate dream about having her own farm and doing her own care on her animals was not the best choice and that Heavenly Father desired her elsewhere.
Have we done that ourselves? Have we taught our daughters that as mothers, we must trust God completely, that He is omniscient and all-loving, and knows precisely what we should study, and what would bring us the most happiness, regardless of where we assume our talents and passions lie?
Having A Mother Heart
She goes on to explain how to prepare for a “mother heart”:
A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her.If she has children, she is a “goodly parent” who lives and teaches standards of behavior exactly in line with the teachings of living prophets. She teaches her “children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” . Rather than listening to the voices and partial truths of the world, she knows that gospel standards are based on eternal, unchangeable truths. She believes that to be “primarily responsible for the nurture of [her] children” is a vital, dignified, and “sacred responsibilit[y]” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ). To nurture and feed them physically is as much an honor as to nurture and feed them spiritually. She is “not weary in well-doing” and delights to serve her family, because she knows that “out of small things proceedeth that which is great”.
Contrast that to the confusion, which apparently not only faces the world’s women, but is rampantly believed in our own Mormon culture. Elder M. Russell Ballard explains it well:
It is, unfortunately, all too easy to illustrate the confusion and distortion of womanhood in contemporary society. Immodest, immoral, intemperate women jam the airwaves, monopolize magazines, and slink across movie screens—all while being celebrated by the world. The Apostle Paul spoke prophetically of “perilous times” that will come in the last days and specifically referenced something that may have seemed particularly perilous to him: “silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts” (2 Timothy 3:1, 6). Popular culture today often makes women look silly, inconsequential, mindless, and powerless. It objectifies them and disrespects them and then suggests that they are able to leave their mark on mankind only by seduction—easily the most pervasively dangerous message the adversary sends to women about themselves.
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.
So, the Mormon women, whether through actual seduction, or through the seductive power that comes with education, prominent career, and money…swallow that camel as defining them as women. “Mother,” God’s ultimate title to woman, just doesn’t cut it.
The woman who embraces God’s definition of the essence of a woman knows that:
the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily mothering is far more lasting, far more powerful, far more influential than any earthly position or institution invented by man. She has the vision that, if worthy, she has the potential to be blessed as Rebekah of old to be “the mother of thousands of millions.”
In all of this, it is abundantly clear that mothering is the eternal glory of woman. There isn’t something else a woman needs to feel empowered or defined. In fact, in eternity, there is nothing else that will define her outside of the parameters of motherhood. The pinnacle of womanhood is mother.
The Errand of Angels
Elder Holland speaks of the ministry of angels when he states:
Usually such beings are not seen. Sometimes they are. But seen or unseen they are always near. Sometimes their assignments are very grand and have significance for the whole world. Sometimes the messages are more private. Occasionally the angelic purpose is to warn. But most often it is to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, guidance in difficult times.
Do we realize that in whatever capacity we are called, whatever our life circumstances may be, we can find ways to comfort, to provide some form of merciful attention, and guidance in difficult times for others? That is being a mother.
Elder Holland continues:
I have spoken here of heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind…
…In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.”Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God…
He also speaks in another address about the tongue of angels–which, I imagine, should be the tongue of mother, as well:
In that same spirit we speak to the sisters as well, for the sin of verbal abuse knows no gender. Wives, what of the unbridled tongue in your mouth, of the power for good or ill in your words? How is it that such a lovely voice which by divine nature is so angelic, so close to the veil, so instinctively gentle and inherently kind could ever in a turn be so shrill, so biting, so acrid and untamed? A woman’s words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined. Sisters, there is no place in that magnificent spirit of yours for acerbic or abrasive expression of any kind, including gossip or backbiting or catty remarks. Let it never be said of our home or our ward or our neighborhood that “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity … [burning] among our members.”
And finally, a simple reminder that the errand of angels is simply to do the immediate bidding of our Father in Heaven–quite a lofty goal, but worthy of implementing, no matter how tragic, difficult, or far from the ideal our circumstances may be. In the end, it’s not about whether or not you have a doctorate from Harvard, your own scrapbooking business, or your make cupcakes in the shape of dragons, or change dirty diapers–it’s about if everything you are doing is the Father’s direct and immediate bidding.
Are you pursuing your dream or His? Your will or His? Have you been deceived into thinking that your will is His will? Have you asked that question: “Where am I being deceived in my identity as a woman–as a mother?”
You will never lose your “identity” or sacrifice too much for your family if you are doing His will. You will not need “me” time in the sense that we understand it today…the Lord will always provide you with time to contemplate and drink from the well of His Spirit.
If we are doing anything less than the errand of angels, if we understand neither the doctrine of the family, nor our eternal role as mothers, then we are more than likely unhappy and looking for “something more,” and will eventually be led by divers lusts and become silly women.
I close with the words attributed to Victor Hugo as quoted by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in his beautiful address, “Because She Is A Mother”:
“She broke the bread into two fragments and gave them to her children, who ate with eagerness.
‘She hath kept none for herself,’ grumbled the sergeant.
“‘Because she is not hungry,’ said a soldier.
“‘No,’ said the sergeant, ‘because she is a mother.’”
I wonder if the Mormon-Babylon culture understands this beautiful passage, or do they think the following:
- Wow. That mother should have gotten her education, then she wouldn’t be in that predicament!
- That mother should feed herself a little first. After all, if she’s not nourished and feeling good, how can she be at the top of her game to nourish her children?
- Boy, that mother needs to go on a retreat to get some time to recharge.
Instead of seeing the beauty and godliness exhibited in this woman…the exemplification of the “mother heart” we should all desire.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
My wife recently introduced me to your site and I have been very impressed at your willingness to speak boldly and unapologetically. This post about how misunderstood motherhood is really seemed to mirror my thoughts on how frequently we misunderstand the priesthood as well. We know it as the organizational structure of the church but often forget that it is the personal ministering, not the titles and offices, that really defines the priesthood.
Thanks for giving me more to think about as I try to support my wife and teach my daughters.
David that’s such a good point about the priesthood– I agree that happens very often. In fact, we often equate priesthood directly with men, which is also incorrect! The Brethren do a great job of clearing that up though:
Many people do not understand our belief that God has wisely established a guiding authority for the most important institutions in the world. This guiding authority is called the priesthood. The priesthood is held in trust to be used to bless all of God’s children. Priesthood is not gender; it is blessings from God for all at the hands of the servants He has designated.
–Elder James E. Faust, Father, Come Home, May 1993
I love what it says there about Priesthood as the power of God to bless his children– just like you said.
This is something I am struggling with right now! Your posts are always so timely. My struggle is not with having any desire to have a career or make cutsy things or have a home-based business. I could care less about those things. My stuggle is with believing that what I AM doing is enough. I struggle with a sick perfectionism that prevents me from feeling peace about my daily Mothering. I know where it stems from and it is something that only the Atonement can repair ( still working on that). What I want more than anything is to feel like my offering is acceptable and to truly believe that it will be enough because the Lord will make up the difference ( is THE difference). I know all of this intellectually but it hasn’t become a truth to my spirit yet. Even as I write this, tears are flowing because it is SUCH a struggle for me. All the things that I should and could be doing scream in my head till it is almost impossible to hear the whisperings of the Spirit that confirm that I am on the right track, that my heart IS turned toward the Lord. It prevents me from be in the present because I am worried about the what-ifs and the future and the past etc… Being “Mother” is all I’ve ever really wanted to do despite having a college education and talents that I could make a living with. Now I just need to gain a testimony that I truly am a Mother and it is acceptable.
The beautiful thing about following the Spirit is that whether I stay in bed with morning sickness all day or reorganize my food storage, finish ten quilts, make banana bread, and teach all my kids perfectly in a day, I feel equally accomplished, as long as it is the immediate and direct will of God.
When my 2 year old daughter died in July of 2008, I really felt the feelings you are feeling–that I was not enough, that I wasn’t acceptable. I even spent some time thinking that perhaps she was taken from me because I was such a failure as a mother…it has taken a long time to feel the Atonement make up for those feelings–and it has been a hard thing to realize that, in some ways, I did fail. I wasn’t perfect. I was often foolish and sometimes short tempered and wasted time being a “silly woman.” But, you are right, the Atonement is enough to make up for all of it.
One thing that has helped me to feel the healing power of the Atonement is the “Lamb of God” score by Rob Gardner. Somehow, that music helps me feel the hope in and love of Christ more than most other things and has truly helped me in resolving those feelings of inadequacy.
Don’t give up! Keep loving and living for that day when you feel the Savior give you the gift you are seeking. It will come.
Mother Teresa said something that I find beautiful:
Thank you so much for sharing your insights with me. My heart aches for the loss of your Joy. I am comforted to hear of your ongoing healing through the Atonement. For some reason, forgiveness through repentance and the Atonement is easier to lay hold of than the Balm for other types of wounds. I do believe that it is possible, thank you for thoughtful words.
LOVED all the quotes you pulled together and your thoughts! Bravo, misty! I love how ‘Mother’ is not just what you call the woman who raised you, but it is a title.
What an honor to have the opportunity to be emissaries of God while we are living on the earth. We just strive to follow His will and obey each good prompting or thought that comes into our mind. Then we will be helped to achieve all our potential. We will bless not only our own lives, but our children or anyone within our sphere of influence.
I relate to this so much. I feel the pull from both sides of this. My mother struggled with these issues and it has been a long and difficulkt struggle to get the right attitude about my role as mother.
We moved 2 years ago. I have been very disappointed with the “silly women” in my new ward. It has been a lonely 2 years. It has taken a long time to sift through the tares and find some women of substance to associate with. I have 2 friends who are Messianic. I am sorry to say that I often find them more spiritually mature than many of my LDS peers. My husband and I have been feeling more driven to make “sacrifices” to protect our family like cutting out TV (is it really a sacrifice?). I keep thinking of the passage in D&C 133 about fleeing to Zion and what that really means. I grow tired of the “snacks” that are handed out at church, especially in our Primary, when we should be feasting. I have butted heads on this issue more than once.
It is comforting to know that I am not the only one who feels this way. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Wonderful! I wish ALL of the women I know (especially in my last Ward) could/would read this… and some of my family, actually… *sigh*
If only everyone would rest on their knees with a willingness of heart to TRULY hear what the Lord thinks of them… they would rise and rise in the joy of the Lord! It seems you know this from thought AND experience. What a pleasure to perceive it.
Love the simplification. Being a woman of God means listening to the spirit and obeying. Nothing more and nothing less.
Dear Mysfit,
I have made the journey from hybrid to loving motherhood. How very deceived I was. It was especially easy to be decieved when I was young, my husband was in college and I was surrounded by young “woman” in our early twenties still too selfish and naive to recognize what motherhood is. Very few of our mothers inspired motherhood though. I LOVE how you celebrate mother’s day with all of your girls. Beautiful. That is a key factor missing in our culture. Women loving their children, content with the glorious role of mother. Public school and feminist agendas doesn’t help either. My heart aches for how lost we are when it comes to motherhood.
To be called mother…so glorious. Thank you for your beautiful writings, vision and truth.
I wept while reading this. I have come so far over the years, but I still have so far to go. Your words touch me and inspire me. I look forward to every post your write.
Beautiful!! This was just wonderful to read. I love how you celebrate your daughters on Mother’s Day too. It is a wonderful idea that I will start this year.
Wow. I particularly liked the list of things mothers are not. I began drafting a post on this topic this morning after discussing it with friends the other day. Now I have even more ideas on how to teach our daughters to embrace the role of motherhood. Thanks!
This is so inspiring, Misty! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this oh-so-important subject.
Hugs,
Rachel
Thank you, Misty! I always find the most fascinating, inspiring, *truthful* things on your blog. It’s so comforting to know that there are other women out there who understand!!
I wish I could meet you. I wish I could give you a huge hug and say “Thank you!” to your face. This is another post that I *needed*. I’m only seventeen, but for the last few years especially, I have been preparing myself for my future family. I have tried so hard to develop a Mother Heart, and to really *be* a Daughter/Future Mother who KNOWS. I want my family to be ready for Zion. I don’t want to go along with the Babylonian culture as I raise up my children. I want to be an angel – selfless, caring, obedient, responsible, Christ-centered. It’s not crazy for me to think that I don’t want to go out and “get” an education, to believe that the Lord wants me at home right now so that I can get the best preparation possible before I leave my home and marry. It’s not crazy for me to want handfuls of children, and to not even think about “waiting” to start having children after I am married. I am on the right path. And there are others out there who are right there with me, even though I may not know it. I’m not alone. . . .
I am so grateful for your site, Misty! Thank you for following the inspiration of the Spirit and sharing your knowledge with the world. I greatly, *greatly* appreciate it.
Felicity
I came to Utah this weekend to pick up my two oldest from their trip to Barcelona. I was able to go the the afternoon service session “Errand of Angels” and all of Friday’s sessions of BYU Women’s Conference. Sister Beck spoke at the opening session on Friday. WAIT UNTIL YOU READ HER ADDRESS!!! It was fabulous. She is so direct and to the point. In paraphrasing some of her words she said:
* We, as women, made covenants in the pre-earth life to be women and that covers everything from being a wife, mother, aunt, sister, etc. and that we will not be given a pass if we fail to live up to those covenants because we decided instead to follow the clamor of the world.
* She told how she recently met with a RS sister who had or was about to give birth to her 8th child. This sister spoke of the comments from others in her ward saying things like, “We can’t believe you are making this lifestyle choice to have so many children” etc. and the sister said, “I am not making a lifestyle choice. I making a gospel choice.This is what I have been taught.” Sister Beck went on to speak about that.
* Sister Beck said she gets asked the question all the time whether women should work outside the home. She said that is the wrong question to ask in this international church where in some parts of the world if the women do not work their families literally do not eat. The proper question to ask is “Am I aligned with what the Lord desires for me and my family?”
Anyway I cannot wait for the transcript to be posted online. It was wonderful.
where do they post the transcripts? is there a website for the women’s conference? i so want to go someday but i keep having small children and having figured out how to manage it. maybe next year…that talk sounds so great! but it would be so great to be able to read some of the talks…is it just on the byu website? any help from anyone on this would be great!!
A summery of Sis. Beck’s and E. Bednar’s Women’s Conference talks is found on lds.org homepage. You can find archives on the Conference below, but 2011 isn’t up yet:
Transcripts:
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/transcripts.cfm
Videos:
http://www.byub.org/talks/EventSearch.aspx?event=wc
Loved Sister Beck’s 2008 talk….
I couldn’t agree with you more! Motherhood was frustrating when I was trying to balance it with other interests that I thought I needed “outside” of mothering! Thank-you for your beautiful words!
So wonderful. I needed this.
My heart is soaring right now! Thank you for this beautiful and inspired post. I used to think I was on the right track. I wasn’t distracted by the world. But I was distracted by what I wanted. This week my life has changed dramatically and I am learning to do what God wants, not what I want. Even if what I wanted was extremely good–if it isn’t what God wants for me, it isn’t best. Wow. After reading this I think I am finally ready to submit to God’s will. Thank you. And thank you for another amazing celestial tradition idea for Mother’s Day.
Cygnet, this is such a great post. Spot on. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the “layers” of motherhood, and how we can exemplify our calling as mother in whatever phase of life we’re in. This quote has really directed my thoughts and inspired me:
For you childless sisters and those without companions, remember the eternal timetable of the Lord is much longer than the lonely hours of your preparation or the total of this mortal life. These are only as microseconds when compared to eternity. Your willingness and worthiness are surely known to Him. The spiritual rewards of motherhood are available to all women. Nurturing the young, comforting the frightened, protecting the vulnerable, teaching and giving encouragement need not—and should not—be limited to our own children
–Elder Russell M. Nelson, Lessons From Eve, October 1987
I love that last part. “The spiritual rewards of motherhood are available to all women.” If that doesn’t emphasize the broad meaning of motherhood, I don’t know what does! One other gem:
Too much can’t be said or written about woman’s most important role as a mother. Napoleon is quoted as having asked Madame Campan: “What is wanting in order that the youth of France will be well educated?” “Good mothers,” was her reply. The Emperor was forcibly struck with this answer. “Here,” he said, “is a system in one word—mother.”
–President Harold B. Lee
Amen. A system in a word — ore more like an angel, as you said.
*sorry about the typos, yikes! time to go to bed
“Oh, naught but the Spirit’s divinest tuition
Can give us the wisdom to truly succeed.”
This has become so crucial for me- relying on the Lord-in all things, from parenting struggles to battling the depression that tends to creep up when I focus too much on myself. Other “helps” lead me in all directions but the Spirit guides me back to my purpose and mission and edifies and strengthens me. Thank you so much for posting this, and helping me once again align myself and my efforts with my divine nature.