How should we honor Mothers?

I was asked to speak in church for Mother's Day here's what I had to say:

How should we honor Mothers?

I was struggling to know what to talk about on the topic of Mothers. So I asked my children – “My topic is to talk about Mothers. What should I say?” My son Joshua replied, “You should talk about how you love your Mother.” When I pressed further, “Josh how do you love your Mother?” He responded, “I don’t know, you’ll have to guess.” Josh’s response wasn’t exactly what I was hoping to hear. So I set out trying to answer Josh’s reply so I would not have to guess. How should we honor Mothers on this Day set aside for them?

First, lets consider the reason Mother’s day was celebrated in the first place. To figure this out, I went to the Internet and searched for “define Mothers day.” Wikipedia came up as the first link with a full article spelling out the history of Mother’s Day around the world. In the United States, Mother’s day was first celebrated after the American Civil War. Julia Ward Howe, a social activist first wrote a Mother’s Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament. These early efforts failed to create a national following, but influenced another woman, Ann Jarvis. Jarvis campaigned for better sanitation conditions for mothers by organizing Mothers’ Word Days. Jarvis’ work helped to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. When Ann Jarvis passed away, her daughter Anna campaigned for a national memorial day for women. First celebrated in 1908 at the church where the elder Jarvis taught Sunday School, the idea spread quickly. By 1912 forty-five states officially recognized the date. “In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.”[i]

If Ann Jarvis were alive today, it is likely she would not recognize what has become one of the nation’s most commercialized holidays. If we were to ask the women credited with founding Mother’s Day in the United States, they would likely reply that we all have it wrong. Today is a day for mothers to call for peace and celebrate the sacrifice of mothers who lost a child in the ravages of war.

Understanding the origins of the day gives perspective of why we have Mother’s Day, but I still have not found an answer to the original question. How should we honor Mothers on this Day set aside for them?

Turning to the scriptures, we can find examples of mothers. Maybe the scriptures can help us know how to honor our mothers?

We read in John 4 (p 1330) the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. This woman had made choices which put her in a position to receive Christ and place faith in Him as the Messiah. She was not a perfect person, nor had her life been without blemish or challenges. As Jesus and the woman converse, Christ perceives her circumstance and interacts with her in a way which allows her faith to grow. The woman doesn’t understand what Christ is first trying to relate to her about Living Water or who He is. But true to form of any faithful servant, when she did connect-the-dots and understand who she was talking to at the well – AND – what the definition of Living Water was, this faithful women left her worldly work and performed a missionary labor. In verses 28-30 we read:

ß read John 4:28-30 à

28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?

30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.

While the woman is gone on her errand, Jesus teaches a principle to his disciples. He talks to them of the principles of reaping and sowing and explains that they are called to reap—not sow—the fruits of faith.

This point is then confirmed as the woman returns with others to be taught by the Savior. Ever more importantly there were many who believed this woman’s testimony. She reaped a plentiful harvest of souls.

ß John 4:39 à

39 ¶ And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.

40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.

What greater woman can there be than one who puts the most important truths of the Gospel first? We can honor and support our mothers in their search to fulfill the calls of the Master to labor in His vineyard.

Turning to our latter-day leaders, Sister Julie Beck gave an address at a recent General Conference titled “Mothers Who Know.” As family members, we should be families who know and support our wives and mothers who strive to live up to these seven ideals suggested by Sister Beck.

Mothers who know… (refer to the talk ( link )

1. Bear children
1. I think it is the greatest honor of womanhood to have the opportunity to bear children.
2. President Ezra Taft Benson taught that “in the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels.”
3. In the world which ever increasingly does not support mothers, we can honor those who sacrifice much in this great work

2. Honor sacred ordinances and covenants
1. A Mother who has taken upon her sacred ordinances is a woman worth honoring.

3. Are nurturers
1. Sister Beck states:

i. “Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking.”

ii. “Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women.”

4. Are leaders
5. Are teachers
1. Mothers should be honored for the work they perform in the walls of their home to lead the family towards righteousness and teach the next generation.
6. Do Less
7. Stand Strong and Immovable
1. I group the last two together, because they must work together. We can honor mothers who buck society and stand strong and immovable against the social pressure to be keeping up with the Jones’s
2. We can honor women who “allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home... live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children” and spend more time bearing testimony and doing the work of the Lord.

Obtaining any level of success to meeting these ideals is wonderful. We can honor our mothers by supporting their efforts to achieve these goals.

To this point I think we have discussed a number of things we can honor our Mothers for. Many of these things are ideals and while we may hold our mothers as perfect in our eyes, we all know that no one is perfect. No one can live up to all of the ideals I have discussed today. So how can we honor mothers?

Looking introspectively, a dream I had Friday night probably best helped me to answer this question.

Yesterday morning I woke up early from a dream. The dream was of an alternative reality. I was traveling somewhere and it became apparent to me that in this alternate reality, my wife Shawnie had just passed away. I was in a store at the airport which sold baby supplies (bottles, formula, diapers and the like). The children were restless. The baby was hungry and had just found some way to roll out of the double-stroller and onto the floor. The toddler couldn’t find a seat or stay seated. People seemed to be swarming and I felt my blood pressure rising. I was struggling to determine which of the many playfully designed bottles choices would meet the basic need to feed the baby. In the mean time, I was causing a log jam and an unfriendly employee of the store came and asked me to make my choice and leave.

I summoned the haughty and self-absorbed lady to the back of the store where I shared with her the details of my situation. How my wife had faithfully fulfilled the needs of the family until just recently and how I was now left to fill the void.

At this point, I awoke from my dream overwhelmed by feelings of concern and loss. As I began to realize that it was just a dream, my mind focused on different questions. Particularly, if this situation were real, how would I cope? Then I realized what the dream provided for me. It gave me a perspective of the work the mother of my children does and the self-centered life she had given up!

The dream gave me a contrasting position in the world. The woman in the store, a woman who was of the world, who was making a successful life for herself had only limited joys which come from success in the world. She was also a conceited person, self-absorbed in worldly pursuits such as the bottom-line of the store. She was a woman who had placed the world ahead of other, more important pursuits and didn’t care to seek for the benefit of those she came in contact with.

Compare this to the nature of Mothers, beyond the chores of running the household and keeping the kids on track, and so much more mothers do, she is an irreplaceable, key component of our families. A person who nurtures children, cares for the wants and needs of the family. A person who often puts her needs second to that of her children. Most mothers know something of discomfort, of pain, of worry, and concern. Likewise, Mothers know great joys which come from time to time.

Maybe we can honor mothers today by recognizing the work they do, the worldly things they have willingly sacrificed on our behalf, and the challenges which taking this road less traveled means for them.

It is my testimony that the role of mother is divinely appointed. I give thanks to the mother of my children, for the tireless work she does. I also give thanks for a wonderful mother who went above and beyond. I am truly grateful for many other women in my life. May the Lord add a special blessing to you mothers this day, I pray. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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[i] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day