Mothers and Daughters

by Elder M. Russell Ballard
April 2010 Saturday Morning Session
(click on title to read entire talk)

I loved this talk. I love my mom! I love my daughters!
We have so many role models in our lives to learn from. My Grandma was the greatest example. She took every opportunity she could to teach us. What a blessing that was as a teenager.

"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."

After talking to the daughters he turned to the mothers. Elder Ballard explained that girls are confused there are so many people trying to define womanhood and most of them are not in line with our values.

"Now, mothers, I understand that it sometimes appears that our children aren’t paying attention to the lessons we’re trying to teach them. Believe me—I’ve seen that glazed-over look that comes to the eyes of teenagers just when you’re coming to what you think is the best part of your instruction. Let me assure you that even when you think your daughter is not listening to a thing you say, she is still learning from you as she watches you to see if your actions match your words. As Ralph Waldo Emerson is believed to have said, “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say” (see Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier [2006], 56)."

"Teach your daughters to find joy in nurturing children. This is where their love and talents can have the greatest eternal significance." - What does it teach them if they hear us complaining about our job as mother. We all have bad days but are we showing our joy.

He talks about teaching our daughters often about sexual matters and how they dress. If we don't dress modestly how can we expect our daughters to.