Mother Told Me

by Elder Bradley D. Foster
Sunday Afternoon April 2010

Alright -- I have a hard time sitting down on the weekend to do this.  The first step is admitting, right?  I'm good with the reading on the weekend but the blogging ... not so much.  So this is the talk I read Friday.  With Stake Conference last night I didn't get a chance to read an entire talk but did read bits and pieces of lots because I was searching for a specific one from years ago.

Anyway on to the talk - which was great!

Elder Foster starts off telling a cute story about a mother's influence over her kids.  We are the nurturer's ... and our kids soak up what we do and say.  When I was a young newlywed I became great friends with the ladies I worked with in the YW Presidency.  We all had babies within a few months of each other so our talk inevitably turned to motherhood and our babies.  One of the ladies became very concerned because her baby had developed a twitch in his neck.  She thought her baby may have some sort of disability and became very concerned for a few days.  She watched her baby make this movement frequently and then noticed that she was cracking her neck a lot.  She was so relieved to realize that he was simply mimicking her movements but we were all in awe at the influence we had on these tiny babies.

"As President James E. Faust said: “There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation” (“Fathers, Mothers, Marriage,” Liahona and Ensign, Aug. 2004, 3)."

He then reminds us to always go after the lost sheep. He says,

"Brothers and sisters, in a world where everyone is granted agency, some of our loved ones may stray for a season. But we can never give up. We must always go back for them—we must never stop trying. Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has issued a plea for us to go rescue those of our loved ones who may be lost (see, for example, “Stand in Your Appointed Place,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2003, 54­–57). With the help of priesthood leaders, parents must continue to go back and find their lost ones, assuring them there will always be a “home” within the family and the Church, waiting for their return. We never know when a heart may be turned. We never know when a soul may be weary and worn out by the world. When that happens, it seems our children almost always turn first toward Mother"

"Perhaps the reason we respond so universally to our mothers’ love is because it typifies the love of our Savior. As President Joseph F. Smith said, “The love of a true mother comes nearer [to] being like the love of God than any other kind of love” (“The Love of Mother,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1910, 278)."

I love being a mother!! I find no greater joy. We need to watch our behavior because our children are watching and learning.

Last night at Stake Conference our Stake President referenced another talk from this past conference about motherhood.

"Now may I share a few thoughts with you mothers about the special role you play in your daughters’ lives. We have a family friend who travels often with members of her extended family. Her primary observation after each trip is how much the young women behave like their mothers. If the mothers are thrifty, so are their daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are the girls. If the mothers wear flip-flops and other casual clothing to sacrament meeting, so do their daughters. Mothers, your example is extremely important to your daughters—even if they don’t acknowledge it." (Mothers and Daughter, Elder Ballard)