We Do Not Doubt Our Mothers Knew It.

There is nothing that pulls at my core more than when I hear women utilize the phrase: “I’m just a mom.”  I am a person of passion, especially towards things that are significant to my heart.  When those words hit my ears, my passion explodes!   My immediate reaction is to hug that woman until the comprehension of her hallowed role is implanted in her heart.  Luckily, I have carried my intensity all my life, and have the ability of restraint.  Which is a positive.  Because if not, I could be existing with a shorter list of friends, and a longer one of people frightened in my presence. 

It is verifiable that we are existing in a world that is laboriously engaged in devaluing and dishonoring the role of motherhood.  The world would seek to define a mother as one of little worth to society, one who makes diminutive contributions.  This ideology is pernicious, and if magnified, will bring detrimental consequences.  Yet, we should be prepared for this philosophy to swell.  Heber J. Grant described motherhood as follows:

“Motherhood is near to divinity.  It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who honors its holy calling and service next to the angels.” 

If we believe this to be true, we can detect why Satan would forcefully target this role, as his emphasis rests on the corruption of the family unit. 

Becoming a mother isn’t just assuming a role, it is accepting a calling.  The most paramount calling that will be bestowed upon a woman, sent straight from her Father in Heaven.  There will be nothing that we will engage in, prior or subsequently, which will surpass the opportunities that are presented to us within this responsibility.  The influence and impact we have as we tenderly love and nurture our children will supply future blessings that not only we will delight in, but which will be contributed to the approaching generations.  Our perceptions of our significance must constantly be evaluated.  If not, the repetitive actions that motherhood requires may recede our recognition of the importance of our calling.  We may find ourselves confused and questioning our place in the Lord’s eternal plan.  We may define ourselves by the monotony of our duties, and not by the sanctity we are producing in our homes.  We may identify that we are more easily enticed by the persuasions of Satan, and permit him to murmur falsehoods regarding worthlessness to our ears, which wander to our hearts and minds.  It is in those moments we may discover ourselves timidly describing our dignified calling as though it is nothing but an inferiority.

Understanding that our Heavenly Father allows women to collaborate with Him, essentially appointing us as co-creators alongside Him, accentuates this noble office.  I am continuously humbled when I recognize the trust and confidence my Father has in me to deliver His children into my hands.  His certainty that I can raise them unto Him intensifies my devotion to the calling I have been given.  I read once that children are not gifts entrusted unto us, but rather invaluable loans, ones to be returned.  It is remarkable how much truth exists in that definition.  Our Heavenly Father sends His children into our hands.  He requests that we edify, care, and love them.  And not with an earthly love, but with an eternal love, one that will spark the truths that lie within their hearts and will bring them to an understanding of the innate testimonies that they were delivered with, and help them to assume the missions they were sent to fulfill.  The duty is ours to increase their excellence. 

As mothers our roles are complex and extremely diverse.  The overwhelming list of responsibilities brings insight into the impact we are allowed to have on our children.  As mothers we love, provide, clean, forgive, comfort, protect, sacrifice, aid, create, defend.  The index continues on.  But my most cherished role of all is that of teaching.  Along with the collaboration of the father, there is no other individual that has more influence on a child’s testimony than that of their mother.  Teaching is one of the most imperative duties that we have.  Women are blessed with tender hearts, and it is no coincidence.  These compassionate vessels allow us to discern pieces of our children that others may not be conscious of.  It enables us to recognize strengths within them, and to perceive weaknesses or vulnerabilities which could hinder their development.  As we become aware of these identifications, we are guided to know in what direction to lead these special spirits.  The power of knowing and understanding what and how to teach is communicated through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost.  Knowing this, it sets an example of how imperative it is that we constantly keep ourselves worthy of His companionship.  We have been promised that as we do so, we will be given, even within the very moment, the words that our children need to hear.  As we combine our teaching with the Holy Ghost, the Spirit will penetrate their heart, and those intrinsic components of testimony that they knew in the premortal sphere will be ignited.  The truth will be brought to their recognition.  This commencement of testimony building we establish will be remembered, and increased upon throughout their life, and will assist them in times where their faith may be tried or tested.  The story of Helaman’s two thousand stripling warriors is evidence of this. 

The stripling warriors were sons of Ammon.  These young men chose to fight a dangerous war with the Lamanites, in place of their repentant fathers who had covenanted with the Lord to never take up arms again. The conflict was a perilous one, and threatened the very lives of these boys.  However, they did not fear, no, their hearts did not waver.  Their secured and powerful testimony that the Lord would be their safeguard, allowed them to courageously enter and endure this battle.  Helaman’s account of their actions describe where they acquired their steadfast faith in the Lord:

Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it .(Alma 56:47-48)

That last line is my favorite.  Obviously we can assume that these young men were taught through word by faithfully devoted mothers.  But even more impressive, their mothers righteous behaviors allowed the understanding that the faith in which she taught, she also genuinely believed and followed.  These women taught their sons by way of action how to have faith in the Lord, possibly through deeds they were not even aware were being observed.  Their continuous example buoyed up the hearts of their sons during a moment of spiritual testing.  As we utilize this example in our responsibilities as teachers to our children, we can seek to ensure that every role we engage in within our motherhood career is created and exemplified through actions of trust in the Lord.  Although seemingly small or insignificant to us, they will stand as a mighty force of strength for our children as they observe and witness our faith, not only as we verbally teach, but as we interact in our daily positions.  As we combine actions of faith with our everyday tasks, no matter how mundane they may appear, we will stand as a burning example, one that will be branded upon the very hearts of these precious souls.  We must never approach this charge casually. 

My heart is thoughtful to those that are unable to bear children in this life.  Having a period of time with my own unanswered desires in this area, and watching the sorrow that the lack of opportunity can create in those I have loved and admired, I wish to assert that to assume these responsibilities of motherhood does not mean that you must bear children yourself.  As women we are divinely united.  What child does not remember another woman’s care in their youth that contributed to their development and spiritual growth?  Whether we have children of our own, or not, our Heavenly Father has given us the duty to teach and raise up His children unto Him.  I know this to be true, as I have watched the example of another add spiritual strength and influence to my own children.  My sister is a powerful example of righteousness.  She had a grand part in my own conversion.  Although she has no children of her own, she is constantly contributing to one of the roles of motherhood by assuming her role as a teacher.  She sets a spiritual example to my children, utilizes her tender heart to know them, and leads them by word and deed.  Although my children are relatively young, her impact has been monumental in our home.

As women and daughters of God, may we unify and actively satisfy the responsibilities we have been charged with.  As we stand as exemplars of faith, not only through word, but also through action, we can have hope that our influence will build and guide our children that they will not be caught in the snarls and traps of Satan.  And when their individual faith is tried, they can be lifted up by the foundation of our righteous teachings.  May they find themselves much like the warriors of Helaman, powerfully declaring, We do not doubt our mothers knew it.