Mother's Day Talk

Well today was my second Sunday in my new ward and Cameron and I had to give talks! But luckily we got a very easy subject to talk about: Mothers! Here is a copy of what I said:

 My husband and I have been asked to give our talks based off an address given at a Church-wide fireside for parents in 1987 by President Benson. He shares ten specific ways mothers may spend effective time with their children. I will share five of the ten, and Cameron will talk about the other five. I want to share ways my mother has done these things and how Jesus Christ is the example we should all follow.

1. Be a real friend: take time to be a real friend to your children. Listen to your children, really listen. Talk with them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, play with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them. Yes, regularly spend unrushed one-on-one time with each child. Be a real friend to your children.

 My mother is one of my best friends. I don’t know how I got so lucky. My mom really listens. Yesterday I called to tell my dad about my new job and he told me that mom was really sick with the flu. I figured she would spend the day resting and I wouldn’t hear from her. Not ten minutes after talking to my dad I get a text from my mom, telling me to call her. Even though my mom was super sick and I’m sure all she wanted to do was sleep, she spent time talking to me wanting to know everything about my job and what was going on with me. She knows who all my friends are and remembers everything I tell her - which is a great talent, because I always have a lot to say.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the truest friend of all. He knows each of us individually and very intimately. When He visited the people in America He had each one of them come to him so that they could know that He was their Savior, that He performed the Atonement for every single one of them. We read:
 And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one, until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.
If we allow Him, Jesus can be our best friend. He will be there through thick and thin. He will laugh with us and be there when we feel most alone in this world. In all our relationships, I feel that we should strive to be the kind of friend Jesus is.

 2. Pray with your children: family prayers, under the direction of the father, should be held morning and night. Have your children feel of your faith as you call down the blessings of heaven upon them…

 In The Book of Mormon, we read a very sweet story about Jesus praying for those He loved. In 3 Nephi 17:15-17 we read:
And when he had said these words, he himself (Jesus) also knelt upon the earth; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, and the multitude did bear record who heard him. And after this manner do they bear record:… And no tongue can speak, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.
How sweet and tender that moment must have been for those who heard Jesus pray for them.

 My heart is always filled with love and tenderness when I hear my mother pray for me and my brothers. I never fail to hear her pray for each one of us when she says family prayer. Wherever I may be or whatever I may be doing, I know that my mother is praying for me. What a great blessing that is to me in my life.

 3. Read scriptures daily: take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family. Individual scripture reading is important, but family scripture reading is vital. Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy Ghost as their constant companion. I promise you that the Book of Mormon will change the lives of your family.

 We read in Luke 24, the story of two men walking to Emmaus after the death of Christ. It had been three days after He had been crucified. On their way, Jesus appeared to them. And we read:
 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
 Jesus asked them why they were so sad. They told Him the story of their Savior, how He had been crucified. They had been told that others had been to the sepulcher and His body was no longer there. Jesus then taught them from the scriptures. We read:
 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
 After Jesus taught them more, their eyes were opened and they knew that He was their Savior.
 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
 What a powerful way to bring the spirit into our hearts, by reading the scriptures. The scriptures provide us with clarity and answers to our problems. Reading the scriptures as a family can bring us together and help us strengthen our testimony of the Savior.

 I don’t remember much about family scripture reading as I was growing up. I do remember that we got to eat a bowl of ice cream while dad read the Book of Mormon. I do remember that we read every night. I learned that reading the Book of Mormon every day was important. I’m grateful to my parents for instilling the love of the scriptures in my life because we read them together as a family.

 4. Do things as a family: take time to do things together as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Attend church meetings together and sit together as a family when you can. Mothers who help families pray and play together will stay together and will bless children’s lives forever.

 My family was really good at taking road trips. Okay maybe we weren’t so ‘good’ at them, but I remember taking a lot of them. I remember one summer we drove from Seattle to Canada for my brother’s baseball tournament and then drove all the way to Nauvoo. All the way there and all the way back home we stopped by church historical sites. I remember feeling the spirit as we visited those places. It strengthened my testimony of the restoration of the gospel. I’m grateful to my mother for being our cheerleader the entire time. I’m sure we would have all lost our minds if it wasn’t for her.

 5. Truly love your children: mothers, take the time to truly love your children. A mother’s unqualified love approaches Christlike love.

 Christlike love, or charity, is the greatest love of all.
 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all thing, endureth all things. But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
 I know that our Father in Heaven is pleased with us as we strive to develop that Christlike love. And what better way to learn to have charity, than in our families.

 I am eternally grateful to all the mothers who have influenced my life and blessed me beyond measure. My mom, my gramma, and now my mother-in-law.

 I pray that we can all remember to be a real friend, pray with our families, read scriptures daily, do things as a family, and truly love one another.

 I say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

 Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing mother in the world!
 I LOVE YOU MOM