May is the month we celebrate our Mothers.
The role a mother plays in the life of her children is one that comes with great responsibility.
Brigham Young, many years ago, said;
“Mothers, will you be missionaries? We will appoint you a mission to teach your children their duty, & instead of ruffles & fine dresses to adorn the body, teach them that which will adorn their minds. Let what you have to clothe them with be neat & clean & nice. Teach them cleanness & purity of body & the principles of salvation.”
Years later, David O. McKay said;
“No nobler work in this world can be performed by any mother than to rear & love the children with whom God has blessed her.”
A mother’s task is not easy.
Erma Bombeck wrote a powerful piece called “A Mother’s Love”:
“You don’t love me?” How many times have your kids laid that one on you?” And how many times have your, as a parent, resisted the urge to tell them how much? Someday, when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother, I’ll tell them:
“I loved you enough to bug you about where you were going, & with whom & what time you would get home.
I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money that you could afford.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your friend was a creep.
I loved you enough to make you return a Milky Way with a bite out of it to the drugstore & confess, “I stole this.”
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your bedroom, a job that would have taken me 15 minutes.
I loved you enough not to make excuses for your lack of respect or your bad manners.
I loved you enough to ignore what every other mother did or said.
I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt & fail.
I love you enough to let you assume responsibility for your own actions at age 6, 10, or 16.
I loved you enough to accept you for what you are, not what I wanted you to be.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say no when you hated me for it.
That was the hardest part of all.”
I believe mothers today are not unmindful of there responsibilities.
We have mothers who are faithful to their tasks.
So this month as we salute our mothers, I echo the words of Ezra Taft Benson,
“Mothers, we pray for you. We sustain you, We honor you as you bear, nourish, train, teach, & love for eternity. I promise you the blessings of heaven & “all that the Father hath” as you magnify the noblest calling of all.”
