I was asked to talk in church today about honoring motherhood. Here is my talk.
It is a joy and an honor to be with you wonderful, beautiful, smart, talented incredible people this afternoon. Please know that I love this gospel and I love the Savior. I am filled with love for the grand examples that each of you are to me.
I am humbled to have been asked to address you this day, a day set aside for us to honor Motherhood.
Before I begin my talk a quick introduction: Ray, ( Been in the Ward 1 year) Becky -- we met in Logan Utah when she came to Utah state university to study social work. We have been married for 10 years, and have four wonderful children.
I pray the spirit would attend me this day, for I feel that I could never adequately address this congregation on so great a topic such as motherhood without it. I have also not experienced such a strong desire to fulfill a speaking assignment with grace, honor and humility. I pray hearts and minds will also be receptive.
A majority of my talk will come from an address given by Gordon B Hinckley entitled “To the Women of the Church” as well as a number of inspirational thoughts that I have come across.
The world has become a difficult and scary place in these latter days. There is little doubt that the traditional family is under attack. Because mothers are essential to God’s great plan of happiness, their sacred work is opposed by Satan, who would destroy the family and demean the worth of women. The opposite of honor is disrespect and it is rampant toward our sisters today.
Daughters of our Heavenly Father, I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are treated in popular culture. I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are spoken about in popular music and depicted in movies and television. I am embarrassed and ashamed of those men who may talk down to you and cause you to feel less than what you were created to be. And I feel guilty as a soldier in Gods army that I can’t protect all of my sisters from those who would attack the best part of Gods creation. Beautiful women, don’t believe the lies of our popular culture.
I can’t help the way the world is, but hopefully, with God’s help, I can work within my sphere of influence to place mothers in their proper standing. We work hard in the young mens program to teach future husbands and fathers the respect that should to paid to our sisters. One of the purposes of the Aaronic priesthood is to give proper respect to women, girls and children.
Russell M Nelson declared “You young men need to know that you can hardly achieve your highest potential without the influence of good women, particularly your mother and, in a few years, a good wife. Learn now to show respect and gratitude. Remember that your mother is your mother. She should not need to issue orders. Her wish, her hope, her hint, should provide direction that you would honor. Thank her and express your love for her. And if she is struggling or having a bad day, you have a double duty to honor her.
President Hinkley tells us that we who bear the holy priesthood have a sacred duty to honor our wives and mothers. We are old enough and wise enough to know that teasing is wrong. We respect motherhood—not only in our immediate family but all the wonderful mothers in our lives. As daughters of God, their potential is divine. Without them, eternal life would be impossible. Our high regard for them should spring from our love of God and from an awareness of their lofty purpose in His great eternal plan.
As fathers we should have love unbounded for the mothers of our children. We should accord to them the gratitude, respect, and praise that they deserve. Husbands, to keep alive the spirit of romance in your marriage, be considerate and kind in the tender intimacies of your married life. Let your thoughts and actions inspire confidence and trust. Let your words be wholesome and your time together be uplifting. Let nothing in life take priority over your wife—neither work, recreation, nor hobby.”
“WE must honor our wives. Respect them. They are the mothers of your children. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives and go on to eternity, you will not take five cents of wealth that you have accumulated, not five cents. There is only one thing that you can take with you, and that is your eternal soul and the love and companionship of your wife. Live worthy of it”
Men we can cook dinner and do the dishes, care for a crying baby, and change diapers. We can get the children ready for church on Sunday, and your wife can sit in the car and honk at you.
President Hinkley also tells the mothers of the church “be good women, be good mothers. Be kind and gracious and generous. Strengthen your children with your faith and your testimony. Lift them up. Help them to walk through the troubled ways of the world as they grow in this very difficult age. Support, sustain, uphold, and bless your husbands with your love and your encouragement; and the Lord will bless you. Even if they are not members of the Church, bless them with kindness and reach out to them in every good way that you can. The chances are that they will become members of the Church before they reach the day of their death.” I can think of a half dozen families here today that this is this case, including myself.
Beautiful Mothers! I am amazed at all that you do. I have deep admiration for the things that you are able to accomplish. Men, I am going to sell us all out right now, but we have it easy going out to work compared with what our spouses see in a day.
Beautiful Mothers. That is enough to occupy one’s full time.
President Hinkley tells you that you are companions—the very best friends your husbands have or ever will have.
You are housekeepers. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? But what a job it is to keep a house clean and tidy.
You are shoppers. Until I did the shopping once, I never dreamed of what a demanding responsibility it is to keep food in the pantry, to keep clothing neat and presentable, to buy all that is needed to keep a home running.
You are doctors and nurses. With every illness that comes along, you are the first to be told about it and the first to respond with help. In cases of serious sickness, you are at the bedside day and night, comforting, encouraging, ministering, and praying.
You are the family chauffeur. You spend time driving your children about on paper routes, taking them to athletic events, driving them on ward outings, hauling them here, there, and everywhere as they pursue their busy lives.
I marvel at your patience, at your capacity to calm your children, to stop them from crying, and it seems to me, to do a thousand other things.
You balance the family budget, and the time between your husbands and children. You attend the activities of your children, and tend to the needs of your spouse. You cook and sew, you teach classes, and you speak in church.
Some of you do all of this and still hold down a job or run a business on the side. It is astonishing.
To younger mothers with small children, yours is a tremendous challenge. Bear it well. Seek the blessings of the Lord. So often there is not enough money. You must scrimp and save. You must be wise and careful in your expenditures. You must be strong and bold and brave and march forward with gladness in your eye and love in your heart. How blessed you are, my dear young mothers. You have children who will be yours forever. I hope that you have been sealed in the house of the Lord and that your family will be an everlasting family in the kingdom of our Father.
May you be given strength to carry your heavy load, to meet every obligation, to walk side by side with a good and faithful and caring man, and together with him rear and nurture and bring up your children in righteousness and truth. Nothing else you will ever own, no worldly thing you will ever acquire will be worth so much as the love of your children. God bless you, you dear young mothers.
Even after all of this, some here today may think of themselves as failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort, it is not sufficient.
We may all feel that way at some point. I feel that way as I speak to you today. I have prayed for the power and the capacity to lift you up, to inspire you, to thank you, to praise you, and to bring a measure of gladness into your hearts. I know that I will fall short of my intended message.
We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. We are all critical of ourselves. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do.
My mother in law tells a story about her mother. “My mom is a great example of service. One time when we were visiting in Kansas, my mom saw an old woman mowing her lawn. It was a hot day. She was using a push mower on her tall grass. My mom immediately stopped the car, we all got out, and my brothers mowed the lawn. I can still remember sitting on this woman’s porch as my mom visited with her, watching my brothers mow that lawn.”
I’d like to say I knew what the happy outcome was for this old woman who was served. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt what the outcome was for my mother in law and her brothers and her daughter, my beautiful wife, who all have a passion for service.
“You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do.”
Beautiful mothers, that is the way with you. You are doing the best that you can, and your best, results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. Your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God. Do not listen to the voices that would have you think less of yourself. Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. You were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price.
Well, to you beautiful mothers. I would like to say thank you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities.
May your homes become a great laboratory of love. Where the raw chemicals of selfishness and greed are melded in the crucible of cooperation to yield compassionate concern and love one for another.
And especially on this day, honor the special mothers in your lives, brethren. Express your love to your wife, to your mother, and to the sisters in this ward. Praise them for their forbearance with you even when you are not at your best. Thank the Lord for these sisters who—like our Heavenly Father—love us not only for what we are, but for what we may become. I pray thanks that my wife, who come to Logan Utah to study Social Work took me on as a project in this same spirit.
I am humbled to have been asked to address you this day, a day set aside for us to honor Motherhood.
Before I begin my talk a quick introduction: Ray, ( Been in the Ward 1 year) Becky -- we met in Logan Utah when she came to Utah state university to study social work. We have been married for 10 years, and have four wonderful children.
I pray the spirit would attend me this day, for I feel that I could never adequately address this congregation on so great a topic such as motherhood without it. I have also not experienced such a strong desire to fulfill a speaking assignment with grace, honor and humility. I pray hearts and minds will also be receptive.
A majority of my talk will come from an address given by Gordon B Hinckley entitled “To the Women of the Church” as well as a number of inspirational thoughts that I have come across.
The world has become a difficult and scary place in these latter days. There is little doubt that the traditional family is under attack. Because mothers are essential to God’s great plan of happiness, their sacred work is opposed by Satan, who would destroy the family and demean the worth of women. The opposite of honor is disrespect and it is rampant toward our sisters today.
Daughters of our Heavenly Father, I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are treated in popular culture. I am embarrassed and ashamed of how you are spoken about in popular music and depicted in movies and television. I am embarrassed and ashamed of those men who may talk down to you and cause you to feel less than what you were created to be. And I feel guilty as a soldier in Gods army that I can’t protect all of my sisters from those who would attack the best part of Gods creation. Beautiful women, don’t believe the lies of our popular culture.
I can’t help the way the world is, but hopefully, with God’s help, I can work within my sphere of influence to place mothers in their proper standing. We work hard in the young mens program to teach future husbands and fathers the respect that should to paid to our sisters. One of the purposes of the Aaronic priesthood is to give proper respect to women, girls and children.
Russell M Nelson declared “You young men need to know that you can hardly achieve your highest potential without the influence of good women, particularly your mother and, in a few years, a good wife. Learn now to show respect and gratitude. Remember that your mother is your mother. She should not need to issue orders. Her wish, her hope, her hint, should provide direction that you would honor. Thank her and express your love for her. And if she is struggling or having a bad day, you have a double duty to honor her.
President Hinkley tells us that we who bear the holy priesthood have a sacred duty to honor our wives and mothers. We are old enough and wise enough to know that teasing is wrong. We respect motherhood—not only in our immediate family but all the wonderful mothers in our lives. As daughters of God, their potential is divine. Without them, eternal life would be impossible. Our high regard for them should spring from our love of God and from an awareness of their lofty purpose in His great eternal plan.
As fathers we should have love unbounded for the mothers of our children. We should accord to them the gratitude, respect, and praise that they deserve. Husbands, to keep alive the spirit of romance in your marriage, be considerate and kind in the tender intimacies of your married life. Let your thoughts and actions inspire confidence and trust. Let your words be wholesome and your time together be uplifting. Let nothing in life take priority over your wife—neither work, recreation, nor hobby.”
“WE must honor our wives. Respect them. They are the mothers of your children. When all is said and done, when you have lived your lives and go on to eternity, you will not take five cents of wealth that you have accumulated, not five cents. There is only one thing that you can take with you, and that is your eternal soul and the love and companionship of your wife. Live worthy of it”
Men we can cook dinner and do the dishes, care for a crying baby, and change diapers. We can get the children ready for church on Sunday, and your wife can sit in the car and honk at you.
President Hinkley also tells the mothers of the church “be good women, be good mothers. Be kind and gracious and generous. Strengthen your children with your faith and your testimony. Lift them up. Help them to walk through the troubled ways of the world as they grow in this very difficult age. Support, sustain, uphold, and bless your husbands with your love and your encouragement; and the Lord will bless you. Even if they are not members of the Church, bless them with kindness and reach out to them in every good way that you can. The chances are that they will become members of the Church before they reach the day of their death.” I can think of a half dozen families here today that this is this case, including myself.
Beautiful Mothers! I am amazed at all that you do. I have deep admiration for the things that you are able to accomplish. Men, I am going to sell us all out right now, but we have it easy going out to work compared with what our spouses see in a day.
Beautiful Mothers. That is enough to occupy one’s full time.
President Hinkley tells you that you are companions—the very best friends your husbands have or ever will have.
You are housekeepers. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? But what a job it is to keep a house clean and tidy.
You are shoppers. Until I did the shopping once, I never dreamed of what a demanding responsibility it is to keep food in the pantry, to keep clothing neat and presentable, to buy all that is needed to keep a home running.
You are doctors and nurses. With every illness that comes along, you are the first to be told about it and the first to respond with help. In cases of serious sickness, you are at the bedside day and night, comforting, encouraging, ministering, and praying.
You are the family chauffeur. You spend time driving your children about on paper routes, taking them to athletic events, driving them on ward outings, hauling them here, there, and everywhere as they pursue their busy lives.
I marvel at your patience, at your capacity to calm your children, to stop them from crying, and it seems to me, to do a thousand other things.
You balance the family budget, and the time between your husbands and children. You attend the activities of your children, and tend to the needs of your spouse. You cook and sew, you teach classes, and you speak in church.
Some of you do all of this and still hold down a job or run a business on the side. It is astonishing.
To younger mothers with small children, yours is a tremendous challenge. Bear it well. Seek the blessings of the Lord. So often there is not enough money. You must scrimp and save. You must be wise and careful in your expenditures. You must be strong and bold and brave and march forward with gladness in your eye and love in your heart. How blessed you are, my dear young mothers. You have children who will be yours forever. I hope that you have been sealed in the house of the Lord and that your family will be an everlasting family in the kingdom of our Father.
May you be given strength to carry your heavy load, to meet every obligation, to walk side by side with a good and faithful and caring man, and together with him rear and nurture and bring up your children in righteousness and truth. Nothing else you will ever own, no worldly thing you will ever acquire will be worth so much as the love of your children. God bless you, you dear young mothers.
Even after all of this, some here today may think of themselves as failures. You feel you cannot do well, that with all of your effort, it is not sufficient.
We may all feel that way at some point. I feel that way as I speak to you today. I have prayed for the power and the capacity to lift you up, to inspire you, to thank you, to praise you, and to bring a measure of gladness into your hearts. I know that I will fall short of my intended message.
We all worry about our performance. We all wish we could do better. We are all critical of ourselves. But unfortunately we do not realize, we do not often see the results that come of what we do.
My mother in law tells a story about her mother. “My mom is a great example of service. One time when we were visiting in Kansas, my mom saw an old woman mowing her lawn. It was a hot day. She was using a push mower on her tall grass. My mom immediately stopped the car, we all got out, and my brothers mowed the lawn. I can still remember sitting on this woman’s porch as my mom visited with her, watching my brothers mow that lawn.”
I’d like to say I knew what the happy outcome was for this old woman who was served. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt what the outcome was for my mother in law and her brothers and her daughter, my beautiful wife, who all have a passion for service.
“You never know. You never know whether you do any good. You never know how much good you do.”
Beautiful mothers, that is the way with you. You are doing the best that you can, and your best, results in good to yourself and to others. Do not nag yourself with a sense of failure. Don't let the voices of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. Your very spirits are fashioned by an endlessly creative and eternally compassionate God. Do not listen to the voices that would have you think less of yourself. Remember that you are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe. You were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fulness of joy. Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do what you are asked to do. Then leave the matter in the hands of the Lord. You will discover that you have accomplished something beyond price.
Well, to you beautiful mothers. I would like to say thank you. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. May the blessings of heaven rest upon you. May your prayers be answered and your hopes and dreams become realities.
May your homes become a great laboratory of love. Where the raw chemicals of selfishness and greed are melded in the crucible of cooperation to yield compassionate concern and love one for another.
And especially on this day, honor the special mothers in your lives, brethren. Express your love to your wife, to your mother, and to the sisters in this ward. Praise them for their forbearance with you even when you are not at your best. Thank the Lord for these sisters who—like our Heavenly Father—love us not only for what we are, but for what we may become. I pray thanks that my wife, who come to Logan Utah to study Social Work took me on as a project in this same spirit.
4 comments:
what a wonderful talk, ray. i wish i could have been there to hear it, and to help becky with the kids while you spoke:). i have felt your gratitude, and appreciate your kind words to all mothers. debby
I so wish I could have been there to listen to it. It is so heartfelt and sincere. YOu said some very nice things.
Beautiful Ray, absolutely Beautiful! I wish I could have been there to hear it! You have a gift with words! I love and miss you :)
That was a great talk Ray!! I especially loved the part that says the husband should get the kids ready and the wife should honk! Ha, ha, ha. Fortunately (for him) my husband has never done that, or he'd be dead. Still, that was hilarious!
Thanks so much for sharing, it was very well put together. Hope all is well.
Bonnie
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