Mothers' Day is a time to celebrate not only our mothers, but all the women who have brought us to where we are now through the mothering quality of nurturing.
There are many vibrant examples of strong and faithful women of faith inside and outside of any particular church. My grandmother was particularly fond of mother Theresa. Mother Theresa was a Catholic woman, driven to aid those in need by her love of Christ. She truly lived her faith and acted on what she knew on a minute to minute basis. She sought out the poor, the lost, and the needy and she brought to them a resting place and a knowledge of the very real love of God.
One of my favorite examples of a woman of faith is Ruth. When everything possible went wrong and her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law died, she chose to stay with Naomi, her old and now destitue mother-in-law. Ruth accepted Naomi's faith and stayed with her, relying completely on the counsel she recieved through revelation and from Naomi. Sariah, Lehi's wife in the book of Mormon, was similarly faithful; as was Esther. All of these faithful women let everything go to follow the revelations sent from the Lord. They not only left their homes, but went forward into a completely unpredictable future, seemingly foolish to the eyes of men.
But a woman does not have to search out the slums of India or gather wheat to support her mother-in-law, or cross the ocean to find a new continent, or speak out in the threat of annihilation in order be considered strong and faithful. She must only follow what she knows to be true and to be tender and caring.
Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson shared her mother's story in the general women's broadcast of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she grew up in an inactive member family, but week after week, she would walk herself to her primary meetings and attend church alone because of the nurturing care of her leaders. She knew that they loved her and as Elder Richard G. Scott said in LDS General Conference, the most powerful base from which one can influence another is love.
They have to know and feel that you love them... And that's what the errand of angels is all about.
We've all heard the song.
"the errand of angels is given to women; and this is a gift that as sisters, we claim: to do whatsoever is gentle and human, to cheer and to bless in humanity's name."
In the Family Proclamation to the World, we find a similar statement regarding the role of women as nurturers. So if love is the most powerful base of influence, a faithful mother truly has more influence than that of any office, and she has love. She is a nurturer.
When I ponder upon the meaning of the term 'nurturer', my thoughts go back to my great, great aunt, Ila. Anyone who ever met Ila will tell you that they were definitely her favorite relative, and that she was the sweetest woman you'll ever find. I remember visiting her apartment with my mother. She always had some apple treat baking in the oven, and you were always welcomed in he door with a spirit of love. She cared about you. She wanted to hear all about you and your life. She was a nurturer, and a true disciple of Christ.
There are so many generations of people before us, and they brought us to where we are now.
In certain family lines, there is a rich heritage of Latter-day Saint faith in my family. Micah Martine Katrine Margrethe Pedersen, or Martina-as she was more commonly known-is my 5th great grandmother. She was quite the woman. She and her shusband were coverted to the church in Denmark and had a little girl, but when it came time to leave for america, to follow the saints, his faith ran out and he left her. She crossed the plains, was abandoned by her next husband and her third husband decided she should send her children away, so she went out on her own and raised many wonderful children-from which I descend. She brought that branch of my family into the gospel light and kept them strong in their knowledge through loving faith and prayer. I owe quite a lot to her and to her strength.
As we look into the past, into our heritage, whatever it may be, we can only be strengthened by knowing more about those who came before us. We can learn from their stories and their examples. I've always known and been taught by my own mother that years and generatons don't matter, your innumerable grandmothers (and grandfathers) love you and care about you very much. They have passed from this life, but that only can make them feel closer to you, because now they know uou and can watch over you.
I attended a youth fireside at Rootstech presided over by Elder Andersen of the quorum of the twelve apostles. He told us that we were already a temple going generation, we attended the temple fairly regularly and performed baptisms for the dead, but he prophesied that soon, we would find more names and have more temple cards than we could ever do the work for. We were told to branch out more, to search for our more distantly related ancestors. We were told to "find our cousins".
Our mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers love and care for us so much. They've given us everyhing, and the best way we can pay them back for their sacrifices is to reunite them wih their families, so that they too can be sealed for all eternity. So take this opportunity to thank all of your mothers and give them back their children, their nieces, their nephews, their aunts, uncles, grandchildren, and second cousins twice removed. That's what they really want, and I can promise that it will bless you in turn.
