A Mother’s Sacred Trust

I have been trying to be a good mother for the past three years, and I think I’ve been doing an okay job.

But I know that I can do more, and be better. And I also know that it is imperative for me to do a better job.

I attended a women’s conference last year with a friend of another faith. We are both Christian, and the conference was about raising good Christian boys to be good Christian husbands and fathers. It was a really good conference, and the keynote speaker had a book that I decided needed to be a part of my home library.

I love the book. It’s called Preparing Him for the Other Woman and talks about teaching your son and raising him to be ready to marry a good Christian woman some day. The author is missing some truths – but nearly every thing she writes about is true, and the spirit has testified to me of its truthfulness. I will supplement my reading with LDS General Conference talks and the counsel of our modern day prophets, but her book is a beautiful resource – full of a mother’s testimony of God and Christ, and of her responsibility as a mother. There is truth everywhere – and the spirit will help us find that truth. I’m grateful for my friend who invited me to this conference. It was really uplifting, and this book has been an invaluable resource.

The thing I want to work on this week with my son is teaching him to have a real relationship with God (and with Christ, and the atonement). The book’s author suggests, “When he is crying, have him tell is Daddy in heaven what hurts. When he is happy or excited, lead him in thanking God for His goodness.”

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother, and I hope and pray that I can raise my children to the Lord.

The Time to Prepare to Meet God

I have been thinking a lot lately about the Second Coming. I want to be prepared for that time – not just the actual Second Coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, but also for the events that have been prophesied will lead up to that glorious day.

I want to be prepared. I want to prepare my family. I feel a great desire and a great urgency to be prepared.

I cannot tell you what day or time Christ will come, but I know that He will come. And when He does, I want to be ready to meet Him. I want to be able to weather the storm with my family and anyone else we can help so that when Christ comes we can fall at His feet and worship Him.

I want to have oil in my lamp.

Someone recently asked (in light of all the natural disasters, political instabilities, and the Church’s preparations for them, etc) “Makes you wonder what our [Church] leaders know that we don't.”

I responded with this testimony, which I bear again now:

Everything our leaders know, they have told us (I mean, as far as preparation goes). "Be prepared - spiritually, temporally, and mentally - for the last days." 

Every six months at General Conference, our Church leaders counsel and plead with us to be better and do better at living the gospel. They are building the best technology and standards in buildings because that is what the people of the Lord do - they prepare them for the Second Coming. Whether it be tomorrow, or in 600 years (I recall Lehi telling his family that the time was "near at hand" for the Savior to come into the world... about 600 years before Christ was born).

I think we should live like our leaders have asked us to, and the way they run the Church - prepare every needful thing.

Some questions we can all think about:

How prepared are you? Are you becoming more prepared? Or are you doing better, doing more? Or are you getting comfortable, thinking that maybe the Lord won't come for another 600 years, and so that means we don't have to be prepared just yet?

I do believe that the Lord’s servants are preparing every day for the Second Coming of the Lord. They keep their lamps filled, because we “know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:13).

It needs to be the first thing on your mind, in all you do – how can I keep myself prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord?

Refinement

The Mirriam-Webster dictionary defines refined as “free from impurities.”

Then, God, being perfect, must be free from impurities, and we, as His children striving to return to him, must be constant in our quest to be refined.

Other definitions include “fastidious, cultivated, precise, exact.”

Last summer this article was published in the Ensign magazine.

One of my favorite quotes is from the very beginning of the article (which is adapted from a BYU Devotional address). The author says, “God speaks all languages, and He speaks them properly. He is restrained and modest of speech. When God described the grand creational process of this earth, He said in measured tones that ‘it was good’ (Genesis 1:4). We would be disappointed if God had used ‘awesome’ or other exaggerated phrases.”

The article has caused me to reflect on my life. I feel like I have become less refined, which is a little discouraging. However, I know that the atonement is real, and as I slip from the path, if I recognize my mistakes, I will be able to return quickly to the path toward Heavenly Father and eternal life.

I know that I can pray and ask for forgiveness, and moreover ask for strength to continue to be refined and cultivated, pure and fastidious.

Food for the Soul

We weren't able to watch or listen to the Saturday sessions of general conference this past weekend, so I downloaded them to my phone and have been slowly catching up.
Sister Julie B Beck, from the General Relief Society Presidency, gave an excellent talk about motherhood.
I try to make it a habit to go into conference weekend with specific prayers for guidance that I am particularly in need of at that time. I have recently been struggling with my duties as a mother, and more importantly, with being a good mother.
Sister Beck's talk felt as if she and I were sitting in private conversation, and I felt as if she had been observing my mothering for a few days, then listened to me pour out my heart to her. It felt as if she were responding directly to me and my concerns and weaknesses as a mother.
I have a great testimony of our Father's mindful rss of us. I KNOW that He knows me and hears my prayers. I am positive the His appointed servants, whether they be Priesthood authorities or auxiliary leaders, are guided by Him and inspired by Him to preach His word to us. And I can feel the Spirit confirming the truthfulness of their words.

Come and be lifted up by the words of true prophets, seers, and revelators in our day.

You can read, listen to, and watch the entire conference at www.lds.org


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