I recently taught a lesson on women and motherhood. In the process, I compiled a very extensive list of quotes from conference talks. I wanted to share them.
When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it
feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great
armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in
neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more
controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries
has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be
standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time.
The women of God know this.
–Neal A. Maxwell
We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you
rejoice in a baby’s first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child’s
first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly
than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before
other words like fulfillment. You
rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by,
because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms.
–Neal A. Maxwell
During my professional career as a doctor of medicine, I was occasionally
asked why I chose to do that difficult work. I responded with my opinion that
the highest and noblest work in this life is that of a mother. Since that
option was not available to me, I thought that caring for the sick might come
close. I tried to care for my patients as compassionately and competently as
Mother cared for me.
-Russell
M. Nelson
In my experience I have seen that some of the truest mother
hearts beat in the breasts of women who will not rear their own children in
this life, but they know that “all things must come to pass in their time” and
that they “are laying the foundation of a great work” (
D&C
64:32–33). As they keep their covenants, they are investing in a grand,
prestigious future because they know that “they who keep their second estate
shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever”
-Juile B. Beck
When we understand the magnitude of motherhood, it becomes
clear why prophets have been so protective of woman’s most sacred role. While we tend to equate motherhood solely
with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word mother
has layers of meaning. Of all the words they could have chosen to define her
role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve “the mother of
all living”—and
they did so before she ever bore a child. Like
Eve, our motherhood began before we were born. Just as worthy men were
foreordained to hold the priesthood in mortality,
righteous women were endowed premortally with the privilege of motherhood. Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is
the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine
stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.
-Sheri L. Dew
Much that is good, much that is essential—even sometimes all
that is necessary for now—can be achieved in less than ideal circumstances. So
many of you are doing your very best. And when you who bear the heaviest
burdens of mortality stand up in defense of God’s plan to exalt His children,
we are all ready to march. With confidence we testify that the Atonement of
Jesus Christ has anticipated and, in the end, will compensate all deprivation
and loss for those who turn to Him. No one is predestined to receive less than
all that the Father has for His children.
-D. Todd Christofferson
“Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of
womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine
destiny. He well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving
power that binds together the human family. He would focus their interests
solely on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles as wives
and mothers. He has convinced many of the lie that they are third-class
citizens in the kingdom of God.”
-Richard G. Scott
“Woman is God’s supreme creation.
Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the
night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and
animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was
woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good.
“Of all the creations of the
Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely
daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do
so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who
cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding,
who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth.”
-Gordon B. Hinckley
“We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve
in any worthy endeavor or career—we all benefit from those achievements—but we
still recognize there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in
marriage. There is no superior career, and no amount of money, authority, or
public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family. Whatever else a woman
may accomplish, her moral influence is no more optimally employed than here.”
–Elder Christofferson
“History tells us very little about women; judging from its
pages, one would suppose their lives were insignificant and their opinions
worthless. . . . Volumes of unwritten history yet remain, the sequel to the
written lives of brave and heroic men. But although the historians of the past
have been neglectful of woman, and it is the exception if she be mentioned at
all; yet the future will deal more generously with womankind, and the historian
of the present age will find it very embarrassing to ignore woman in the
records of the nineteenth century.”
-Emmeline B. Wells
Brigham Young saw that the Relief Society could help relieve
the poor and suffering and would give women opportunities to develop their
talents and become more self-sufficient. He gave the Relief Society
responsibilities for such large-scale Church programs as grain storage and silk
production; encouraged women to open stores and receive training in medicine,
business, and domestic arts; and supported giving Utah women the right to vote.
Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your
divine origin alone does not guarantee you a
divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater than
anything you can imagine.
-President Uchtdorf
Mothers literally make room in their bodies to nurture an
unborn baby—and hopefully a place in their hearts as they raise them—but
nurturing is not limited to bearing children. Eve was called a “mother” before
she had children. I
believe that “to mother” means “to give life.”
-Neill F.
Marriott
When we ask ourselves, “What shall we do?” let’s ponder this
question: “What does the Savior do continually?” He nurtures. He creates. He
encourages growth and goodness. Women and sisters, we can do these things!
-Neill F.
Marriott
Our high responsibility is to become women who follow the
Savior, nurture with inspiration, and live truth fearlessly. As we ask
Father in Heaven to make us builders of His kingdom, His power will flow into
us and we will know how to nurture, ultimately becoming like our heavenly
parents.
-Neill F.
Marriott
Motherhood is more than bearing children, though it is
certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very
identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave
us.
-Sheri Dew
Elder Matthew Cowley taught that “men have to have something
given to them [in mortality] to make them saviors of men, but not mothers, not
women. [They] are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be the
saviors of human souls … and the regenerating force in the lives of God’s
children.”
Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father
blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling
endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an
unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate.
- -Sheri Dew
As daughters of our Heavenly
Father, and as daughters of Eve, we are all mothers and we have always been
mothers. And we each have the responsibility to love and help lead the rising
generation.
-Sheri Dew
Few of us will reach our potential
without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear
with us.
-Sheri Dew
No woman who understands the
gospel would ever think that any other work is more important or would ever
say, “I am
just a mother,” for mothers heal
the souls of men.
- Sheri Dew
The health of any society, the happiness of its people,
their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of
children in the home.
-L. Tom Perry
It is, unfortunately, all too easy to illustrate the
confusion and distortion of womanhood in contemporary society. Immodest,
immoral, intemperate women jam the airwaves, monopolize magazines, and slink
across movie screens—all while being celebrated by the world.
-M. Russell Ballard
Throughout the history of the world, women have always been
teachers of moral values.
-M. Russell Ballard
In recent years there has been a rash of articles, books,
and films written about women and girls who gossip and who are “mean.” Satan is
always attempting to undermine the most precious element of a woman’s divine
nature—the nature to nurture.
-M. Russell Ballard
The responsibility mothers have today has never required
more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need
mothers who know.
-Julie B. Beck
Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are
the primary examples of what leaders look like.
--Julie B. Beck
“Paul the apostle anciently spoke of holy women. It is the
duty of each one of us to be a holy woman. We shall have elevated aims, if we
are holy women. We shall feel that we are called to perform important duties.
No one is exempt from them. There is no sister so isolated, and her sphere so
narrow but what she can do a great deal towards establishing the Kingdom of God
upon the earth”
-Eliza R. Snow
“Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in
the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, and governments, etc. exist
for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? … We
wage war in order to have peace, we work in order to have leisure, we produce
food in order to eat it. So your job is the one for which all others exist”
-C.S. Lewis
A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive
messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away
from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and
independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and
navigate this life confidently.
-Julie B. Beck
“We want to be ladies in very deed, not according to the
term of the word as the world judges, but fit companions of the Gods and Holy
Ones. In an organized capacity we can assist each other in not only doing good
but in refining ourselves, and whether few or many come forward and help to
prosecute this great work, they will be those that will fill honorable
positions in the Kingdom of God. … Women should be women and not babies that
need petting and correction all the time. I know we like to be appreciated but
if we do not get all the appreciation which we think is our due, what matters?
We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish
or desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will
be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to
refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to
qualify us for those responsibilities.”
-Eliza R Snow
In 1935 the First Presidency stated, “The true spirit of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gives to woman the highest place of
honor in human life”
Surely the secret citadel of women’s inner strength is their
spirituality. In this they equal and even surpass men, as they do in faith,
morality, and commitment when truly converted to the gospel. They have “more
trust in the Lord [and] more hope in his word. This inner spiritual sense seems
to give them a certain resilience to cope with sorrow, trouble, and
uncertainty.
-James E. Faust
“Woman has comforted and nursed the Church. She has borne
more than half the burdens, she has made more than half the sacrifices, she has
suffered the most of the heartaches and sorrows”
President J. Reuben Clark
I wish to repeat that I do not believe that God’s purposes
on earth will ever be achieved without the influence, strength, love, support,
and special gifts of the elect women of God. They are entitled to our deepest
veneration, our fullest appreciation, and our most profound respect. I believe
angels attend them in their motherly ministry.
-James E. Faust
“To save souls opens the whole field of human activity and
development. Relief of poverty, relief of illness; relief of doubt, relief of
ignorance—relief of all that hinders the joy and progress of woman. What a
magnificent commission!”
Elder John A. Widtsoe
May the blessings of heaven rest upon you, my dear sisters.
May you not trade a present thing of transient value for the greater good of
sons and daughters, boys and girls, young men and women for whose upbringing
you have an inescapable responsibility.
-Gordon B. Hinckley
All the knowledge she had acquired, all her natural
abilities and gifts, all her skills were channeled into an organization that
had no earthly bounds. As a covenant-keeping daughter of God, she had prepared
all her life for motherhood.
-Julie B. Beck
Female roles did not begin on earth, and they do not end
here. A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the
world to come, and “where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also” (
Matt. 6:21).
By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine,
eternal mission of motherhood. “Whatever principle of intelligence [she]
attain[s] unto in this life, it will rise with [her] in the resurrection. And
if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through [her]
diligence and obedience than another, [she] will have so much the advantage in
the world to come”
-Julie B. Beck
This kind of resolute love “suffereth long, and is kind, …
seeketh not her own, … but … beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things.” Most encouraging of all, such fidelity “never faileth.” “For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed,” Jehovah said, “but
my kindness shall not depart from thee.” So too say our mothers.
Jeffrey R. Holland
To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future,
I say, “Thank you. Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming
character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.” To Mother Eve, to
Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel, to Mary of Nazareth, and to a Mother in Heaven, I
say, “Thank you for your crucial role in fulfilling the purposes of eternity.”
-Jeffrey R. Holland
To all mothers in every circumstance, including those who
struggle—and all will—I say, “Be peaceful. Believe in God and yourself. You are
doing better than you think you are. In fact, you are saviors on Mount Zion,
13
and like the Master you follow, your love ‘never faileth.’
-Jeffrey R. Holland
My brothers and sisters, the restored gospel centers on
marriage and family. It is also on marriage and family where we can unite most
with other faiths. It is around marriage and family where we will find our
greatest commonality with the rest of the world. It is around marriage and
family that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the greatest
opportunity to be a light on the hill.
-L. Tom Perry
In the restored light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, a woman
occupies a majesty all her own in the divine design of the Creator. You are, as
Elder James E. Talmage once phrased it, “a sanctified investiture which none
shall dare profane.”
-Jeffrey R. Holland
Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the
sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A
woman’s abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit
have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest.
4
I say to you what the Prophet Joseph said more than 150 years ago: “If you live
up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your
associates.”
-Jeffrey R. Holland
Women bring with them into the world a certain virtue, a
divine gift that makes them adept at instilling such qualities as faith,
courage, empathy, and refinement in relationships and in cultures.
-Todd D. Christofferson
Whether you are single or married, whether you have borne
children or not, whether you are old, young, or in between, your moral
authority is vital, and perhaps we have begun to take it and you for granted.
Certainly there are trends and forces at work that would weaken and even
eliminate your influence, to the great detriment of individuals, families, and
society at large.
-Todd D. Christofferson
Women and girls are now encouraged to be as promiscuous as
the double standard expected men to be. Where once women’s higher standards
demanded commitment and responsibility from men, we now have sexual relations
without conscience, fatherless families, and growing poverty. Equal-opportunity
promiscuity simply robs women of their moral influence and degrades all of
society.
-Todd D. Christofferson
“The world has enough
women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who
are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we
need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need
more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have
enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more
purity.”
- Margaret D. Nadauld
“While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, it
has not been conferred upon them, that does not mean that the Lord has not
given unto them authority. … A person may have authority given to him, or a
sister to her, to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely
necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House
of the Lord. They have authority given unto them to do some great and wonderful
things, sacred unto the Lord, and binding just as thoroughly as are the
blessings that are given by the men who hold the Priesthood.”
-Joseph Fielding Smith
“When we speak of marriage as a partnership, let us speak of
marriage as a full partnership. We do not want
our LDS women to be silent partners
or limited partners in that eternal
assignment! Please be a contributing and full partner.”
-Spencer W. Kimball
“This is the place of our wives and of our mothers in the
Eternal Plan. They are not bearers of the Priesthood; they are not charged with
carrying out the duties and functions of the Priesthood; nor are they laden
with its responsibilities; they are builders and organizers under its power,
and partakers of its blessings, possessing the complement of the Priesthood
powers and possessing a function as divinely called, as eternally important in its
place as the Priesthood itself.”
- President J. Reuben Clark
“Even though the eternal roles of men and women differ, as
we indicated to you a year ago, this leaves much to be done by way of parallel
personal development—for both men and women. In this connection, I stress again
the deep need each woman has to study the scriptures. We want our homes to be
blessed with sister scriptorians—whether you are single or married, young or
old, widowed or living in a family.”
-Spencer W. Kimball
Become scholars of the scriptures—not to put others down,
but to lift them up! After all, who has any greater need to “treasure up” the
truths of the gospel (on which they may call in their moments of need) than do
women and mothers who do so much nurturing and teaching?
-Spencer W. Kimball
The eternal blessings which are yours through membership in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are far, far greater than any
other blessings you could possibly receive. No greater recognition can come to
you in this world than to be known as a woman of God. No greater status can be
conferred upon you than being a daughter of God who experiences true
sisterhood, wifehood, and motherhood, or other tasks which influence lives for
good.
-Spencer W. Kimball
Remember, too, as we focus on the glories and importance of
family life here, that all of us belong to the eternal family of our Father in
Heaven.
-Spencer W. Kimball
How special it is for Latter-day Saint women to be given the
lofty assignments they have been given by our Father in Heaven, especially
those of you who have been privileged to be born in this part of this last
dispensation. Let other women pursue heedlessly what they perceive as their
selfish interests. You can be a much needed force for love and truth and righteousness
on this planet. Let others selfishly pursue false values, but God has given to
you the tremendous tasks of nurturing families,
friends, and neighbors.
-Spencer W. Kimball
In
the October, 1942 General Conference, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. read a message from
the First Presidency to the general Church membership. Under the title of
PARENTHOOD, the following was said:
Amongst His earliest commands to
Adam and Eve, the Lord said: "Multiply and replenish the earth." He
has repeated that command in our day. He has again revealed in this, the last
dispensation, the principle of the eternity of the marriage covenant. He has
restored to earth the authority for entering into that covenant, and has
declared that it is the only due and proper way of joining husband and wife,
and the only means by which the sacred family relationship may be carried
beyond the grave and through eternity. He has declared that this eternal
relationship may be created only by the ordinances which are administered in
the holy temples of the Lord, and therefore that His people should marry only
in His temple in accordance with such ordinances.
The Lord has told us that it is the
duty of every husband and wife to obey the command given to Adam to multiply
and replenish the earth, so that the legions of choice spirits waiting for
their tabernacles of flesh may come here and move forward under God's great
design to become perfect souls, for without these fleshly tabernacles they
cannot progress to their God-planned destiny. Thus, every husband and wife
should become a father and mother in Israel to children born under the holy,
eternal covenant.
By bringing these choice spirits to
earth, each father and each mother assume towards the tabernacled spirit and
towards the Lord Himself by having taken advantage of the opportunity He
offered, an obligation of the most sacred kind, because the fate of that spirit
in the eternities to come, the blessings or punishments which shall await it in
the hereafter, depend, in great part, upon the care, the teachings, the
training which the parents shall give to that spirit.
No parent can escape that obligation
and that responsibility, and for the proper meeting thereof, the Lord will hold
us to a strict accountability. No loftier duty than this can be assumed by
mortals.
Motherhood thus becomes a holy
calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord's plans, a consecration
of devotion to the uprearing and fostering, the nurturing in body, mind, and
spirit, of those who kept their first estate and who come to this earth for
their second estate "to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord
their God shall command them." (Abraham 3:25 ) To lead them to keep their
second estate is the work of motherhood and "they who keep their second
estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever." (Abr.
3:25)
This divine service of motherhood
can be rendered only by mothers. It may not be passed to others. Nurses cannot
do it; public nurseries cannot do it; hired help cannot do it--only mother, aided
as much as may be by the loving hands of father, brothers, and sisters, can
give the full needed measure of watchful care. The mother who entrusts her
child to the care of others, that she may do non-motherly work, whether for
gold, for fame, or for civic service, should remember that "a child left
to himself bringeth his mother to shame." (Prov. 29: 15) In our day the
Lord has said that unless parents teach their children the doctrines of the
Church "the sin be upon the heads of the parents." (D. & C 68:25)
Motherhood is near to divinity. It
is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind. It places her who
honors its holy calling and service next to the angels. To you mothers in
Israel we say God bless and protect you, and give you the strength and courage,
the faith and knowledge, the holy love and consecration to duty, that shall
enable you to fill to the fullest measure the sacred calling which is yours. To
you mothers and mothers-to-be we say: Be chaste, keep pure, live righteously,
that your posterity to the last generation may call you blessed.
