Motherhood – Spirituality

Talks

Quotes

Dallin H. Oaks said, “Today, … we need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God’s children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly. (October 2018 General Conference)

Sometimes it’s really easy for us as parents to solve all of our children’s problems for them. But like Sherri Johnson said, “There are many situations in which we should lovingly direct our children to their Heavenly Father instead of trying to handle all their trials ourselves.” (Spiritually Centered Motherhood, pg. 32)

As spiritually centered mothers we have the task of leading our children to the Savior so that the Savior can lead them to God the Father. If we make our children dependent upon us we will fail, but if we teach them to be dependent upon their Father in Heaven, Jesus Christ and the influence and guidance of the Holy Ghost they can be helped at any time, at any place, in any situation according to their needs. (Sherri Johnson, Spiritually Centered Motherhood pg. 75, 85)

Jeffrey R. Holland said, “I think some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect. We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful heartfelt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the Restoration and the divine guidance of the Church from the First Vision to this very hour, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it. (Jeffrey Holland April 2003 A Prayer for the Children)

Sherri Johnson explains why it is important to have self-discipline as mothers. 

• It allows us to teach by example.
• “Another important aspect of self-discipline is that it builds self-esteem and allows us to be at peace with ourselves, thereby freeing us from inner turmoil and allowing us to concentrate on our children’s needs.  A woman who is not at peace with herself, who has never learned who she is or where she is going, who has not mastered herself and who does not like herself cannot effectively teach her children because of her own distress.”
• If we are not disciplined we cannot be responsive to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. (Spiritually Centered Motherhood, pg 40)

How do we as parents teach our children the essential principles of the gospel?  Since we cannot teach what we do not know, the process obviously begins with our own personal study of the scriptures.  Like the saying goes, “You can’t light a fire in another’s soul without having a fire burning within your own.” Not only should we teach our children what we know, we should teach them how we learned what we know so that they will know how to develop their own testimony.

Be careful not to lecture.  Instead, have casual gospel discussions where everyone is involved, where you share testimony and personal experiences as often as you can.  Take advantage of informal teaching moments as you go throughout the day. Most importantly, provide your children with opportunities to feel the spirit.  “The spirit can teach our children things we never can and what is taught by the spirit is long remembered, while what is preached by a parent is often forgotten.” (Sherri Johnson, Spiritually Centered Motherhood, pg. 90)

The truth is – God knows all the answers.  They were His children before they were yours.  Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that he has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones.  (Gordon B. Hinckley)

“Gaining the companionship of the Holy Ghost and then abiding by the promptings of the spirit is the single most important thing we can do to become spiritually centered mothers.  It is also the most important things we can teach our children to do. ( Sherri Johnson,Spiritually Centered Motherhood, pg 48)

There is a very valuable window of opportunity for teaching our children.  Elder Eyring said, “The family has an advantage in the first eight years of a child’s life.  In those protected years, because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Satan’s use of the mists of darkness to hide the path to return home is blocked.” (“Help Them on Their Way Home” April 2010)

I love the analogy of the elephant and the bird.  When you pour wet cement, a small bird can leave a footprint.  Once the cement hardens, even an elephant walking across it can’t leave a dent.  The younger the child, the wetter the cement and the greater the potential to impress things upon their minds. – Shannon Williams

You’ve heard the saying “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”  We must teach our children how to fish spiritually.  We must teach them how to pray to Heavenly Father and receive inspiration from Him.  We must teach them how to recognize and act upon promptings from the Holy Ghost. 

Julie Beck said in the Relief Society general meeting of September 2008 “Nothing in your life should interfere with basic nurturing responsibilities.” 

“Teach the gospel always.  Use words when necessary.” 

In order to more effectively teach “the things pertaining to righteousness,” it is important to understand that, in addition to imparting information, we must facilitate revelation.  This way, the person being taught can feel the desire to know these principles for himself or herself. (Francisco J. Vinas “Things Pertaining to Righteousness, April 2010)

Satan actively works from dawn till dusk doing everything in his power to destroy our families.  We as mothers cannot be passive.  We cannot sit around, hoping that everything will work out okay.  President Russell M. Nelson taught us in general conference that we must be engaged in “intentional parenting.” We must go on the offensive.  – Shannon Williams

Mary R. Durham made an interesting observation, “Many teachers of foreign languages believe that children learn a language best in ‘immersion programs,’ in which they are surrounded by other speakers of the language and called upon to speak it themselves. They learn not just to say words, but to speak fluently and even to think in the new language. The [best] ‘immersion’ setting for a spiritual education is in the home, where spiritual principles can form the basis for daily living.” (April 2016 General Conference.)

In her book Spiritually Centered Motherhood, Sherri Johnson said, “If children are raised in a home that has a special spiritual feeling about it…they will be comfortable with good, while evil places and evil feelings will be uncomfortable to them.” (Johnson pg. 79) Isn’t that what we want for our children?

Like God, our primary purpose in life is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life” of our children.  In order to do that, we must start with ourselves. You’ve probably heard the saying, “You can’t lift another, till you stand on higher ground.”  You cannot convert someone beyond your own testimony. You cannot introduce your children to the Savior until you know Him yourself. – Shannon Williams

I’ve learned over the years that mothers’ prayers matter.  I’ve often thought that God has a special hotline – a faster conduit for mothers’ prayers that get high priority in heaven.  – Shannon Williams

In Moses 1:39 the Lord describes His purpose, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  As a mother, my role is exactly the same – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of my children. Everything I do is toward that end.  I have been given a sacred stewardship to teach them the gospel, help them receive ordinances and make covenants, recognize the promptings of the spirit and develop a personal relationship with the Savior.  I know that someday I will stand before God and give an accounting of this stewardship.  It is one I do not take lightly. – Shannon Williams

One of my friends once made a comment in Relief Society that has stayed with me for years.  She simply said, “I know I am a good mother, because I have taught my children to repent.”  What a profound statement! 

Can you imagine how different the world would be if every time a child looked into his mother’s face he saw love reflected there?

 “Brothers and sisters, we are engaged in a battle with the world. In the past, the world competed for our children’s energy and time. Today, it fights for their identity and mind. Many loud and prominent voices are trying to define who our children are and what they should believe. We cannot let society give our family a makeover in the image of the world. We must win this battle. Everything depends on it.

President Russell M. Nelson taught us in our last general conference that, from here on out, we must be engaged in “intentional parenting.” These are perilous times. But the good news is God knew this would be the case, and He has provided counsel in the scriptures for us to know how to help our children and our grandchildren.

As parents in Zion, you have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you pray for guidance, “it will show unto you all things what ye should do” in teaching your children.

It’s never too early and it’s never too late to lead, guide, and walk beside our children, because families are forever. ( Bradley Foster, It’s Never Too Early and It’s Never Too Late October 2013 General Conference)