Mother's Day Talk
Topic: What is the doctrinal role of mothers in the gospel?
Good morning Brothers and Sisters, and Happy Mother's day! For those of you who don't know me, I am Elder Matt Jackson, and I currently have the wonderful opportunity of serving as a missionary here in the Yosemite Ward. I feel very honored to speak to you all on this very special day. Mother's Day has historically been extra sacred for missionaries because it was only one of two days in the year that we could call home, and while I'm lucky enough to be serving in an age where I am allowed to call my family every Monday, that does not diminish the significance of this day for me and all the other missionaries serving around the world. If there is one thing you learn on your mission, it's to appreciate your family more, especially your mother.
I really am so grateful and humbled to speak to you all today, Covid has definitely had many unexpected effects on what it's been like for me to serve a mission, and one of those is that this is actually my first time giving a talk as a missionary! I somehow even managed to avoid speaking at my own farewell, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little bit out of practice. One of the most unexpected blessings that I have seen come from Covid so far though is that my mom is actually watching this talk right now over the Zoom broadcast, so Hi Mom!
I just want to take a few moments to express just how grateful I am to be serving here in this ward. I was originally called to the Canada Montréal Mission, but it has been a huge blessing to be able to spend time in this beautiful part of the world with the amazing people that are here in this ward! I would certainly echo Dalin Haas's testimony that God really does have a plan for each of us, and I know that it is not a coincidence that I am here at this time; you all have taught me many invaluable lessons and I am forever grateful for each and every one of you!
I've been in the ward for about 8 weeks now, so I feel like I've gotten to know quite a few of you, but I'll still say a little bit more to introduce myself. I am from Alpine Utah and I am the third oldest of six kids; I have been out on my mission for about 7 months now, and before coming here I was serving in the city of Visalia. I had the very unique and really fun opportunity to attend the online MTC, so if any of you are preparing to serve missions and have questions about what that was like, I would love to answer any questions! One of the really cool opportunities that was possible because of the online MTC was getting to serve with Elder Allred in this ward, he was a part of my district in the online MTC and although we were originally called to different missions, we were both reassigned to the California Fresno Mission and by seemingly divine design I got to spend some time as his companion and I get to continue serving in the promised land that is the Yosemite Ward. I can honestly tell you that all of the missionaries in our mission covet the opportunity to serve up here in this amazing place with this incredible ward.
Since today is Mother's Day, I think it's only fitting that I take a few moments to describe my own truly incredible mother so that you can all understand a little bit better what makes Mother's Day significant to me. My mom's name is Cheryl Jackson, and she is simply one of the most kind and loving people that you could ever meet on this earth. She is beautiful both inside and out. My mom just has a sort of glow about her that is palpable. Our family often jokingly refers to her as the "star of the show," and it's true! She really does light up whatever room she walks into. To demonstrate a small part of the amazing love that my Mom has, she is currently serving as a stake young women's president, and it has been so amazing to see the way that she has magnified that calling. She works hard every week to not only take care of her own family but also to love and support all of the young women's leaders and each and every one of the young women that she comes in contact with. She truly does know how to minister to God's children one by one, and she has an uncanny ability to love and fellowship others regardless of their differences or circumstances. I've never met anyone who doesn't love my mom.
My mom is also an incredible example to me of perseverance and strength. She is an amazing athlete and she loves to stay very active through things like running, hiking, and skiing. Another joking nickname our family has given her is the "energizer bunny" because she is always on the move, and none of us can ever keep up. She is always working hard and striving to do her best, and she inspires me and the rest of our family to be better every day. Unfortunately, my mom tore her ACL while skiing this past winter, and I know that it has been difficult not being able to do so many of the things that she loves, but I have been blown away by her positivity and selflessness and by all of the the love and concern that she continues to shows for me each week when I talk to her. I love you Mom!
One of the things that I truly admire the most about my mom is her testimony. She has such a powerful witness of Jesus Christ and his love for each of us, and I've felt the pure of Christ through her constantly throughout my life. Her favorite scripture is Ether 12:41, where Moroni invites us to "seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written" and she has played a huge part in helping me do just that. I know that I wouldn't be where I am today if it were not for her and her example to me.
The topic that I was assigned to speak on today is a very interesting question, what is the doctrinal role of mothers? If you think about it, why did God make it so that every single person who has ever lived would have a mother? What are some of the essential roles that mothers play in God's plan for his children? I'm sure that all of us would give a different answer to this question based on our own personal experiences and testimonies, but I'll do my best to answer this question according to my own understanding.
To start answering this question, we need to take a step back and look at why we are all here on this earth in the first place. In Moses 1:39 God explains to Moses that his whole "work and his glory," the one thing that drives every decision he makes and every thing that he does, is bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Well, what does that really mean? God wants us to become immortal, which just means gaining an immortal body that will never die. And as for what it means to receive eternal life, in John 17:3 the Savior himself explained to his apostles that eternal life is simply "knowing thee the only true God and Jesus Christ," and by knowing them God he means becoming like him and getting to live for him for eternity.
So how is God working to do that? The answer comes from the perfect plan that he created for us, the Plan of Salvation. Another name for this plan in the Plan of Happiness, because that is exactly what God's end goal is. He wants us to learn and grow so that we can eventually live with him and enjoy all of the blessings that he has. God is the happiest being in the universe, and his goal is to make us happy like that He is. As we all know, an essential part of that plan was for all of us to come to this earth, but what exactly is our main goal while we are here?
I've studied and pondered the Plan of Salvation frequently over the past 7 months as I've tried to share it's many life changing truths with others, and I've come to the conclusion that God really has two main objectives for why we are here, and mothers play a fundamental role in helping us achieve both of those objectives.
The first reason is summarized perfectly in Alma 34:32 by Amulek when he explains to the Zoramites that "this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." Simply put, there are things that we need to do and lessons we need to learn in this life if we want to be prepared to meet God and live with him again.
The first thing that we had to do to be prepared to meet God is to get a body, and of course, mothers play an indescribably important role in that process. Mothers spend 9 long months carrying their children before they even enter this world. It's something that is often joked about, but being pregnant is hard! So many routine things become more difficult and some things simply become impossible to do.
I want to take a moment to recognize my own mother for her selflessness and the sacrifices she made for me and my siblings to get us here. I am actually a twin and I have younger sisters who are also twins. Being pregnant with twins once would be difficult enough, but my mom went through it twice, and both times she had to spend multiple weeks on bedrest, unable to do much besides sit on the coach and read or play on her little game boy. On top of that, my youngest brother was a very high risk pregnancy, and my mom had to jump through so many hoops and go to so many doctors appointments because she was bound and determined to protect my younger brother and give him the opportunity to live on this earth. Sacrificing for 9 long months and then finally giving birth creates a bond between mothers and their children that is both instantaneous and eternal. There is no love stronger than a mother's love for her baby.
Once we have received the incredible blessing of a body, our next step in preparing to meet God is one that we have to strive for continually throughout our entire lives: we have to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ and try to live the way he lived and do the things he did. We must press forward on the straight and narrow path and continue to make covenants with God that will bring us closer to him as we ultimately strive to endure to the end. All of that can sound extremely intimidating, but God has given us tools to help us on our journey.
One of the greatest gifts God has given us to help us along this path, is our mothers. We are given a grace period after we are born, a period of time where we remain innocent, and during this time we have the immense blessing to be tutored and nurtured constantly, and this is done primarily by our moms. Before we are sent off into this great big world that we live in, we have the chance to be instructed by someone who loves us unconditionally and wants the best for us.
I was really struck by Sister Joy D Jones's talk from this last general conference, and it illustrated clearly to me once again what a blessing it is to have mothers. She used the example of a soldier in Vietnam who was prepared to face the terrifying conditions of combat by his drill sergeant, and that example reminded me of one of my all time favorite stories from the Book of Mormon: The story of the 2,000 stripping warriors. I've always related to them and their story when Helaman says that "they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." and how "they rehearsed unto [Helaman] the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." I do no doubt that my mother has a testimony of the Gospel, and she has consistently shared it with me and helped me gain my own.
Now as I am finally on the front lines of the war against sin as a missionary, I am especially touched by the words of Helaman during a terrible battle as he observed that the 2,000 stripling warriors "did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them."
I have been shown the way by my mother, and I know that I must obey every word of command from our Heavenly Father, with exactness because that is what she has shown me through her example.
I want to emphasize further what an incredible example mothers truly are. In order for us to become like our Savior and find true joy, we must learn to, as King Benjamin puts it, put off the natural man. We have to learn how to love as Jesus Christ did and turn outwards and be selfless instead of selfishly looking inwards, and nothing could be farther from the natural man than what mothers do. They spend practically every waking moment looking after and worrying about their kids. They show charity, which is true christ like love, as they love and nurture their families. Through that service they show both their children and their husbands what it truly means to put off the natural man and what kind of people we need to be if we want to be prepared to meet God after this life.
The second, and equally important, though often forgotten reason for our existence on earth is outlined by Lehi in 2 Nephi 2:25 as he explains to his son Jacob that "Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy." God wants us to enjoy this life! Yes we must persevere through many trials and challenges until we reach the end, but finding joy in the journey is one of the primary reasons for us being here in the first place.
Mothers are such a large part of finding joy in this life it's honestly difficult to narrow down their contributions to that goal into specifics, but there is one thing that is absolutely essential to finding joy in life that comes in greater abundance for mothers than from anywhere else, and that is love. As Elder Stevenson reminded us in his talk from this most recent conference about an experiment conducted that showed the effects of loving care on a group of bunnies, love is an absolute necessity for each and every person living on this earth, and that's part of why each and every person on earth has the blessing of a mother. No matter who you are, what you have done, or what you are like, I can guarantee that your mother loves you.
Mothers are an unfailing foundation of support to their families and I know that I can always turn to my mom if I am ever struggling. In missionary work we often share the scripture James 1:5 with those they teach to help them understand their relationship with God, but if you adjust the wording a little bit I feel like it illustrates just as well our relationships with our mothers. "If any of you lack wisdom, let his ask of Mom, that giveth to all children liberally, and upbraideth not," and the phrase upbraideth not just means that they won't judge you. Whatever circumstance you face or trial you are going through, you can turn to your mother for help, and she will be there waiting for you with an abundance of love and support as well as some very sound advice. I can say personally that listening to your mother will bring you greater peace and joy.
I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful memories that my mom has given me, and I have come to treasure any time I get to spend with her. She is such a fun person to be around, and I am eternally grateful for the knowledge that I can be together with her forever. When I was little I would call any time I got to go grocery shopping with just me and my mom or do something with just the two of us special time, and still cherish those memories to this day. Even something as mundane as shopping becomes a special experience with her there. She has truly brought me so much joy in my life already, and I will never be able to thank her enough for all that she has sacrificed and done for me. The greatest blessing that I have received from this Gospel is being sealed to her for time and eternity.
Testimony
No one, save the Savior himself, plays a larger role in helping Heavenly Father's children achieve these goals than mother's. And I'll list a few of the
Prepare to meet God,
- bodies, sacrifice
- teachers, Nurturer Alma 56, striping warriors
Joy
- love (Elder Stevenson)
- heaven is the continuation of the ideal family D&C 130
- fun! My mom is straight up fun
Testimony
The world is an intimidating place, it is mothers who play the biggest role in
Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities”
"the most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home."
The single greatest blessing of the Gospel is to be together with your family for all of eternity
Alma 34:32
32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.
2 Nephi 2:25
D&C 130
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.
Mosiah 3:19
The defining feature of mothers and motherhood is love, it is evidenced by their constant and never ending service and the almost instinctive sacrifices they make every day for their families.
Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.
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