Note from Mom
I love you and I absolutely LOVE being your mom. I think I’ve always wanted to be a mom and I was fortunate to find a loving companion that would support this desire.
When I was a child I knew that my mother loved me, but I didn’t realize how much my mother loved me until I had children of my own and felt the love that motherhood brings. I know that I’m not a perfect parent, but I always try my best. You are my greatest love and my greatest joy. Don’t ever forget that!
My favorite quote on Motherhood, shared by Elder Neil L. Anderson in General Conference October 2011: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”
Highlights from My All-Time Favorite Conference Talk
(and it happens to be on mothering)
Mothers Who Know
Sister Julie B. Beck, October 2007
Mothers Who Know Bear Children
Mothers who know desire to bear children. Whereas in many cultures in the world children are “becoming less valued,” in the culture of the gospel we still believe in having children. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that “God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.”3 President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that “in the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels.”
Mothers Who Know Honor Sacred Ordinances and Covenants
Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers
To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking.
Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate.
Growth happens best in a “house of order,” and women should pattern their homes after the Lord’s house (seeD&C 109). Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work.
Mothers Who Know Are Leaders
Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are the primary examples of what leaders look like. They do not abandon their plan by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting. These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most.
Mothers Who Know Are Teachers
“[Use] family scripture study, prayer, family home evening, mealtimes, and other gatherings to teach.”
Mothers Who Know Do Less
They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.
Mothers Who Know Stand Strong and Immovable
We are led by an inspired prophet of God who has called upon the women of the Church to “stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.”6 He has asked us to “begin in [our] own homes”7 to teach children the ways of truth. Latter-day Saint women should be the very best in the world at upholding, nurturing, and protecting families.
These mothers have made and honor temple covenants. They know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals.
Social Science Research on Mothering
As found in Erickson J. J., (2012). Mothers as nurturers. In A. J. Hawkins & D. C. Dollahite & T. W. Draper (Eds.), Successful Marriages and families: Proclamation principles and research perspectives (pp. 128-139) Provo, UT: BYU Studies.
“Children seem to do best when mothers show love by communicating about and being aware of their activities and behaviors. Expressing love through listening, communicating, and monitoring enables a mother to be warm and supportive while setting and enforcing appropriate limits” (Erickson, 2012, p. 133).
“Children’s academic success and healthy behaviors have also been tied to their mothers’ involvement in talking with them, listening to them, and answering their questions” (as cited in Erickson, 2012, p. 133).
“One of the primary ways mothers nurture growth and development is through helping create an environment of safety, peace, and learning. A central part of creating that environment is through organizing the home and family so that routines and rituals are carried out effectively” (Erickson, 2012, p. 133).
Emotional Work: “Mothers do this emotion work by facilitating conversations about feelings, listening carefully to family members’ feelings, recognizing the importance of feelings and offering encouragement, expressing appreciation, and asking questions to elicit family members’ sharing of feelings” (Erickson, 2012, p. 133)
“Research findings suggest that the hours after school may be particularly important for mothers in sharing experiences and monitoring children” (Erickson, 2013, p. 134).
“Mothers continue to provide cognitive stimulation . . . when they read to their children and teach them concepts” (Erickson, 2013, p. 134).
“A recent study of a large sample of Latter-day Saint parents found that a mother’s private religious behaviors -- including fasting, personal prayer, scripture study, study of other religious materials, and thinking about religion -- were a more significant influence on the quality of her parenting than the family’s religious behaviors” (Erickson, 2013, p. 136).
Videos on Motherhood
Other Great Conference Talks on Motherhood
