Motherhood

Tonight's thoughts are about the family. Yet, not every woman will be a mother & not every person shall marry. I remember in my 20s, as an unmarried woman & all my friends were marrying, or it seemed like all my friends were marrying, how I would ache when I heard the conference talks about marriage & motherhood. I felt like I was unworthy, yet I did not want to marry, just to marry. I knew that if I weren't happy in, & of myself, someone else couldn't make me happy.

"How sweet is the assurance, how comforting is the peace that come from the knowledge that if we marry right and live right, our relationship will continue, notwithstanding the certainty of death and the passage of time. Men may write love songs and sing them. They may yearn and hope and dream. But all of this will be only a romantic longing unless there is an exercise of authority that transcends the powers of time and death."

--Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Marriage That Endures", Ensign, Jul 2003, 2–7

I know I married right, but living right? I guess all we can do is strive to live the commandments - line upon line, precept upon precept.

"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. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. declared, motherhood is "as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself."

--Sheri L. Dew, "Are We Not All Mothers?", Ensign, Nov 2001, 96

Then after we were married & couldn't have children, I cried over that. A friend told me it was easier to have them than to raise them. I did not believe her, but I do now. And I've used that line with others, too.

Eternal quest

"Perfect" men & women? We can strive to keep the commandments & not to speak ill of our neighbors. Not to gossip. I did a blog entry here on Words like feathers.

"In this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior, may we try to be "perfect" men and women in at least this one way now - by offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue, the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today."

--Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Tongue of Angels", Ensign, May 2007, 16–18

The tongue of angels, hmmm, I like the idea of trying not to offend in word, but the tongue of angels?

"As mothers in Israel, we are the Lord's secret weapon. Our influence comes from a divine endowment that has been in place from the beginning. In the premortal world, when our Father described our role, I wonder if we didn't stand in wide-eyed wonder that He would bless us with a sacred trust so central to His plan and that He would endow us with gifts so vital to the loving and leading of His children. I wonder if we shouted for joy at least in part because of the ennobling stature He gave us in His kingdom. The world won't tell you that, but the Spirit will."

--Sheri L. Dew, "Are We Not All Mothers?", Ensign, Nov 2001, 96

And Sister Dew wonders if we didn't stand in wide-eyed wonder. I probably had my mouth hanging ajar.

Walk in obedience

Tonight's quotes are repeats. No surprise there as I've been keeping track of these quotes for several months now.

President Hinckley says God will always make a way where there is no way if we walk in obedience. We must shun sin & hold fast that which is good advises Elder Nelson.

Since Elder Nelson is talking about the evil one & shunning sin, here is a quote from Sister Dew.

"Lucifer is determined to devour marriages and families, because their demise threatens the salvation of all involved and the vitality of the Lord's kingdom itself."

--Sister Sheri L. Dew; Ensign, November 2001, page 12.

I think if the quote had gone farther, there would be encouragement to work on making strong marriages and families. 

Today's decisions

The decisions we make today will impact our future. Sometimes we can't see it immediately. Don-Mikel has a 2004 Chevy Duramax pick-up. A guy in town wanted to trade his 2003 half ton gas vehicle for Don-Mike's 3/4 ton diesel. Don-Mike seriously contemplated it, but has had a very uneasy feeling about it. Once he decided not to do it, he felt at peace with himself.

Elder Wirthlin, in his talk in the 2003 conference entitled "Three Choices," says, "Today is the day of decision."

The second thought today is from Sheri L. Dew. The talk must have been given in the Women's Conference when she was a counselor in the General Relief Society presidency.

"We just can't let the Lord down. And if the day comes when we are the only women on earth who find nobility and divinity in motherhood, so be it. For mother is the word that will define a righteous woman made perfect in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, a woman who has qualified for eternal increase in posterity, wisdom, joy, and influence."

--Sheri L. Dew, "Are We Not All Mothers?", Ensign, Nov 2001, 96

Sounds nice.