The Destinies of Nations
Today is the day we honor the women in our lives, specifically our own mothers who gave us life, who nurtured and raised and fed and clothed us, who taught and tutored and showed us, who comforted and counseled and consoled us. Above all, who loved us. To all the mothers out there, we wish you a happy Mothers’ day, and cannot thank you enough for being givers of life.
In our world of freedom and opportunity to pursue multiple paths in life, let us never be ashamed or forget that God holds the role of mother as most supreme. Nothing can take her place. Nothing trumps her role. No corporate position in a company, not title like “Dr.” or “Author” or “CEO”—as important as they may be—is more important to society than the title of “Mom.” We love the verse in the Old Testament, when Deborah the great judge of Israel (like being on the supreme court in our day), self-proclaims the title that is most important to her: “[The inhabitants of] the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.” (Judges 5:7; emphasis added).
Let us not forget that when the adversary wanted to destroy the world, he didn’t go after Adam, he went after Eve. It’s not men that run this world, it is women. “And Satan . . . sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world” (Moses 4:6). Satan knew the powerful influence that women have, both over men, and over their children. As Patricia Holland (wife of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland) said, “If I were Satan and wanted to destroy a society, I think I would stage a full-blown blitz on women” (Patricia T. Holland, “ ‘One Thing Needful’: Becoming Women of Greater Faith in Christ,” Ensign, Oct. 1987, 29). This is because motherhood exerts more influence on a family, and therefore on a society and nation, than any other role.
We often ask teenage students: “Who are the most influential group of people on this earth?” Their answers are usually things like, “The prophets” or “Movie stars” or “professional athletes” or “The President of the USA.” They miss the mark, and rarely mention motherhood and moms. Listen to what President Brigham Young said: “The mothers are the moving instruments in the hands of Providence to guide the destinies of nations…Consequently, you see at once what I wish to impress upon your mind is, that the mothers are the machinery that give zest to the whole man, and guide the destinies and lives of men upon the earth” (President Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young p. 199-200). It is mothers—not the others—that guide nations.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell so eloquently said: “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” (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, The Women of God, Ensign (CR), May 1978, p.10).
On this day, we salute you mothers, and publicly express our appreciation for your divine role in giving of your life—sacrificing your very body—so that we could gain ours. No other role on earth is more like the Savior’s. Notice how the Book of Moses puts the role of a mother next to the role of the Savior: “inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten” (Moses 6:59). The errand of a mother is the errand of angels. Just like Nephi said we ought to talk of Christ, and preach of Christ more often (see 2 Nephi 25:26), let us talk of mothers, preach of their divine role, and rejoice in motherhood more often.
“To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially noble calling. The righteous woman’s strength and influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help enrich, to protect, and to guard the home—which is society’s basic and most noble institution. Other institutions in society may falter and even fail, but the righteous woman can help to save the home, which may be the last and only sanctuary some mortals know in the midst of storm and strife” (President Spencer W. Kimball, “Privileges and Responsibilities of Sisters,” Ensign, Nov. 1978, 103).
We love and honor you mothers.
