Reading over those messages, it is hard to come up with any form of consensus other than, everyone has a different opinion. It falls short when it is not delivered with love, patience, acceptance, humility, an understanding of the limitations of REALITY, and the the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Although with good intentions, speakers usually put mothers and motherhood on a pedestal ("Mothers are loving and caring and naturally nurturing", "A mother's love is the closest thing to Christlike love on earth", "No mother is perfect, except my mom, who is literally an . Someone explain this. I do look forward to handing the kids over to my husband for the day, but Ill take a pass on sacrament meeting. Because I know the real story so it is distracting from the fake one that they are giving. Thank you. But arent mothers also sweet, like cookies? Again, its about building testimony and gaining faith. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.. The kids sang the first verse and the adults the second. That wouldn't let her do such and suchall things in the end that weren't good for her daughter to do, one way of looking at it. I should clarify that my mother (and father) are wonderful and I have no complaints. He also discussed the importance of placing motherhood first in our lives but not allowing the pressures of motherhood to sap us of joy. Gospel Q&A: Do We Really Have the Spirit With Us All the Time? In Bishopric meeting this year, I quoted your little sister regarding plants. Like many others, my wife and her mother have both always struggled with hearing sacrament meeting talks on Mothers Day. President Hinckley directly addresses mothers in this talk, commending them for the wonderful thing they have done by becoming mothers, but offering insights on their greatest challenge: to be able to answer the question How well have my children done? with happiness. By I just pray that the spirit can convey the message that seems so exciting in my heart. As a mother of six kids, Ive had some serious depression about motherhood in general over the years but not usually on Mothers Day. She worked during the day and took classes at night, and created a home for her children where they knew love. Re-reading my comment (101) it sounds very harsh even though that is not how I mean it to sound. It isnt uncommon for LDS women to be dealing with some combination of the following factors: a difficult marriage, no marriage, no children, difficult children, health problems, loss of faith. kc I love me some Pres. Partaking of the sacrament is a witness to God that the remembrance of His Son will extend beyond the short time of that sacred ordinance. This post should be required reading for all Mothers Day speakers. I am understanding your POV. Im sure that attendance in RS would be higher on that day though. If you want to hear from real women who haveread scriptures andheld FHEand family prayer, but whose son is in jail or whose 16-year-old daughter is pregnant or whose husband has left her, then you should meet in the cultural hall. The story of Martha and Mary each bringing important and valuable things, even though they were very different. To find a ward near you, try the Meetinghouse Locator, which will also provide sacrament meeting times, driving directions, and contact information. Forgive me for not understanding the blessing part of it. While it addresses questions about how to raise a girl, the talk also discusses the nobility of fatherhood, the influence fathers have on children, how to cherish your wife, and why virtue is so important. Thank you for being the kind of people you are and doing the things you do. I wonder if a member of our bishopric reads this blog? Why do *we* have to have an ideal? It was perhaps the best talk I gave as a bishop. don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging. More often than not, his assumption is correct. Especially for those women that aren't mothersbut, a big but, these women are mothers to villages, pets, and extended family all the time! Well give you an honest deal! If I would obtain the blessing, Fun Photos of Latter-day Saint Leaders in the Snow! So Im on for Mothers Day and have been assigned Julie Becks talk on the history of Relief Society as topic. I did this for five years and the sisters seemed to enjoy sitting, chatting, and not having a child demanding a bit of their pie. I plan to skip church on Mothers Day morning to visit my mother in the home and I will receive my Masters Degree that afternoon! The answer has been taught by the Lords prophets. Not a perfect example but I was striving for some other options besides stripling warriors moms. Why was she an ideal? Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Environmental Stewardship and Conservation, Joseph Smiths Teachings about Priesthood, Temple, and Women, Peace and Violence among 19th-Century Latter-day Saints, The Manifesto and the End of Plural Marriage, Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham. Not that I am anything special, but I gave a Mother's Day talk when I was a bishop that was so well-received even my own mother loved it. Its impossible to please everyone. Classic! especially when there are clear re-phrasings and clarifications. We got the story about women blessing their cows a couple of years ago. Love your mother, my young sisters. You can still give the women the day off. Could someone remind of what the day is for after all? Latter-day Saint pianist Monica Scott has arranged a touching Mother's Day medley in honor of Stephanie Pope, a mother of five who recently passed away . There are sins that need confessing; Women are saved in child bearing is good as always. Being Mother's Day, that meant the soft seats up front were filled with grandmothers and other maternal figures visiting for the weekend, which meant latecomers like the Lemons got metal seats in the back this week. Its hard for those without children, who are likely never to have children, to listen to motherhood talks that don't address their situation. It appears that this phenomenon is growing and becoming even more common everywhere in the US church. at all.. #28 Love the song choice of I Have Work Enough To Do as a tribute. There have been one or two General Conference talks in the last couple of years that briefly addressed that situation. XD. You then leap to classifying it a family celebration rather than a national holiday. Ere the sun goes down. After His Resurrection, He instituted the sacrament among the Nephites (see 3Nephi 18:111). Just as he was getting into how pornography helped him through the divorce, the bishop stepped up and escorted him from the podium. I think its terribly sad that growing up Mormon, I never heard anyone make any serious attempt to talk about Heavenly Mother on Mothers Day. Well, count me among the lucky ones who are speaking this coming Sunday. Is it apeople incapable of focusing on the joy of others? According to our teachings, Jesus the Messiah wasnt just sinless, He was God. And this is all in addition to the everyday problems like getting the bills paid and the laundry done. Rockpond, is this separate from a Primary Program? If it is unique to us, I wonder why we have a corner on the Mothers Day anxiety market. Some women think that you dont talk enough about mothers while other people think you talk too much about them. I was initially surprised he went that way, but I have to say although Ive occasionally heard people say they wish something were did, I heard many complaints every previous year that something was done about what that something was. Love for mothers is good, but sometimes there is a fine, fine line between love and dysfunction. Although I like the idea of them as well! What do you think when you see a used car lot with a sign like this: Honest Abes Used Cars! We were each handed full size chocolate bars that had been wrapped at the end of Sac Mtng. Ive never objected to any Mothers Day program, and in my ward, all women get a gift, married, single, divorced, widowed, with or without children. Women focused or mainly about Christ too. But I still think the Dove bars our bishop chooses rock the holiday. Today the sacrament is an ordinance in which Church members partake of bread and water in remembrance of Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice. Mothers Day was pure torture and the only time I ever serious entertain thoughts of staying home. Make sure you understand where that line is. Topical Guide, Assembly for Worship, Index to the Triple Combination, Assemble, Meetings in the Church, Handbook 2, 18, Speaking in Sacrament Meeting? youth.ChurchofJesusChrist.org, Is Sacrament Meeting a Top-of-the-Mountain Experience for You? ChurchofJesusChrist.org blog, Frequently Asked Questions, Music Callings, Appropriate Music for Church Meetings, Music Callings, Worship with Us, ComeUntoChrist.org, The Longest Sacrament Meeting, Ensign, September 2013, Idea List: Getting the Most Out of Sacrament Meeting, New Era, June 2007, Church Leaders Call for Better Observance of Sabbath Day, Church News, Learn Steps for Giving Better Sacrament Meeting Talks, Church News, First Presidency Letter: Testimonies in Fast and Testimony Meeting, Church News, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, chapter 6, Speaking in Sacrament Meeting, Media Library, Bearing Testimony in Sacrament Meeting, Media Library, The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square App Icon, Teachings of Presidents: Joseph Fielding Smith Manual, 2014, Index to the Triple Combination, Assemble, Is Sacrament Meeting a Top-of-the-Mountain Experience for You?, Appropriate Music for Church Meetings,, Idea List: Getting the Most Out of Sacrament Meeting,, Church Leaders Call for Better Observance of Sabbath Day,, Learn Steps for Giving Better Sacrament Meeting Talks,, First Presidency Letter: Testimonies in Fast and Testimony Meeting,. I could send you a PDF of the sheet music, but it's probably too late now for your choir and Primary to prepare in time for Mother's Day. Im not going tomorrow. I dont think it would occur to anyone to give a man a plant for Fathers Day *, but its very common to give women plants for Mothers Day. For the injured interceding, They would eat honey cakes and give flowers. Keep in mind, this is from a male perspective, andmy opinions might be worth exactly what you paid for them. Mothers Day was open so I said ok, I will come up with something appropriate. As the son of a mother who was destroyed every Mothers Day, and seeing many similar experiences here, I plan to stick to the Christ-centric meeting next year. One of my favorite talks ever wasnt a Mothers Day talk but was given by a mother talking about mothering (we were on vacation, so didnt know the woman speaking). . He also addressed many different groups of women separately with distinct advice for their situation, including women with small children, older women, and women who never marry. I also really like Kristenes suggestion and everything like unto it as EOR suggested. I remember long ago a young woman spoke on Mother's Day and described her mother as "the mean mother". Ill be hiding in the clerks office. His explanation was not to offend any sister. Do you also not need an idea such as the Savior, your Father in Heaven or your Heavenly Mother? Really perfect for MD! Nothing, wakes people up in sacrament meeting like talking about chimpanzees dismembering each other. Can anyone say overdone? Oh and starting with Anthropologist Hrdys observations on what a plane full of chimps rather than humans would look like. Maybe, eventually, I will heal and that will change. It can be any of those. Not at church anyway. Why are women so disenchanted with motherhood when we value it so highly? This is something better done away with. I wish you were speaking in my ward! When her dad found out that there was a whole lottashakin goin on without him, he summarily divorced his adulterous wife and took the children to live with him. I think this can be especially true for women who feel theyre just holding on. Oh, and my husband is speaking in our ward this Mothers Day. Didnt we predict this? I love this. They are there, you just have to do a little digging. It was so honest and hopeful all at once. Questions & Answers: What am I supposed to think about during the sacrament? When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children.. This has been a big concern for me, as there are many women in the ward who are very sensitive to the Perfect Mother talks, and I didnt want to heap on to their burdens. I give, is it supposed to be about mothers or not? I loved it! It is not that women want to be from Venus, but they want to be from Venus five universes beyond our own. Never heard it, but I would love somethingalong the lines ofwhat we can learn from Christ and his time with women. With a purpose firm and willing, I have an aversion to bringing my family's celebration intochurch and causing other women pain. It isn't uncommon for LDS women to be dealing with some combination of the following factors: a difficult marriage, no marriage, no children, difficult children, health problems, loss of faith. I just read that talk again; and I see nothing wrong with it. At one point they cut down a tree and paraded it into town to symbolize the mother of the Gods (Asherah, anyone?). After observing and empathizing with three generations of mothers and thinking of my own dear mother, I surely know that there is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood.. Being there with my son was very nice. Also waiting by the library's tiny window with the Dutch door was a . The Mothers Day talks in my singles wards have been quite sensitive to childless women, but still pretty women-on-pedestalsy. And, as your mother, I will miss the delicious pie during a relaxing third hour of church. Her mother didnt come across as being perfect, but rather imperfect but faithfully trying, and her simple persistent efforts turned out to be eternally valuable. You can guess how well that went over. Think about your message and how it will sound to the entire spectrum of your sisters in the ward. It was both simple and profound. Crowd-sourcing request. I dont remember all 18 things, but two of them stuck with me, even 15 years later. #109 Rayloved the roller coaster quote on motherhood. The two adult speakers should center their talk on Jesus; if you want, assign a youth speaker to speak on Mothers, the Primary sings a song, and pass out the flower at the end. My son Dan was married June 13 about a week ago. I was honored to have known her, and to have been able to claim her as my own. I recommend it highly: This! (http://dandelionmama.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/this-this-is-what-i-believe/). In preparation for the sacrament each week, Church members take time to examine their lives and repent of sins. Kind of it takes a village/ward to raise a child philosophy. Feelings of guilt, shame, loneliness, anger, disappointment, abandonment, and not measuring up to impossible expectations are prevalent. But I certainly enjoyed the beauty of the whole situation and was very glad to see so many young peole in the Church on Sunday. My Mother will one day reach the godstage with my Father and will have there own planet. Not all women can become real mothers. That in no way shape or form precludes me from looking to Christ/HF/HM for ideals. Index to the Triple Combination, Sacrament, Jesus Christ Teaches about the Sacrament and Prayer, AaronL. West, Little Children and the Sacrament, Ensign, October 2016, Line upon Line: Matthew 26:2628, New Era, October 2016, Questions & Answers: What am I supposed to think about during the sacrament? New Era, June 2014, Renewing Covenants through the Sacrament, Ensign, June 2010, Marilynne Linford, Questions and Answers about the Sacrament, Friend, March 2008, Laurel Rohlfing, Remember Jesus Christ during the Sacrament, Ensign, June 2007, Richard Lloyd Anderson, The Restoration of the Sacrament (Part1: Loss and Christian Reformations), Ensign, January 1992, Richard Lloyd Anderson, The Restoration of the Sacrament (Part2: A New and Ancient Covenant), Ensign, February 1992, Pat Graham, Sharing Time: Be Grateful for the Sacrament, Friend, November 1987, JohnS. 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This talk by Sheri Dew focuses on how motherhood is for all women, regardless if they have children or not. I have been called by God to be there and that is where I should be. I have been avoiding the mother's day sacrament meeting for the last couple of years. It is Mother's Day and yet the day is supposed to about everything about women EXCEPT being a mother. Our old ward in NY would take the funds normally used to purchase flowers, chocolate, etc.