Church Talks
MOTHER’S DAY
[Talk given by Elder John E. Enslen at Siem Reap Ranch, Cambodia on May 13, 2007.]
May I tell you a small amount of the history of Mother’s Day as it came to be in the United States. The idea of an official celebration of Mother’s Day was suggested by a lady named Julia Ward Howe. She lived in Boston. She was well known and had a popular following because prior to the American Civil War, she had written the hymn titled “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” This hymn was sung by the federal troops during the United States Civil War of the 1860’s. It remains one of America’s most beloved hymns and is one of the most requested hymns of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Julia Ward Howe wrote a Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870 asking mothers everywhere to oppose war. In 1872, she suggested that an annual celebration be held in June of each year. She was not successful during her lifetime in getting an official national Mother’s Day approved by the national legislature.
However, Julia Ward Howe had a follower named Anna Marie Reeves Jarvis who had a daughter named Anna Jarvis. Anna Jarvis, abiding her mother’s wishes, was ultimately successful in securing an official government resolution naming the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. After many states adopted a resolution honoring mothers annually, a resolution was signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. Anna Jarvis is known as the mother of Mother’s Day. She herself never married and had no children, but she did, of course, have a mother.
Today Mother’s Day is celebrated annually in almost every country in the world, although not all on the same day. People take the day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank them for their love and support, for their sacrificial efforts in raising them, for the gift of life through them. In several countries, it is the day of the year in which their phones have their maximum use. It has become a commercialized holiday in many respects with the purchase of flowers, cards, and other gifts.
I am thankful for my own mother. I sometimes jokingly say that if it were not for my mother, I probably would not be here. Of course, I would not be in existence if it were not for my mother. No gift to my mother can ever equal her gift to me.
Not only did she pass through the hardship of pregnancy and childbirth for me, she is the one who awoke in the night and took care of me when I was sick. She is the one who fed me as a baby and later cooked my meals as a youth. She was the one who was concerned about my comfort and well being at all times. She kissed my scrapes and bruises, and took care of my hurts and worries.
She provided me with encouragement. It was with her watchful eye that I learned to walk. She is the one who provided me with affection. She sewed on my buttons and mended my socks. She drove me to school, to my appointments, and to the swimming pool, tennis court, and community house where we played ping pong.
The best school room I ever had was my mother’s lap. From her I learned to talk. She explained the simple things of life. She told me stories, taught me lessons, corrected my misbehavior, and rocked me to sleep.
A famous Jewish proverb says: “God could not be everywhere, so he made mothers.” Mothers and motherhood are a part of God’s divine plan. Mothers are entitled to our highest respect. The greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love, treasure, and cherish their mother.
I arose at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday morning (yesterday) and wrote a letter to my 78-year-old mother in the United States. I wanted her to know that I loved her, that I was thankful for her, and that I would be thinking of her today. I have a friend at home who will take her a flower and a gift for me. I hope she has a wonderful day.
I want to share two scriptures with you. One is found in the Book of Mormon. It tells of the marvelous positive influence that a large number of righteous mothers had exerted over their 2,000 sons. These young men became warriors in an army, fighting in defense of their liberty, their freedom of worship, and the security of their homes and families. Notwithstanding their youthfulness, they fought valiantly with a firm and undaunted faith that they would come off conquerors:
Yea, and they 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. (Alma 57:21)
The other scripture I want to reference in closing is found in the New Testament. Jesus was suffering in agony on the cross. His mother was there standing beside the cross, in support of her son. Perhaps a major part of being a good mother consists simply in being there with the children, instead of somewhere else the mother would personally rather be:
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the
disciple [John] standing by, whom he loved, he
saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son
[referring to John]. Then saith he to the disciple,
Behold thy mother! And from that hour that
disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:26-27)
Even in his dying hours, Jesus was concerned with the welfare of his mother. While on the cross, he performed a type of substitution adoption so that his mother would receive the remainder of her life the watchful care of a loving son, care that Jesus would not be able to personally render. What a wonderful example the Savior has given us of honoring and loving our mothers.
May God bless all mothers this day I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.