Mother's:

At church on Sunday, we had a lesson in Relief Society about the love of mother's. Interestingly enough, Relief Society is the oldest society for women in history and is based upon principles of service and kindness to those around us. Look! Here is a painting of the first Relief Society meeting in 1842:

Cindy gave the lesson, which in my opinion, is very appropriate because she has raised six children and is a very dedicated mom. She spoke of her own mother who was born with cataracts and had very limited vision her entire life. She was married and raised children despite this. She has become legally blind in her later years and had a guide dog for many years to help her. I can remember as a little girl, seeing this woman come to church with her guide dog; I thought it was so fun that a lady had a doggy in church! Cindy spoke of her mother with love and reverence. She said that she never heard her mother complain.

Cindy invited an older woman to tell us about her mother. This woman is probably in her late 80's and she spoke clearly of her mother. There were eight children in her family and her mother worked hard to run the household. Monday was washday, she would boil their white clothes, put them in the washer tub and scrub them, and then put them in a tub of blue before hanging them on the clothesline. She washed and mended clothes for the ten people in her family, imagine what a job! She added with a chuckle that women today think they are busy, but all we do is push buttons. But with all the work her mother had, she was never too busy to show her love for her children. She showed them love by working for them. This woman said she knew her mother loved her, and never doubted that.

A lady in our congregation who is from Mexico raised her hand, and with tears in her eyes, spoke of her mother. She said there were seven children in her family, and her mother had a difficult time because her father was an alcoholic. He hated them for going to church, and if he ever caught them coming home from church, he would beat her mother. She said that he was very mean to the children, and to her mother. She said her mother was so happy if she was ever were able to make money, because they never had enough. Her father spent so much of it at bars. She can remember pleading with her mommy, saying "let's just go. I don't want to live with him anymore". And finally, her mother took the children and left. She said you cannot imagine the courage her mother had to do such a thing at that time.

After hearing these stories, I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had to play and make faces with the cute babies sitting by me to keep me from crying. Another woman spoke of her mother who lived with chronic arthritis pain, but was always kind and loving to those around her.

Then Dory raised her hand. Dory is a Japanese woman whom I've known most of my life. She spoke of her grandmother who was forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 15. She entered the marriage with the promise that her new husband would bring her to America. She became pregnant on the ship from Japan at the age of 16. After arriving in America, she became pregnant again. And then her husband died, leaving her alone in a country where she did not know the language with a newborn and a toddler. She had no means of support, no way to feed her babies. In desperation, she went to the fields where the men worked and asked if one of them would marry her and take her two children. Many of the men said they would take one of her children, but that she would have to send the other back to Japan. She finally found a man who agreed to take both of her children and she married him. She had seven more children and when the youngest was 10, her second husband died. She was left alone with nine children. Despite this, she kept her children together and persevered.

The work, hardship, and desperate circumstances that these women endured is incredible. And yet, they faced their struggles with courage and determination. They loved their children and kept them safe no matter what. I could go on about this forever, this love of mother's. I am constantly amazed at what people, particularly women, have gone through. I mean, can you imagine having a baby while crossing the prairie in a covered wagon? And then recover from having said baby and nursing said baby all in a jolting wagon? I would have died without ibuprofen and a pump, let me tell you. During our recent trip to my in-laws, I happened to pick this history of the Lyman family book off their shelf and read it. I read about my father-in-law's mother and grandmother who raised children in the early part of last century. These women endured so much with their children-- accidents, death, both World Wars, The Depression. They were so strong and righteous.

Joseph F. Smith said, "the love of a true mother comes nearer being like the love of God than any other kind of love."

I couldn't agree more.