Today is Mother’s Day. A day where we get to celebrate the women who have raised us, changed us and guided us towards the path we travel today. Each of these women in our lives have different titles. Whether that title is grandma, friend, mentor, or mother, they have all, without exception, impacted our lives and have shaped us into the people we are today. These are the women we celebrate today. We celebrate women who guide, teach, serve and love. We celebrate women who are constantly strengthening and sharing their testimonies. Today, we celebrate women with a mother heart. So what it is a mother heart and what does it mean to have one? In her talk given in April 2004, titled A Mother Heart, Sister Julie B. Beck states, “A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her.” 

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Sister Beck also says that a women with a mother heart “stretcheth out her hand to the poor. … Strength and honour are her clothing. … She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness” Prov. 31:10, 13, 16, 20, 25–27). 

     Although today we are celebrating women who have impacted and changed our lives for good, today can also be a reminder that we can all continually strive to receive a mother heart. I love that this talk because it not only showed me what I can do to prepare for motherhood but it also taught me that I can seek to obtain a mother heart now. 

She writes, “By developing a mother heart, each girl and women prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood.” No one is denied the power and blessings of the divine mission of motherhood. We can all let the light that Heavenly Father has given each one of us shine throughout the whole world. But, Satan’s lies and deceptions can diminish this light and the motivation we have to gain a mother heart. One of Satan’s greatest tools of deception is discouragement. He will lead you to believe that you are worthless and that no matter how hard you try, you will never be good enough. No one is exempt from from the awful grasps of discouragement. Some of the greatest battles were won through the art of discouragement and fear, which includes the fear of failure, the fear of not measuring up,and the fear of never being enough. We are fighting the greatest war against the adversary every single day. But the thing about this war that is different from any other battle in history, is that we cannot sit in our homes and hear about the war on tv, because we are in it. We are fighting in the front lines of the battlefields, and living in the trenches each and every day. Using discouragement and fear, Satan attacks our front lines even more powerfully. Due to his thousands of years of practice, he is bringing forth his most powerful deceptions upon us. And where do you think he can have the greatest impact in our world today? It is right amongst us, in our homes and families. Like in ancient times the Lord has prepared for our victory, sending us his greatest source of protection and aid. In Genesis 2:18, it describes women as a help meet for man. In Hebrew, the word “help” means “ezer” which has been used many times in the Bible to describe the divine help and protection the Lord sends his people in times of war. That also is how women are described in Genesis. We are the divine help and protection the Lord has sent the world. So how do we withstand the power of Satan and fulfill our role as woman?

    There are three essential things we must do to help us be clean and resist the grasps of temptation and deception that Satan uses to gain control over our hearts.

    The first thing we must do is understand our divine identity. We are daughters of a God who loves and cares for each of his children. He knows us by name. He knows our needs and desires. No matter what mistakes we make in our life, His love for us will never change. He wants us to be happy and to receive eternal life. In second Nephi we learn that “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25). 

We came to this earth to have joy. By keeping the commandments God has given us, each of us can receive the joy and happiness that is waiting for us. 

    We learn of the second thing we must do to resist temptation and deception in the Book of Mormon. In Moroni 7:46, Moroni tells us to “cleave unto charity”. 

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Often times we tend to cleave unto things that don’t really matter in the long run. This causes us to be blinded and to make poor decisions that will affect us for the rest of our lives. If we cleave unto charity and look outside of ourselves, we will feel the power of God work miracles in our lives and in our hearts. We will be able to resist temptation more powerfully. We will feel God’s love for us and others more regularly. And we will be able to receive a mother heart. 

     Lastly, we must all use the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives daily. No matter how far off the path we feel we have traveled, we can always come back. The Savior himself will be there waiting with open arms, ready to forgive, ready to comfort and ready to sanctify us. His Atonement and sanctifying power will never fade and will never falter. 

  I know that God loves His children and that He gave His only begotten son for us. The power of the Atonement is real and we can use it to repent for our sins. I know that this church is true and I’m so grateful for the happiness it brings in my life. I also know that that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, each one is us can receive a mother heart.

Lacie