“There is no role in life more essential and more eternal than that of motherhood. -Elder M. Russell Ballard

Our homes are filled with the modern-day stripling warriors, which means that we are the mothers of those stripling warriors. I love to read the stories of their courage and their faith, their diligence and their obedience. Yet, I can’t ignore the fact that it was their mothers who taught them. Their mothers who had faith, courage, diligence and obedience. It was their mothers who viciously fought to strengthen the children so that they would be able to fight the enemy. It was the mothers who are were diligent in not allowing distractions to stop them from those things that were the of the upmost importance. It was the mothers who believed with their whole heart, mind and soul that if they would follow the Lord with exactness he would fight their battles. Those same mothers taught their children without excuse or justification. Those mothers knew who they were and the knew who their children were. Those  mothers were undaunted in their faith, knowing that through their actions and words they were raising the Lord’s army.

Alma 56:47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.

Alma 57:19 But behold, my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most desperately; yea, they were firm before the Lamanites, and did administer death unto all those who opposed them. 20 And as the remainder of our army were about to give way before the Lamanites, behold, those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted.21 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.

The war that rages in our children’s life is the most vicious known to man. Those who saw our day cringed at what they perceived we would have to go through. Our children have been saved until this time in life to come to earth to fight this battle. They have been trained in heaven for this purpose  of gathering Israel and preparing the earth for the Savior. They are reserved because they fought valiantly next to Christ in the pre-mortal battle. Christ is counting on them to be able to resist the adversary. They can do it! Especially if we give them the protection and wisdom they need to withstand the storms. Our children will also will be able to lean on the faith and courage that we teach them. They, too, will say “I was taught by my mother.” Imagine those words written in the journals and recordings of our day, and knowing that we did our best as mothers.

“We must not be, deceived by the sophistries of men concerning the reality of Satan. There is a personal devil, and we had better believe it. He and a countless host of followers, seen and unseen, are exercising a controlling influence upon men and their affairs in our world today.

An ancient American prophet, envisioning our day and observing what is going on, prophesied that if Satan is not checked, he will bring this generation to destruction. Addressing himself to our present situation, Nephi said:

“… the kingdom of the devil must shake, and they which belong to it must needs be stirred up unto repentance, or the devil will grasp them with his everlasting chains, and they be stirred up to anger, and perish;

“For behold, at that day [that’s today] shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good.

“And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well–and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.

“And behold, others he flattereth away, and telleth them there is no hell; and he saith unto them: I am no devil, for there is none–and thus he whispereth in their ears, until he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance.” (2 Ne. 28:19–22.)

Now I am not calling attention to these things to frighten, stampede, or discourage anyone. I refer to them because I know they are true, and I am persuaded that if we are to “conquer Satan, and … escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work” (D&C 10:5), we must understand and recognize the situation as it is. This is no time for Latter-day Saints to equivocate.

Nor is it a time for us to panic. The difficulties of our times have not come upon us unawares. A hundred and forty years ago the Lord clearly revealed the tenor of our times. We know that as the second coming of the Savior approaches, the tempo of Satan’s campaign for the souls of men is being and will continue to be accelerated. We know that the experiences of the intervening years will try men’s souls.

We also know that God lives; that his “eternal purposes … shall roll on.” We know that to qualify us to prevail against Satan and his wicked hosts, we have been given the gospel of Jesus Christ. We know that the Spirit of Christ and the power of his priesthood are ample shields to the power of Satan. We know that there is available to each of us the gift of the Holy Ghost–the power of revelation which embraces the gift of discernment by which we may unerringly detect the devil and the counterfeits he is so successfully foisting upon this gullible generation. Our course is clear and certain. It is to strictly obey the commandments of the Lord, as they are recorded in the scriptures and as they are being given by the living prophets.” -Marion G. Romney 1971

Closely related to teaching is listening and understanding. It is difficult to fully teach when there’s a barrier misunderstanding about what’s really happening in our children’s lives. The answers are all the same, but the approach will make all the difference. It’s not good enough to pull out the textbook lecture, they need us to give them the lecture that has been derived from the promptings of the Holy Ghost after prayerfully seeking guidance from Heavenly Father as we contemplate each child’s struggles.

“We need not live in fear of the future. We have every reason to rejoice and little reason to fear. If we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we will be safe, whatever the future holds. We will be shown what to do.” -Boyd K. Packer

“The Holy Ghost teaches by inviting, prompting, encouraging, and inspiring us to act. Christ assured us that we come to the truth when we live doctrine and act accordingly. The Spirit leads, guides, and shows us what to do. He will not, however, do for us what only we can do for ourselves. You see, the Holy Ghost cannot learn for us, feel for us, or act for us because this would be contrary to the doctrine of agency. He can facilitate opportunities and invite us to learn, feel, and act.

Those who teach after this manner of the Spirit help others by inviting, encouraging, and providing them opportunities to use their agency. Parents, leaders, and teachers realize they cannot feel for, learn for, or even repent for their family, congregation, or class members. Rather than asking, “What can I do for my children, class members, or others?” they ask, “How do I invite and help those around me to learn for themselves?” Parents who mirror the workings of the Holy Ghost create homes where families learn to value rather than just learn about values. In like manner, rather than just talking about doctrines, teachers help learners understand and live gospel doctrines. The Holy Ghost is unrestrained as individuals exercise their agency appropriately.” -Matthew O. Richardson

The attacks are coming from every angle. Their are bows and arrows in the air, spears on the ground, canons in the distance. We may be able to perceive one of the angles, but through attentive listening and being aware of our children’s lives we will be able to see the full battlefield and know how to address it. There will be wounds, it’s the nature of battles. They may be some that feel like the end is near. Somewhere we must believe in our children, trust in our teaching, and have faith in God’s never ending love. Somehow during those injuries we have to be even closer to the spirit to know what is needed to help our little warriors. Some wounds can get infected, just keep believing and don’t give up. Christ is the great healer, he will direct you to know what to do. Do your best mommas!! Leave the rest to God. 

“There is no sin or transgression, pain or sorrow, which is outside the healing power of His Atonement.” -C. Scott Grow

Alma 57:25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.

“The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculations.” – James E. Faust

-Sherri Jorgensen