Exodus 20:12 says, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Blessings will come from honoring your parents, and today I will focus on honoring mothers. How can we honor our mothers?
As the words to the primary song go, “When my mother calls me, quickly I’ll obey.” As simple as these words are, they are very true. I have personally found that obedience to my mother is one of the best ways that I can show my love for her. There is nothing my mother wants more than to see me grow and become a spiritually strong and Christ-like son of God. She raises me to become the best I can be. Like the young men of the great Army of Helaman who attributed the spirit they felt to their mothers who taught them, I am grateful for my mother for teaching me the gospel. Alma 56:48 says “We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” Our mothers do know what's best for us and we should obey them.
Perhaps the greatest example of the honor we can show for our mothers is by looking at how Jesus Christ treated his own mother. In Galilee there was a marriage, and Jesus’ mother was attending. Jesus and his apostles were needed at the wedding when there was no more wine. Jesus then asked his mother in John 2:4, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” At the time, “woman” was a highly respectful term. Jesus was respectfully asking what he could do to serve his mother. Both respect and service are great ways to honor our mothers. Respect is looking up to someone, understanding and abiding by what they say, and being polite when speaking with them. Every time we choose not to talk back to our mothers or even fight with our siblings shows mothers that we love them and want them to be happy. Service shows that we not only love our mothers but are willing to spend our time helping them, when they spend so much of their time helping and raising us. This can take many forms, whether it's doing a chore you weren't asked to do, offering to help your mother with the things she needs, and caring for her when she is sick. When Jesus was suffering on the cross, his disciple and his mother were standing by him. Jesus speaks to this disciple in John 19:27, saying “Behold thy mother!” and the disciple took his mother to his home. How true! Behold the remarkable nurturing of your mother as she sacrifices time to fulfill her sacred role in the family. These are all how we can honor our mothers: obedience, respect, service, showing the deep love and charity we have for our mothers. Though there are many, I would like to talk about one other thing we can do through the power of prayer. Pray to know what you can do to honor your mother. Every person is in different circumstances and the best person we can get assistance from is God. Pray for your mother. Ask for her to receive blessings, and not only can we pray, but we should then seek to fulfill the things that the spirit prompts us to do. Finally, in a 1973 talk, Thomas S. Monson said “May each of us treasure this truth; one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one.” When we honor our mothers, we honor God. I bear my testimony that I know we can feel joy and the peace the spirit brings when we honor our mothers. I know my mother also feels joy when I honor her. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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