A Mother's Duty

A Mother's duty is to Love.

That's practically what the word Mother means. Ideally it would mean that the mother would be able to spend her time at home with society's most important figures. Her children. They are not staying at home just to keep house. That is not what is most important. Above all, her time is most valuably spent with her children. Teaching them, nurturing them, playing with them, and above all, loving them.

A Mother's duty is to love. As women, we are born with an innate instinct and ability to love. But that ability is also partially learned from the example of the mothers before. If a child is not loved, then how can they learn to love? These pure children came to us from our Heavenly Father. They have already been taught and shown how to love by Him. We are to love them also, for their memories have been swept clean, although their hearts still feel what they felt when living with Heavenly Father.

A Mother's duty is to love. The world has become a harder and harder place. In a lot of ways it has become cold and unloving. If no one else is to love that child, at least their mother will. Hopefully. Their father will too. When they have no one else to turn to, hopefully they'll have their mother. When everyone else is tearing them down, hopefully they will still have their mother. When others break their heart and leave them lonely, hopefully their mother is still there for them.

A Mother's duty is to love. If they teach that child nothing else, they will still have succeeded. Love is the hardest lesson to teach, and even harder to get someone to believe. If the parents didn't love or show their love for their children, it can become very hard for that child to believe that anyone else could. William Shakespeare said, "They do not love that do not show their love." And no, love is not just providing for their physical needs. Another well-known saying goes like this, "Parents must fill their child's bucket of self-esteem so full that the world cannot possibly poke enough holes in it to drain it dry." Never underestimate the great power that strong self-esteem can have in a person's life. It can literally change their whole lives.

If you are going to have a child, you better be able to love them. If you cannot, think about giving them to someone who will. Love is the most important thing a child needs in their development. It does not matter if you provide them with all the nicest clothes and fanciest gadgets. The child would prefer to have someone that loves them rather than all that other useless garbage.

How do you love someone? You spend time with them. Time is so absolutely and totally critical. You talk to them. Listen to them. Treat their thoughts and ideas with Respect, and love them all the more for it. Be trustworthy. Make sure you are a solid rock that they can lean on. Do not falter. Never, Ever tear them down. They do not need that, and it will Never do them any good. They are young, precious, pure, and sensitive. Strengthen them. Build them up. Tell them they're great, and smart, and wonderful, and that you love them. Treat them with gentleness and righteous persuasion. Never should you exercise unrighteous dominion.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has said, "Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind." There is a big difference between raising children, and being a mother to them.

These children are too precious and too pure to lose them. We really need them to be strong in the world today. We need them more than ever, and we need them stronger than ever before.

If you love them, everything else will fall into place. If you love them, everything else will come naturally. If you love them, they will never totally forsake. If you love them, they will be able to love themselves. If you don't, then they will really struggle.

A Mother's duty is to Love.
Please Love Them.

Tara J. Howard


Copyright November 2014