It was perhaps the best talk I gave as a bishop. don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging. Even now, 4 years after her passing, I miss her. Im the counselor in charge of calling speakers for Mothers Day. She was not worthy of any review from me. My mother died just a little less than a year ago, and I find that I never appreciated Mothers Day at all until now that my mother is gone. I would love to avoid Mothers Day meetings, just because they are usually tedious, but I love to go for the sake of seeing my kids sing. Latter-day Saints to Attend Sacrament Meeting Only on Christmas Day Church Newsroom November 10, 2022 Church The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has. Personally, I go to church to learn about Jesus and Christ like attributes. I have suggested the donate-money-to-the-shelter thing for about four years now; it gets a blank stare, followed by a startled, oh! Families are good about this but public acknowledgement is hard to come by. When her dad found out that there was a whole lottashakin goin on without him, he summarily divorced his adulterous wife and took the children to live with him. She talked about how when she was single she was very shallow, only cared about clothes and makeup and boys, didnt prepare herself spiritually, didnt have much of a testimony, and then upon marrying found herself extremely immature and woefully unprepared to be a spiritual leader in her home. I did live in one ward where the mothers always got plants but the fathers always got cookies. The only Mothers Day event for another church Im aware of is when a friend told me that in her church the main talk is always about Christ no matter what holiday it is, but when its just the women the speaker will focus on motherhood and Christs teaching about mothers. However, I am concerned about the implications of a people where the female population dislikes the concept of motherhood or at least dislikes it enough that they do not want to celebrate Mother's Day. The US holiday was only adopted in 1870 and was also used to protest the sacrifices mothers had made when their sons were killed at war or killed the sons of other mothers during the Civil War. Since my mom has unacknowledged mental health issues, this is my oldest sister and a lady in L.A. who I still keep in contact with. Mothers Day is celebrated, and increasingly commercialized, but my impression of the local situation is that ones obligation to honor ones mother is largely discharged at home. I do think it is easy to understand my point and I appreciate it when others understand my position. Cannot load blog information at this time. Trust her. Well done! As for me, I will be sitting this Mothers day out. I dont remember all 18 things, but two of them stuck with me, even 15 years later. Doesn't seem strange in a religion that supposedly is so family focused? Even men who are on diets. Bear in mind thatmost of women in the congregation havelives that havent turned out the way they expected. April 24, 2015 in General Discussions. But Ive also read this: 40 Behold, ye are little children and ye cannot bear all things now; ye must grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth. Primary kids singing, oh, 12 songs, and then someone real standing up and talking about the incredible power of hope, even when we feel that we dont measure up, and the wonder of the atonement and Gods love for us. Alma 56:47-48. I exchanged the word "guidance " for the word " mothers " in this verse to help it go with the Mother's Day theme. LDS Program Covers | Baptisms, Sacrament Meetings, Church Activities The reminder was given to visit those sisters unable to attend on Mothers Day. We should not celebrate anything unless it is universally acknowledged around the world. Thank you. Mothers Day was open so I said ok, I will come up with something appropriate. For sacrament meeting, we can give the men a sternly worded warning about the danger of tehpernogriffiez. But I still think the Dove bars our bishop chooses rock the holiday. On Sunday Morning my sister and I drove almost 2 hours each way to go visit my maternal grandmothers grave. I meant an ideal not an idea! Sacrament - LDS Living In one of my wards, the women of the congregation were given wooden spoons as their gifts at the end of the meeting. 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She cares about your eternal safety and happiness. She was a wonderful example for motherhood, womanhood, and peoplehood. Does this mean that finally..a talk could be about our Heavenly Mothers? It was an emotional rollercoaster of raised hopes and disappointments. I totally agree. The "Sacrament Meeting Program" app provides users a quick, easy way to create their sacrament meeting programs. But I certainly enjoyed the beauty of the whole situation and was very glad to see so many young peole in the Church on Sunday. iPhone. XD. anon, pretty sure hearing about an old guys non-existent sex life is worse. The good news is, most sisters want chocolate from their ward family and most sisters usually get chocolate. Actually now that I do have children, the primary song Im so glad when Daddy comes home has taken on a new meaning for me. 41 Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; 42 And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost.. I think Emma and Naomi are very neglected women in our teachings (understatement considering the general neglect). I figure maybe in the next life I will be someones Heavenly Mother. Use Mothers Day as an example of how a saint can use a tradition of men as an acceptable way to express Gods love and promulgate the Gospel. Just pass out the chocolates and let all the women go to a park where buckets of KFC, potato salad and slaw are in abundance and/or veggie pizza and cheesecake. It appears that we have adopted the perverted sense of inclusion to such a degree that we cannot mention our gratitude for our mothers and motherhood without "hurting" or "marginalizing" those who are not mothers. An ideal is fine to have in your own life, but imo it is dangerous to attempt to have one for a worldwide religious organization. Ugh ugh ugh. Please Please Please! lesson about prayer. For example, look at how Mothers Day and Mothering Day each have a religious as well as a secular component to them, and have even merged: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother's_Day, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday. Aleah is a graduate of Southern Virginia University, where she studied English, Creative Writing, and Dance. Im against handing out plants on Mothers Day. I have been given mostly free reign on my message. It seems sometimes that activity organizers believe somehow that no one will participate if not bribed by pizza, pop, potato chips or pie. Just sharing those times with women in the scriptures and what we can learn from them - and NOT have a focus on mothers. I pray the Spirit will be with me today as I give this talk. Every year someone has to pick up the flowers for my ward. I have heard good talks and bad talks, and really dislike the sacralizing of the universal and perfectly average activity of mothering. Along with activities and programs during the week, Latter-day Saints gather on Sundays for an approximately hour-long "sacrament" meeting, where men, women and younger members offer prayers and give sermons, sing hymns and partake of the sacrament (similar to receiving communion). Ere the sun goes down, when she becomes a God like I know she will she will be an inspriation to all ladys, I spoke about her one year. After living with me for almost 17 years, hed better get it right! So be kind to her. Let's apply your logic standard to other holidays. Im asking this out of genuine curiosity/responsibility for handing stuff out. What My Son Heard on Mother's Day - LDS Women Project My own father would probably appreciate a plant, but fortunately he enjoys cookies too. Their talks often included poems about the immeasurable amount of crap mothers had to deal with. A nod to moms but no pedestal worshiping. Its a complete set-up for failure. Mothers Day Sacrament Meeting: Impossible to Win Why does the church HAVE to be a part of it? The only thing I might try if I were in charge would be to put out pink, white, red carnations and safety pins and invite everyone in the ward to wear a carnation to honor their mother pink/red if shes living, white if shes passed away. Is this really the Mothers Day message I need? They cannot eat it, and in fact just having the stuff around is a serious temptation to do so. He invites mothers to count the debits and credits in your role as a mother. President Hinckley then goes through a number of important gospel teachings mothers should focus on. I do look forward to handing the kids over to my husband for the day, but Ill take a pass on sacrament meeting. They may have services on Holy Mother Mary but then again, she left her son behind in Jerusalem and didnt even notice she had forgotten him for quite some time before going back to look for him so not sure about her mothering skills ;)). Gospel Q&A: My Children Have Left the Church & I Worry for Their Souls. It very gently re-addressed several of the points that were flying in the newspapers and throughout the church in the Mothers Who Know backlash. The bad ones tend to deal withthe big generalities, praisingmotherhood without even pausing to define whether we are speaking of women who have given birth, or womanhood in general. Talk topics could be: - examples in the scriptures (Eve, Ruth, Naomi, Esther, Sarah, Mary, Sariah, etc), - early Saints (Lucy Mack, Emma, Eliza R Snow, Aurelia Rogers, etc), - influence of (teachers, nurses, aunts, grandmas, etc). My son Dan was married June 13 about a week ago. We are an outlandishly weird, mixed up bunch of folk. For the past two years, I have been passed over because other women tell the youth passing out the gift, that they need to take one for so-and-so, shes ill today,without looking for women in the room that havent received one yet. I had assumed it was a greeting card holiday of commercial origins, but it is actually (like Christmas) based on Roman pagan traditions. I found out the hard way after a long list of them declined to give the talk. President Hinckley directly addresses mothers in this talk, commending them for the wonderful thing they have done by becoming mothers, but offering insights on their greatest challenge: to be able to answer the question How well have my children done? with happiness. Our new bishop, for the last three years, gave no gift or acknowledgement. He also discussed the importance of placing motherhood first in our lives but not allowing the pressures of motherhood to sap us of joy. This morning I decided to Google search Mothers Day LDS talks and came upon this article. But in Argentina, where Mothers Day is in October, they also tended to recognize International Womens Day (March 8) even in church (in addition to a wide variety of other holidays Childrens Day, Grandparents Day, etc.). It was my missionary farewell, back when such things were acceptable. Dont take us out of Primary to go eat Treats! While it addresses questions about how to raise a girl, the talk also discusses the nobility of fatherhood, the influence fathers have on children, how to cherish your wife, and why virtue is so important. Gospel Q&A: I Feel Guilty That I Cant Fast Because of Medical Reasons. No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.. So, I am assigned to give a talk next week. Just a thought. Ugh.chocolate and cheescake.and NO TALKS!!! Print out the short questionnaires included in the printable and distribute them to the mothers in your ward a few weeks before Mother's Day. Mark did as well in his postminus the saccharine and accent. And he completely meant it too. I would also love all quotes, conf talks, songs be from women to reinforce the value/insight/talent women have. By Nice post Mark, I think we do need to be careful about how we say some of the things we do in church, and elsewhere. Speaking for myself, I think Fathers Day is much easier. Oh, and my husband is speaking in our ward this Mothers Day. I actually think its good to celebrate both Mothers and Fathers Days with the caveat to be sensitive to the feelings of those who have difficulty with that celebration. Get plenty HPs and Elders. And home teachers were not comfortable giving flowers or candy to a single sister. And out the door I flee. The greatest Mormon blog in the universe. This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:1920). This was very informative and interesting. Find another way to show appreciation to Mothers! Are you looking for the best LDS talks on motherhood? The hard part for me is when I hear talks about angel mothers where I actually know whom they are talking about. I was reading about the origins of Mothers Day. How cool someone reading my rambling! I guess mothers also die, just like plants, but not usually at our own hands. You can guess how well that went over. Ere the sun goes down: The Bishopric's Guide to Mother's Day at Church I did this for five years and the sisters seemed to enjoy sitting, chatting, and not having a child demanding a bit of their pie. Sadly, though, it probably caused a lot of pain to the listeners. Some few are probably actively trying to avoid the gifts, trying hard to not remember the lack thats been rubbed in her face all day long. Thats the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me! Is this our Sharon Haynie from DN branch? But shes never experienced the horrors I have where the local ward nut case talks about how his wife isnt putting out thanks to menopause. This has been a great reminder to be sensitive to all in the congregation with the Holy Ghost as a guide. In my nearly 40 years in the church that has borne true. How about honoring our mothers by not just focusing on what they do or have done for us (guilt trip for those that feel they never do enough) but focus on ways the members can help their mothers throughout each stage of their life. Ere the sun goes down, I have attended other Christian churches enough to realize why it is much less likely that they have painful mothers day talks. Yes, the rhetoric has calmed down, but is certainly still present. If you want to hear about angel mothers and perfect people, remain in the chapel. It hasnt yet. There have been one or two General Conference talks in the last couple of years that briefly addressed that situation. Inevitably they would be instructed that the gifts were for all women, so theyd try hard to give me one. A later version of the holiday occurred in Europe where they would celebrate the Mother Church (the church as the bride of Christ and as the mother of their spiritual rebirth through baptism) and they would decorate the church with flowers and jewels. #37 Now that you mention it, Uchtdorf is pretty Hallmarky. How could I forget? Mother's Day Last year I used the last verse of "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" and the song "Teacher/Mother Do You Love Me" for the Mother's Day Primary songs in sacrament meeting. Actually..mother's day should be everyday. . Great, and I was just asked to talk on Sunday, I guess I will be very careful. Its hard to please everyone. Thank you. I wish you were speaking in my ward! Pres Hinckley and apparently Mark has it right.