On Being a Good Mother – Sunday, May 12, 1946
It is always appropriate to comment on the glorious theme of motherhood, although it would be difficult to add anything to the halo that already surrounds this name, so noble have been the traditions, and so deeply cherished in our hearts are the memories of the mothers of men. Of course, not all mothers have lived up to the highest ideals of their sacred trust; nor have all children; nor have all fathers.
To some, motherhood has been seemingly not much more than a trouble, some obligation, or an unwanted duty, to be gotten over with as quickly and with as little inconvenience as possible. But those mothers who have inspired the lofty tributes of this day, and of all past years, have been those to whom motherhood has been a lifelong career of loving service and sacrifice. No doubt we have taken much for granted where mothers are concerned. Too often we have assumed that being a good mother is one of those things that just happens.
We go along training our girls for every other conceivable thing in the world, and suddenly that time of life comes when they marry and make homes of their own and find themselves in the role of mothers, wide-eyed and wondering as to the years to come. Of course, intuition and love and necessity do much to redeem the situation, but we may well ask ourselves whether we are justified in doing so much more for lesser careers, to the neglect of the greatest career that ever has or ever will be open to any woman—for, however trite it may be to say it, and however many times it may have been said, the future of the world lies in the hands of its mothers. As they rear and nurture and teach their children—or fail to do so—so may we expect the future to be fashioned.
Ultimately, the bond that holds the world together as a respectable and stable social organization, is the authority and integrity of the home, in which families respect and cherish and care for their own, and in doing so learn to respect and cherish and care for others. Blessed is the home in which there is the ministering spirit of a good and intelligent and devoted mother. And blessed is the nation that has such homes to give it strength.
“The Spoken Word,” heard over Radio Station K S L and the nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System, from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Sunday, May 12, 1946, 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, EDST. Copyright 1946
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May 12, 1946
Broadcast Number 0,873