A novel by French writer Victor Hugo tells of a small group of soldiers who met a starving woman and her children in the woods. Moved with compassion, the sergeant handed her a piece of bread from his rations.
“Taking the bread, she broke it in two and gave it to the children. …
“‘She has not saved any for herself,’ growled the sergeant.
“‘Because she is not hungry,’ remarked a soldier.
“‘Because she is a mother,’ said the sergeant.”[1]
Today and always, we honor mothers. We honor their selfless love. We honor their sacrifices. At the same time, we recognize that many mothers worry they haven’t done enough and wish they could do more. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland assured such mothers with these words: “If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do, and all that God expects you to do.”[2]
We may not be able to fully appreciate what our mothers have done for us. But we can see to it that their labor of love does not go unnoticed. By the way we live our lives, we can declare that a mother’s influence on her children is beyond calculation, even if it is not truly valued until a future day.
Middle-aged man: “I’m so grateful for my mother. She wasn’t perfect, but she was good and supportive and wise. I feel blessed to be her son. I probably didn’t realize it at the time, but I can see now that her love and support helped me become the person I am today.”
Young mother: “I’ll be honest—it’s exhausting! Some days are definitely harder than others. But you just do your best. And the next day, you do it again, because you know in your heart how important it is. What keeps me going is the love I feel for my family.”
Older mom/grandma: “I learned as a mother, and now a grandmother, to keep the big picture in mind. Sometimes we focus so much on only the present moment, and we miss how precious our children are. They grow so quickly, and each stage of life is a reminder of how blessed we are to be mothers.”
Mother Teresa was the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, dedicated to helping the poorest of the poor. Known and beloved worldwide for her compassion and humanitarian heart, she received numerous honors, including the Nobel Peace Prize and the title of saint in the Catholic Church. And yet, though she bore no children of her own, the title for which she is best known is simply “Mother.”
Motherhood matters. Indeed, few things in life matter more. Of all the good causes in the world, of all the ways we might try to make the world a better place, none have greater power and potential than the profound influence of a mother on a child. And so today and always, we honor and celebrate, remember, and thank mothers.
Young girl: “I love my mom so much. She is the best. I want to be like her and be as kind and smart and loving as she is.”
40–50-year-old man: “I can’t even express how grateful I am for my wife, the mother of our children. She helps each one of us so much—unselfishly, lovingly.”
50-year-old woman/mom: “I have to admit, I haven’t always liked Mother’s Day all that much. I would hear about how wonderful everyone’s mother is, and I never felt like I measured up. But I’ve come to realize that God doesn’t need me to be a perfect mother. He just asks that I do what I can, and to love. And because motherhood is such a sacred, important work, He’ll be with me every step of the way.”
[1] Victor Hugo, Ninety-Three (1888), 15.
[2] Jeffrey R. Holland, “Because She Is a Mother,” Ensign, May 1997, 36.
________________________________________________________
May 08, 2022
Broadcast Number 4,834
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductor
Mack Wilberg
Ryan Murphy
Organist
Linda Margetts
Host
Lloyd Newell
I Think the World Is Glorious
Alexander Schreiner; arr. Mack Wilberg
Mother, Tell Me the Story
Janice Kapp Perry; arr. Mack Wilberg
Songs My Mother Taught Me
Antonin Dvořák
Spiritfire
Benjamin Tucker
My God Is So High
African American spiritual; arr. Ryan Murphy
Be Thou My Vision
Irish melody; arr. Mack Wilberg
A Mother’s Love
David Len Allen
Fill the World with Love, from Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Leslie Bricusse; arr. Mack Wilberg