Julie B. Beck
First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency
By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood.
I have often heard my father describe my mother as a woman with a "mother
heart," and that is true. Her mothering influence has been felt by many
hundreds, perhaps thousands of people, and she has refined the role of nurturer
to an art form. Her testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and strong
sense of identity and purpose have guided her life.
She took longer than most women to find her husband, but during her single
years she had devoted her life to progress. Though it was uncommon at the time,
she was university educated and advancing in a career. Following her marriage,
children arrived in quick succession; and in a short span of years, she was
the mother of a large family. All the knowledge she had acquired, all her natural
abilities and gifts, all her skills were channeled into an organization that
had no earthly bounds. As a covenant-keeping daughter of God, she had prepared
all her life for motherhood.
What is a mother heart and how is one acquired? We learn about some of those
qualities in the scriptures. To paraphrase Proverbs: "Who can find a . . . woman [with a mother heart]? for her price is far above rubies. . . . She . . . worketh willingly with her hands. . . . With the fruit of her hands she
planteth a vineyard. . . . She stretcheth out her hand to the poor. . . . Strength
and honour are her clothing. . . . She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in
her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household,
and eateth not the bread of idleness" (Proverbs
31:10, 13, 16, 20, 25–27).
A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she
teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred
covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly.
She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her
mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations
who follow her.
If she has children, she is a "goodly parent" (1
Nephi 1:1) who
lives and teaches standards of behavior exactly in line with the teachings
of living prophets. She teaches her "children to pray, and to walk uprightly
before the Lord" (D&C 68:28). Rather than listening to the voices
and partial truths of the world, she knows that gospel standards are based
on eternal, unchangeable truths. She believes that to be "primarily responsible
for the nurture of [her] children" is a vital, dignified, and "sacred
responsibilit[y]" ("The
Family: A Proclamation to the World," Liahona, Oct.
1998, 24; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). To nurture and feed them physically
is as much an honor as to nurture and feed them spiritually. She is "not
weary in well-doing" and delights to serve her family, because she knows
that "out of small things proceedeth that which is great" (D&C
64:33).
Oh, that every girl and woman would have a testimony of her potential for
eternal motherhood as she keeps her earthly covenants. "Each is a beloved . . . daughter
of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine . . . destiny" ("The
Family: A Proclamation to the World"). As spirit daughters of God, women "received
their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth" (D&C
138:56) on the earth. They were among the "noble and great ones" (D&C
138:55) who "shouted for joy" (Job
38:7) at the creation of the earth
because they would be given a physical body with the opportunity to be proven
in a mortal sphere (see Abraham
3:25). They wished to work side by side with
righteous men to accomplish eternal goals that neither can attain independently.
Female roles did not begin on earth, and they do not end here. A woman who
treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the world to come,
and "where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also" (Matthew
6:21). By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her
divine, eternal mission of motherhood. "Whatever principle of intelligence
[she] attain[s] unto in this life, it will rise with [her] in the resurrection.
And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through
[her] diligence and obedience than another, [she] will have so much the advantage
in the world to come" (D&C 130:18–19).
In my experience I have seen that some of the truest mother hearts beat in
the breasts of women who will not rear their own children in this life, but
they know that "all things must come to pass in their time" and that
they "are laying the foundation of a great work" (D&C
64:32–33).
As they keep their covenants, they are investing in a grand, prestigious future
because they know that "they who keep their second estate shall have glory
added upon their heads for ever and ever" (Abraham
3:26).
I was recently at a park where I met a group of women with mother hearts.
They were young, covenant-keeping women. They were bright and had obtained
advanced degrees from respected universities. Now they were devoting their
considerable gifts to planning dinner that evening and sharing housekeeping
ideas. They were teaching two-year-olds to be kind to one another. They were
soothing babies, kissing bruised knees, and wiping tears. I asked one of those
mothers how it came about that she could transfer her talents so cheerfully
into the role of motherhood. She replied, "I know who I am, and I know
what I am supposed to do. The rest just follows." That young mother will
build faith and character in the next generation one family prayer at a time,
one scripture study session, one book read aloud, one song, one family meal
after another. She is involved in a great work. She knows that "children
are an heritage of the Lord" and "happy is the [woman] that hath
[a] quiver full of them" (Psalm
127:3, 5). She knows that the influence
of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily mothering is far more lasting,
far more powerful, far more influential than any earthly position or institution
invented by man. She has the vision that, if worthy, she has the potential
to be blessed as Rebekah of old to be "the mother of thousands of millions" (Genesis
24:60).
Covenant-keeping women with mother hearts know that whether motherhood comes
early or late; whether they are blessed with a "quiver full" of children
here in mortality or not; whether they are single, married, or left to carry
the responsibility of parenthood alone—in holy temples they are "endowed
with power from on high" (D&C 38:32), and with that endowment they
receive the promised blessings and are "persuaded of them, and embraced
them" (Hebrews 11:13).
Every girl and woman who makes and keeps sacred covenants can have a mother
heart. There is no limit to what a woman with a mother heart can accomplish.
Righteous women have changed the course of history and will continue to do
so, and their influence will spread and grow exponentially throughout the eternities.
How grateful I am to the Lord for trusting women with the divine mission of
motherhood. Like Mother Eve I am "glad" (see Moses
5:11) to know these
things. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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