Happy Mother’s Day Sisters. I miss so much gathering with the members of our stake. Somehow the daily Zoom calls and FaceTime interviews don’t quite cut it. I miss the handshakes and the hugs. Our amazing stake relief society president, Beth Garlock, asked me to share a few comments for Mother’s Day. I am grateful for some incredible women in my life -- my mother, my wife, and the sisters with whom I serve shoulder-to-shoulder in this stake. And as I have reflected on this opportunity to share a message, I have been reminded of some of the extraordinary women in scripture and church history who have taught me about the Savior through their examples.
I’ll start with Mother Eve. Next to the Savior, I suspect no one person has made a more significant sacrifice for our salvation than Eve did. Eve partook of the fruit not out of weakness or by mistake, but of insight and courage. It was Eve who recognized that leaving the garden was necessary for her and Adam to have a family, to know good and evil, and to qualify for eternal life. It was also Eve who knew -- even as she was partaking -- that by doing so she was introducing evil and suffering into the world. That not only would she suffer the consequences of that action, but also her children and her grandchildren and all of her posterity.
Imagine the gravity of that decision, and imagine the mental suffering of knowing what flowed from it. But she had the courage to make it, because she recognized that there was no other way. And we all are indebted to her for doing it.
The second woman is Abigail, wife of Nabal in the Old Testament. We all know the story of David, who slew Goliath and became the king of Israel. Well, after David slew Goliath, David was living in the wilderness, and with a group of men, one of his jobs being to protect Nabal’s shepherds and flocks. There was a famine, and David sent his men to Nabal to ask for help. Nabal refused, and David was angry. So David and 400 men marched towards Carmel, where Nabal lived, ready for battle. Well, Nabal’s wife Abigail hears what is about to occur, and what does she do? From 1 Samuel 25:18 “Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ..., and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.” Abigail rides to meet David and then bows before him, saying (v. 24): “Upon me, my lord, upon me let this iniquity be.” Now, Abigail did nothing wrong. She did not deserve the blame for the impending bloodshed. But because of her goodness, her charity, and her humility, she freed these men from the contention and enmity that would have destroyed them.
Verse 32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me:
33 And blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand. Abigail is the great mediator, the ultimate peacemaker, and a type and symbol of the Savior and his ability to heal our relationships.
The third woman is Emma Smith. There is no restoration of the gospel without Emma Smith. When Joseph hiked the Hill Cumorah in September 1827 to retrieve the gold plates, he was not alone. He had tried the previous three years to obtain the plates, and had failed. But in January 1827, he married Emma. And with her at his side, he was finally ready to receive the plates. When Joseph began translating the Book of Mormon, who was his first scribe? Emma. She suffered immensely as a result of Joseph’s call as the prophet. She had children die as collateral damage from mob attacks. While Joseph was locked in Liberty Jail, Emma had to walk from Missouri to Nauvoo with her four children in tow, carrying two of them across the frozen Mississippi River, with Joseph’s bible translation sewn into her dress. As Joseph’s mother Lucy described her: “I have never seen a woman in my life who would endure every species of fatigue and hardship, from month to month, and from year to year, with that unflinching courage, zeal and patience ....”
When I look at the women in my life, I see elements of Eve, Abigail, and Emma. My mom devoted her life to making sure that I had a testimony and understanding of the gospel. She was beyond patient with me as a teenager. And to this day, she always knows when to call to cheer me up and give me advice. The women I get to serve with in this stake are remarkable. When I am struggling with an issue or a decision, without fail, I call Beth Garlock, and she gives me absolutely inspired counsel -- every time. Much of the inspiration I’ve received in this calling has come through her, Sister Ossola, Sister Budd, and so many other inspired sisters. The sisters on the stake council are to a person some of the most impressive, dedicated, and faithful women I have known in my life. They lead this stake shoulder to shoulder with the stake presidency and high council. And my wife Robin is the best person I know. She’s better than me in every way. She has Eve’s insight, Abigail’s charity, and Emma’s perseverance. Everything that is good in our life, everything that we’ve built or accomplished, has been because of her. She deserves the credit for everything.
I express my gratitude for every one of you sisters. Whether you have children or not, and whether your children are keeping their covenants or are far from the path, know that your Heavenly Parents love you. They are pleased with the way you strive to follow them, and for the example you are to the rest of us. Your effort will be enough, because the Savior’s sacrifice is perfect. And a loving God will compensate for every ounce of unfairness, every unfulfilled expectation, and every undeserved slight or suffering you are called to endure. You are His daughters, and He will seal you His. I know these things to be true, and bear testimony of them. And wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
