BECAUSE SHE IS A MOTHER

 

 (Art: Safe In Mother's Arms by Greg Collins)

“There are some lines attributed to Victor Hugo [in his 1874 novel “Ninety Three” which explored the counter-revolutionary revolts which occurred during the period of the French Revolution. A scene near the beginning of the book depicted a group of military men who encountered a woman with her baby and her two young children who were all starving] which read:

“She broke the bread into two fragments and gave them to her children, who ate with eagerness.

‘She hath kept none for herself’, grumbled the Sergeant.

‘Because she is not hungry’, said the soldier.

‘No’, said the Sergeant, ‘because she is a mother’.

“When you have come to the Lord in meekness and lowliness of heart and, as one mother said, ‘pounded on the doors of heaven to ask for, to plead for, to demand guidance and wisdom and help for this wondrous task’ that door is thrown open to provide you the influence and the help of all eternity.

“Claim the promises of the Saviour of the world. Ask for the healing balm of the Atonement for whatever may be troubling you or your children. Know that in faith things will be made right in spite of you, or more correctly, because of you.

“You can’t possibly do this alone, but you do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you – He who resolutely goes after the lost sheep, sweeps thoroughly to find the lost coin, waits everlastingly for the return of the prodigal son.

“Yours is the work of salvation, and therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may sometimes feel that to be.

“Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And ‘press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope’. You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even – no, especially – when your days and your nights may be the most challenging.

“Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master’s garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and sometimes weep over their responsibility as mothers, ‘Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole’. And it will make your children whole as well.” 

-        (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "Because She Is A Mother", April 1997 General Conference)