Mothers Who Know

Sister Julie B. Beck addressed the mothers of the world during the October 2007 General Conference. Her address was titled "Mothers Who Know." Apparently her address has stirred up a bit of controversy since it was given. When I read in the Deseret News about the frustration that people were feeling I decided to read Sister Becks address again and make my own conclusion.

In my opinion Sister Beck was completely in line. She was addressing the mothers of the world. Part of the frustration naturally stems from feminist groups who struggle with conforming to the view of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints because they feel that women in general should be free to choose a path other then motherhood. What it seems they missed in Sister Becks talk is that she was addressing women who already chose to become a mother or desires to be a mother. There are other addresses to the women of the world who are unable to have children or choose not to become a mother. But at this moment Sister Beck chose to offer some guidelines for the mothers of the world to draw from as we sojourn to raise our children in this not so peaceful world.

As my husband and I discussed this subject last night I found myself repeating the words "mothers who know." I fell asleep with this question in mind, "mothers who know what?" I had caught on to what mothers should do once we know. But I had missed exactly what we should know before we can act. So I went back to Sister Beck's address this morning. I was given the answer to my question in the last sentence of the second paragraph of Sister Becks address. It states, " When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children."

When we know 1. Who we are, 2. Who God is, and 3. Are willing to make covenants with Him, then we will Know. Sister Beck knows that understanding these three things brings wisdom into our lives and motivates us to move forward and reach our potential.

We are of Heavenly heritage. If we have a Divine heritage, then we recognize that our children are Divine. This is the motivating factor of a mother who knows. We are simply doing the very best we can to help our children reach their Divine potential. As we help our children reach their potential, we will naturally be reaching our own personal Divine potential.

Sister Beck lists several things that we can focus on as we raise our children. Realistically, if we take all of her council to heart and determine to apply it all immediately in our lives, there is a very real possibility that we might fall short. What we need to recognize is that Sister Beck did not say "Mothers who know do This, and This, and This, and she does it TOMORROW!" She just says that mothers who know will DO! Every mother has a different story and a different journey. There are many season's of life.

I have determined to take Sister Becks address and consider it a road map. I will take one step at a time and move forward each day with a prayer in my heart that just as I am a mother who knows, my sons will one day determine that they are Father's Who Know!