Lessons From Eve

I love this by Elder Russell M. Nelson.....

"As Adam bore the responsibilities of fatherhood, so Eve bore the responsibilities of motherhood. She did not shirk them. So with welcome arms you may gratefully greet those children God may send, through your divine design as cocreator. With your husband, be obedient to the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth, as your opportunity, your spiritual guidance, your wisdom, and your health allow. You will gain joy and rejoicing in your posterity. That enrichment becomes more beautiful and precious with each passing year.
For you childless sisters and those without companions, remember the eternal timetable of the Lord is much longer than the lonely hours of your preparation or the total of this mortal life. These are only as microseconds when compared to eternity. Your willingness and worthiness are surely known to Him. The spiritual rewards of motherhood are available to all women. Nurturing the young, comforting the frightened, protecting the vulnerable, teaching and giving encouragement need not- and should not- be limited to our own children.
Sisters, be patient. I know something of the pressures you feel. Your kitchens are too small. Your budgets are too tight. Demands upon you exceed your capacity to help all you cry out to you. Through it all, "Improve the shining moments; Don't let them pass you by"(Hymns, 1985, no. 226). Take time for spiritual regeneration.
I'll share a few lines that have sustained Sister Nelson through the years. They also reflect her sense of priority:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow.
For babies grow up,
We've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs.
Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby,
And babies don't keep.

I'm glad Sister Nelson has not tried to be a "supermom". But she has been a "soothing" mom. This she has done simply by being herself. When priorities are in place, one can more patiently tolerate unfinished business."

Lessons from Eve by Elder Russell M. Nelson given November 1987
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Degrees

I love my calling at church. I get to teach the 16-18 year old young women. They are really wonderful girls and today I had such a neat experience teaching them. We were talking about Lehonti in the Book of Mormon and how he was poisoned by degrees. He started out on the top of a mountain and refused to come down, but he gradually listened to the enticings of his enemy and was eventually overtaken and killed. I read to them a quote by Sister Elaine Dalton about how we as women and men could be poisoned 'by degrees' today, to be deceived and led astray in many different ways. She said,

"What could be more deceptive that to entice women, young and old, you and me, to be so involved in ourselves, our looks, our clothes, our body shape and size that we lose sight of our divine identity and our ability to change the world through our virtuous influence?"

As I looked into the eyes of these beautiful young women in front of me, I was overwhelmed with the great purpose that they and each of us as women have. I was so grateful to be able to bear my testimony to those sweet girls about what it means to be a woman and what our divine identity is. We are destined to be mothers for eternity....to be nurturers forever! What a magnificent purpose! I am so sad when I hear what the world tells us is important. I feel so sad when women have to prove that they are more than just mothers. What could possibly be more?! Whether we are mothers physically on this earth, or mothers in the heart, women are mothers! Motherhood is not just the act of bearing and raising children, it is a state of being. I think that mothering is love and that love extends far beyond our own families. I think that every woman has this gift of mothering in her....we either choose to nurture those feelings and learn how to develop our abilities to love and soothe and bless and serve, or we choose to quench those feelings and drown them out with the voices of the world. I believe, with Sister Dalton, that women who know and embrace their divine role can change the world through our virtuous influence! I want to lift my voice to the world and shout that I rejoice in my womanhood! I love being a woman! I want to choose to listen to the truth about who I am and not be deceived by the lies of satan, however small a degree of a lie it may be.

The Power of the Mommy Instinct

I am sure a lot of you have heard about this story. There is a woman in Australia who delivered her twins premature at 27 weeks. Her daughter lived, but the doctors said that her son was dead. They handed him to her wrapped in a blanket. She unwrapped him and put him on her chest and held him. She talked to him and cuddled him and fed him some breastmilk on her finger and he started to breathe again! He totally recovered and is now a healthy 5 month old baby. I love this story! This woman didn't listen to the doctors, she listened to the spirit....even if she didn't know that was who she was listening to:) Heavenly Father works in amazing and beautiful ways!

You can read the article here...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1306283/Miracle-premature-baby-declared-dead-doctors-revived-mothers-touch.html