“You were entrusted to come to the earth in these last days to do again what you did before.” This bold statement comes from Elder James J. Hamula’s Conference talk, Winning the War against Evil. This was a talk geared for the young men, but I feel it is worthwhile for mothers to hear it. Mother’s can always receive additional pointers to doing their job a little better.
I hear a call to all Young Men…and the mothers who raise them, in this quote, “You are the strength of the Lord’s house, His warriors! You are those who chose good over evil and who exhibited ‘exceedingly great faith’ and ‘good works’…once again to choose good over evil, exercise exceedingly great faith, and perform good works.”
The problem lies in living in a wicked world that throws detractors at our children. We, as mothers of warriors, need to remember the potential of our sons and daughters. It is our responsibility to set them on the path, so from there, they can continue on their own.
I realize this is a tricky subject, because there are so many factors that come into play. Agency plays a huge part in this and no mother is completely responsible for their child’s choices. However, I am going to counter that by saying not all mothers take their jobs as seriously as they should.
Elder Hamula explains what soberness means: “Being sober means being earnest and serious in assessing your circumstances and careful and circumspect in weighing the consequences of your actions. Soberness therefore yields good judgment, as well as measured conduct.” As mothers, aunts, cousins, friends, we should be living first, then teaching this valuable characteristic to our boys and girls. There is a consequence to every action. Life is not just fun and games; there is a real battle going on. The Savior of the world is depending on all of us.
So many of our youth, adults too for that matter, feel this life is the time to fulfill their own personal desires. Church has too many restrictions. Mom and Dad are stupid. Rules don’t apply. We all need to find ourselves. There is no real accountability. Elder Hamula says there is only one way to win against Satan: “by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; for they loved not their own lives, but kept the testimony even unto death”.
It is every mother’s responsibility to teach their children the Plan of our Father, and their important role in this plan. Satan will be overcome, whether we are valiant or not; but isn’t it so much better to be one of the faithful, those with testimonies, having consecrated their lives by forgetting themselves and giving their all to their Redeemer…till death, if necessary?
Elder Hamula leaves us with this charge: “My dear brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood, these are your days! Do not squander them! Be sober! Take ‘the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall…quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.’ Then ‘fight the good fight of faith.’ And when you have done all, ‘stand’ still and ‘see the salvation of the Lord.’”
As mothers, we must be teachers, teaching truths; guides, guiding their way with love and diligence; and parents, never shirking our duty and responsibility.