With Mother's day coming up, of course my mom has been on my
mind. I was asked to give a talk in church tomorrow on loving your mothers, and
the Atonement of Jesus Christ. When I first heard this topic, I thought it
would be difficult to connect the two themes. Then I got to thinking about what
the atonement is--a sacrifice. Mothers make so many sacrifices out of love for
their children. Christ is the same way. He has made the infinite and eternal
sacrifice, and he did it out of love for each and every one of us.
Mothers
also always seem to know how to help us. They comfort us when we have a bad
day, are there for us when we need someone to listen, and give us the advice
we´re looking for. They´re always there to guide us, uplift us, and motivate
us. Jesus Christ does the same for us. In Alma 7 it explains how he suffered
¨pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; … and he will take upon
him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to
the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according
to their infirmities.¨
He suffered every feeling we have
ever felt, and for that reason, he knows EXACTLY how to help us, and exactly
what we need. I know I can always depend on Him, just as I rely on my mom.
This makes me wonder how I´m
showing my appreciation for the sacrifices of both my mother and my Savior. Tomorrow
is the perfect opportunity to show gratitude for them both, with even just a
call to mom, and partaking of the sacrament on the Sabbath day.
I heard the childbirth experience parallels the atonement in the pain and in the loss of water and blood. It's also interesting that mothers teach us our first lesson in grace; we receive what we don't deserve and can't earn from them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your talk will be great! Good luck!
Thanks for your post, you make great points! I definitely agree that sacrifice is one way people show their love for others. I also think it goes the other way around, like a big cycle. I've heard that one reason mothers love their children so much is because they went through so much to get us here, with nine months of pregnancy, childbirth, and then caring for us when we were young (and even when we weren't so young anymore). They made so many sacrifices for us before they even knew us, that they loved us from the first moment they met us. I think if we're struggling to love somebody, we can serve them (willfully) and come to love them more. Anyway, based on your post I'm sure you gave a great talk!
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