LDS Ministering Message Mother’s Day Printable

I love this quote from Sister Julie B. Beck’s talk, “A Mother Heart,” and thought it was perfect for a LDS Ministering Message Mother’s Day Printable. And it makes a perfect match with these yummy Ferrero Rocher Hazelnut Chocolate hearts.

Or if you are more of a Cadbury fan, I made one to go with these yummy “>Salted Caramel Cadbury Royal Dark Chocolate Hearts. Since I am picky about my shades of pink and red, I made a version of the printable that matches with the red of the heart boxes and one with the pink of the Cadbury hearts.

Or if you just need a card, these fit perfectly on size A2 cards.

Download Ministering Message Mother’s Day Printable
Sheet of 4 in Pink Border (PDF)
Sheet of 4 in Red Border (PDF)

Ministering Message Mother’s Day Printable Message

Over the years, the challenges and meanings of Mother’s Day have changed considerably for me. As a child, I loved Mother’s Day. I am sure I was not a total cherub on the day, but I remember really trying to make the day special for my mom. My mom worked hard to make holidays special for us and making her day special seemed the best way to show my appreciation.

When I got married, my attention turned to becoming a mother myself. But as the months and then years went by, it became clear that it wasn’t going to be easy. Mother’s Days passed by with failed infertility treatments and then adoption home studies. It was an emotional rollercoaster of raised hopes and disappointments. Mother’s Day became the hardest day of the year for me. I could brave baby showers and birth announcements just fine, but Mother’s Day cut me to the core. Watching the Primary children singing to their mothers in Sacrament meeting was the hardest.

Then after six long years, we were finally blessed with our first child. He was beautiful and erased all the pain of embarrassing medical treatments and the adoptions that had fallen through. And on that first Mother’s Day, another phase started. Somehow I had become a spoiled toddler at her own birthday party. I thought I deserved everything on Mother’s Day and the reality could never live up to the expectations. Maybe that is what happens when you spend six years “window shopping” Mother’s Days. I had seen all the beautiful things about the day and somehow thought they all magically came together on that one day. I had never noticed that mothers still looked tired on Mother’s Day and that the heartfelt cards still came with whines and temper tantrums.

This Mother’s Day is the first year that I won’t be sending a card to my grandma, who recently passed away. And I know that for many women the day is filled with a sense of loss over their own mothers. I also know that in a few years, my children will be gone and celebrating the day with their little ones. It is no wonder it is such a loaded holiday.

But I would not wish the day away. I love Mother’s Day because it celebrates what is best in us as women, even though it sometimes brings out the worst in us. I watch my little girl and even though she doesn’t have children yet, she is a born mother. We are all born mothers, regardless of whether we currently have children or if our children are even talking to us. And regardless of what type of mother we are – there are many types with varied talents and gifts. None of us “mother” the same, but we all share the common thread of motherhood.

At our best, we are nurturers and that is an attribute of strength. It is not easy to care for others or to keep the needs of others constantly before us. It takes fortitude to do what mothers do, whether with their own children or others. We are a safe place and a shelter from the storm. We are the hand that keeps feeding even after it has been bitten over and over and over again.

So for Mother’s Day this year, I wanted to share the talk “A Mother Heart” by Julie B. Beck. At its best, Mother’s Day is a celebration of the mother heart. And I have a testimony that we foster all the best parts of motherhood when we come closer to Christ and hold fast to our covenants.

We are happiest when we know who we are and why we do what we do. I spent several years working full-time before becoming a mother, and while I often miss the predictability of grownups, I cherish what I am building here in my home. Like Sister Beck says, “That young mother will build faith and character in the next generation one family prayer at a time, one scripture study session, one book read aloud, one song, one family meal after another. She is involved in a great work. She knows that “children are an heritage of the Lord” and “happy is the [woman] that hath [a] quiver full of them” (Ps. 127:3, 5). She knows that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily mothering is far more lasting, far more powerful, far more influential than any earthly position or institution invented by man.”

Sister Beck said of her own mother, who also married late after having a career, “All the knowledge she had acquired, all her natural abilities and gifts, all her skills were channeled into an organization that had no earthly bounds.”

I often think of zookeepers. If I went to a prestigious party with important guests and told them I was in charge of the care of exotic and rare animals, they would be impressed. They would probably have lots of questions and be totally fascinated by what I had to say. Even if the reality of the position was spent tending to the most basic needs of those animals. Telling somebody that you are in charge of tigers sounds cool. But if I told them I was in charge of raising children of God, they would probably say, “Oh, you mean a housewife.” And the questions would stop. They would not be interested in what I fed my children that morning or what special things I needed to do for their individual care. Even though I know mothers who have to balance complicated allergy-free or diabetic diets that rival the science of any zoo nutritionist.

The difference is in how we perceive what we do. And raising children of God is infinitely cooler, no matter what the world would have us believe. These are children who have a divine nature and eternal possibilities.

And while I waited for my children, I learned something important about motherhood. We are eternal beings and where we happen to be in the journey right now does not impact who we are. I have had thousands of opportunities to mother others on my journey and they made me a better mother and a better person. And when my children have left my home, I will continue to nurture others.

My favorite quote from Sister Beck comes at the very end of the talk. She says, “Every girl and woman who makes and keeps sacred covenants can have a mother heart. There is no limit to what a woman with a mother heart can accomplish. Righteous women have changed the course of history and will continue to do so, and their influence will spread and grow exponentially throughout the eternities. How grateful I am to the Lord for trusting women with the divine mission of motherhood.”

So this Mother’s Day, I think I am going to spend it thinking about who I am and what I am capable of, instead of focusing on what moments have passed or what blessings I have not yet received. And maybe if I am lucky, I might even get a nap.

Did you like this LDS Ministering Message Mother’s Day Printable? Find more LDS ministering printables here.