Come to Jesus

(Listen to the song above, my remarks were written in relationship to this song which was song right before I spoke)

I've pondered over what Mom would say if she were the one standing in front of all the people she loved. I knew what that message would be because of a Young Women lesson she once gave when I was a teenager. She stood up and explained to all of us that her greatest desire in life was the same as Alma's when he declared, "O that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption." (Alma 29:1)

Mom would stand here and bare testimony to her children, grandchildren- and to each of you- about our Savior Jesus Christ. She set a constant and consistent example of turning towards the Savior-

In 2010, as a Young Women's leader myself, I was working on my Personal Progress. For one of the requirements I needed to ask a mother I admired what she thought were important attributes for being a Mother. Of course I asked my Mom. In her response back via email she said,

"The first attribute a mother needs is to have faith- Faith in God. Faith that what she is doing is the

right thing. Faith that if she tries her best, Heavenly Father will make up the rest. Faith that even when things don't look so bright or positive, or the late nights and no sleep are getting the best of you, or when your children don't make the best choices or when others criticize you, or when your kids tell you they 'hate your guts,' (that wasn't me!) you are still on the right path. It's a daily test that requires a real conviction that motherhood is important, significant and that there is divine help always."

My mom demonstrated her conviction and faith that there is divine help always. Mom was a women of prayer. She taught me by example. I can not count the number of times I walked into her sewing room in every house we lived in to find her on her knees praying- she never stopped to see what I needed- she prayed on- and I'd slip out quietly. She know's Heavenly Father. She know's Jesus. She didn't miss a moment to pray and speak to them. She knew the power of prayer. Year ago when Dad, Mike and Robert borrowed uncle Russ' trailer to move Mel and Amy to Washington- they encountered numerous problems, especially with tires on the trailer. After they made it to my apartment in Washington safely, Rob made the comment to me that the only reason they made it safely was because Mom was at home praying - making it so.

I'll never forget the evening I was laying in my bed downstairs in the basement shortly after I moved home and filed for divorce. I could not stop sobbing- I could not find peace. I couldn't seem to catch my breath long enough to even say anything to my Mom who walked into my room. She sat down on my bed- I curled up resting my head in her lap as she stroked my hair (just like she did my whole life and even just 2 weeks ago). After a little while she got up, knelt down, and spoke to Heavenly Father on my behalf, as my mother, requesting him to remember the covenants He and I had made withe each other - and in only what I can describe as a humble demand- requested that I feel peace, that I would stop crying and sleep. I've never heard a more faith filled prayer my entire life. I was changed that night forever.

There is nothing more powerful than a Mothers' prayer- it moves mountains.

Through her example I have known my whole life where to turn. Mom taught us where to turn when we sin- Come to Jesus. When we need burdens lifted- Come to Jesus. When they are lifted - Sing to Jesus. When we fall- Fall on Jesus. When we are lonely, when we are in pain- Cry to Jesus. When we are filled with Joy- Dance for Jesus.

Mom's letter continued-

"The second attribute a mother needs is to have faith- faith in her children, their goodness, their talents and abilities and the valuable lovable people that they are- that they truly are Heavenly Father's children to begin with. Faith that they will make the right decisions, that they will contribute positively to your family and the world around them. Faith that they are innately good- I believe that with all my heart. Faith that they are kind, helpful and will ultimately become the kind of people you hope they will become. Sometimes out children will try to prove us wrong and they don't believe in themselves and in their goodness, so a mother's job is to continually remind them of that and encourage the choices that will result in the most good for them. A mother needs to have faith in her children."

Mom had a sign hanging in our home that said, "No Empty Chairs." After her faith in God, nothing was more important than her family and she worked tirelessly towards the goal of having "No Empty Chairs" in heaven. Mom is my biggest cheerleader, no matter what I was doing. She taught by example how to become the best version of ourselves.

Mom once said, "Some people memorialize themselves in good deeds. Mine is memorialized in fabric. My kids will get up at the funeral and say, 'Let me tell you about my mother, She made quilts- The end.'"

Clearly that is not the case. However, I do want to tell you about this particular quilt hanging up front

. This in Mom's first applique quilt. It is so precious to her she didn't want to give it away. In fact she told me she was supposed to be buried in it. Last fall we recorded Mom telling us about her quilts and this is the story she told,

"This is a story of mistakes. A story of continuing to work on things weven when you make mistakes. On the wall hanging up it's beautiful. If you look really close there are threads hanging out, corners no tucked in perfectly. Some of it is embarassing to me. Some is beautiful work. I think I got better. This quilt reminds me that quilting and stitching is a lot like life. Quilting is just one stitch- the same stitch done over and over and over. Up and Down. Up and Down.

Sometimes we think our days are really bad and we just want to crawl in bed and forget about it. Then we think what we do everyday- the same things we do; dishes, kids, homework- life is just boring... It's up and down and up and down... everyday.

But this is what you get when you just keep trying and you just keep going up and down and you keep trying to do your best. And you just let the mistakes be there and you try to do better on the next block or the next part of your life and when you turn around and look back at your life you see mistakes- you see sometimes when you get older they were beautiful, that they were mistakes but you did better. It just means so much to me." (You can listen to Mom tell the story here)

And so, Mom would stand here today and tell each of us that when we make mistakes- Come to Jesus and live! Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ- our lives are made beautiful- mistakes and all. I also stand with my Mom and bare my testimony that I know this to be true. I am eternally grateful for a Mother who knew and spent her beautiful life teaching all who would listen.