Mother's Day Program
This isn't your typical Mother's Day program, but rather what we used on Mother's Day for our at-home sacrament meeting during the Covid pandemic. That year for our Sunday worship I prepared quotes and hymns for us to read and sing together. The weekly subjects came from the Topics section of our hymn book. For Mother's Day we were on "assurance" hymns; which actually worked out quite well to merge with quotes focusing on mothers. I discovered my notes while flipping through my "Mothers" file folder in preparation for Mother's Day this year. It might be a good idea, for family history purposes, to post the programs I created for other weeks.
#144 – Secret Prayer – Opening Hymn
In the Book of Mormon we read about 2,000 exemplary young
men who were exceedingly valiant, courageous, and strong. “Yea, they were men
of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of
God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). These faithful young men
paid tribute to their mothers. They said, “[We do not doubt] our mothers knew
it” (Alma 56:48). . . . The
responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. . . . They
know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not
pointing them toward desired eternal goals. . . . However, mothers need not
fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants
with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children.
(Julie B. Beck – October 2007 general conference)
#125 – How Gentle
God’s Commands
This morning “I would speak unto you,” as Moroni said,
“concerning hope.” There are tremendous sources of hope beyond our own ability,
learning, strength, and capacity. Among them is the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Through the marvelous blessing of this member of the Godhead, we can come to
“know the truth of all things.”
Hope is the anchor of our souls. I know of no one who is not
in need of hope—young or old, strong or weak, rich or poor. As the prophet
Ether exhorted, “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a
better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of
faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and
steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” (James E.
Faust – October 1999 general conference)
#105 – Master, the
Tempest is Raging
We live in a world of uncertainty. Never has there been a
greater need for righteous mothers—mothers who bless their children with a
sense of safety, security, and confidence about the future, mothers who teach
their children where to find peace and truth and that the power of Jesus Christ
is always stronger than the power of the adversary. Every time we build the
faith or reinforce the nobility of a young woman or man, every time we love or
lead anyone even one small step along the path, we are true to our endowment
and calling as mothers and in the process we build the kingdom of God. No woman
who understands the gospel would ever think that any other work is more
important or would ever say, “I am just a mother,” for mothers heal the souls
of men. (Sheri L. Dew – October 2001 general conference)
#299 – Children of
Our Heavenly Father
“Be a woman of Christ. Cherish your esteemed place in the
sight of God. He needs you. This Church needs you. The world needs you. A
woman’s abiding trust in God and unfailing devotion to things of the Spirit
have always been an anchor when the wind and the waves of life were fiercest”
(Jeffrey R. Holland - October 2005 general conference).
I acknowledge the reality of opposition and adversity, but I
bear witness of the God of Glory, of the redeeming Son of God, of light and
hope and a bright future. I promise you that God lives and loves you, each one
of you, and that he has set bounds and limits to the opposing powers of
darkness. I testify that Jesus is the Christ, the victor over death and hell
and the fallen one who schemes there. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and
it has been restored. . . .
“Cast not away
therefore your confidence. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have
done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” [Hebrews 10:35–36]
Don’t give in. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is
bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants everyone to be miserable
like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. . . Stay the course and
see the beauty of life unfold for you.
(Jeffrey R. Holland – BYU Devotional 2 March 1999)
#89 – The Lord is My
Light
Today I wish to praise those motherly hands that have rocked
the infant’s cradle and, through the righteousness taught to their children
there, are at the very center of the Lord’s purposes for us in mortality. . . .
Moved by that kind of devotion and determination, may I say
to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are
doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a
responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has
in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel
you into the circle of the omniscient. If you and your husband will strive to
love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance
and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the
temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman
or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your
children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to
show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have
done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.
Claim the promises of the Savior of the world. Ask for the
healing balm of the Atonement for whatever may be troubling you or your
children. Know that in faith things will be made right in spite of you, or more
correctly, because of you.
You can’t possibly do this alone, but you do have help. The
Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you—He who resolutely goes after
the lost sheep, sweeps thoroughly to find the lost coin, waits everlastingly
for the return of the prodigal son. Yours is the work of salvation, and
therefore you will be magnified, compensated, made more than you are and better
than you have ever been as you try to make honest effort, however feeble you may
sometimes feel that to be.
Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: “Ye have
not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in
him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.”
Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And
“press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of
hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is
blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and
your nights may be the most challenging. (Jeffrey R. Holland – April 1997
general conference)
#128 – When Faith
Endures
Faith in Christ—the kind of faith that produces a steady
stream of tender mercies and even mighty miracles—goes hand in hand with a
personal confidence that you are striving to choose the right. . . .
Acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don’t be
immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you
depart this earth life. No matter what your current status, the very moment you
voluntarily choose honest, joyful, daily repentance by striving to simply do
and be your very best, the Savior’s Atonement envelops and follows you, as it
were, wherever you go. . . .
Yours is the privilege, if you want it, to come to know for
yourself, today or soon, that you are pleasing God in spite of your
shortcomings. I testify of a loving Savior who expects us to live the
commandments. I testify of a loving Savior who is so very anxious to bestow His
grace and mercy. I testify of a loving Savior who rejoices when we apply His
Atonement daily with the calm and happy assurance that we are facing in the
right direction. I testify of a loving Savior who is anxious for your
“confidence [to] wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45). (Jorg
Klebingat – October 2014 general conference)
Philippians 4:13 – I
can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
#135 – My Redeemer
Lives
Assurance – Pledge, guarantee, security, certain in mind, confidence, self-confidence, freedom from self-doubt or uncertainty, satisfied as to the truth of a matter, certainty and support
Additional hymns:
#129 – Where Can I Turn for Peace?
#43 – Zion Stands with Hills Surrounded
#68 - A Mighty Fortress is our God
#124 – Be Still, My Soul
#110 – Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord
#108 – The Lord is My Shepherd
#109 – The Lord My Pasture will Prepare
#122 – Though Deepening Trials
#72 – Praise to the Lord, The Almighty
#111 – Rock of Ages
#14 – Sweet is the Peace the Gospel Brings
#137 – Testimony
#127 – Does the Journey seem Long?
#82 – For All the Saints
#87 – God Is Love
#85 – How Firm a Foundation
#136 – I Know that My Redeemer Lives
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