Presidency Message
As Mother’s Day approaches, let us remember
how much The Savior loves each of us and values us as mothers who teach our
children of Him. From Daughters in My Kingdom we find the following accounts of
women in Christ’s Ministry.
Throughout His mortal ministry, the Savior
showed special love and concern for women. Elder James E. Talmage of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles said, “The world’s greatest champion of woman and
womanhood is Jesus the Christ.” The Savior taught women in multitudes and as
individuals, on the street and by the seashore, at the well and in their homes.
He showed loving-kindness toward them and healed them and their family members.
In many parables, He told stories of women engaged in ordinary activities. He demonstrated
deep familiarity with women’s lives and drew timeless gospel lessons from their
everyday experiences. He forgave them. He wept with them. He had compassion on
them in their specific circumstances as daughters, wives, homemakers, mothers,
and widows. He appreciated them and ennobled them. Even in excruciating pain on
the cross, the Savior expressed concern for His mother, who by then was very
likely a widow in need of watchcare. And the first person to whom He appeared
after His Resurrection was a woman.
While little is known about a formal
organization of women in the New Testament, evidence suggests that women were
vital participants in the Savior’s ministry. The New Testament includes
accounts of women, named and unnamed, who exercised faith in Jesus Christ,
learned and lived His teachings, and testified of His ministry, miracles, and
majesty. These women became exemplary disciples and important witnesses in the
work of salvation. Women journeyed with Jesus and His Twelve Apostles. They
gave of their substance to assist in His ministry. After His death and
Resurrection, women continued to be faithful disciples. They met and prayed
together with the Apostles. They provided their homes as gathering places for
Church members. They valiantly participated in the work of saving souls,
temporally and spiritually.
Martha and her sister Mary are examples of
female disciples in the New Testament. Luke 10 contains an account of Martha
opening her home to Jesus. She served the Lord by taking care
of His temporal needs, and Mary sat at the
Master’s feet and absorbed His teachings. In
an age when women were generally
expected
to provide only temporal service, the Savior taught Martha and Mary that women
could also participate spiritually in His work. He invited them to become His
disciples and partake of salvation, “that good part” that would never be taken
from them. Mary and Martha became active participants in the Lord’s mortal
ministry. Later in the New Testament, we read Martha’s strong testimony of the
Savior’s divinity. In a conversation with Jesus, she said, “I believe that thou
art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”
When we struggle with life’s challenges, let us try to
recall how very much the Savior loves us and is aware individually of our
needs. As we are strengthened, let us then strengthen the sisters in our care,
temporally and spiritually. It is through our kindness that another may feel
the Savior’s love now just as the women felt who served next to Him in His
mortal ministry. May we remember to love
ourselves as much as our Savior loves us and spread that message of love to the
special women around us and feel like its Mother’s Day all year long.
1st
Counselor Relief Society Presidency.