Revering Mothers on Mother's Day 2022

In my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is the individual members of the congregation who are asked to give the weekly sermons. On May 8, 2022, Mother's Day, along with three youth and a young mother, I was asked to speak about mothers at the Frenchtown Montana Ward. Below are my remarks, links to scriptures and other historical information, interspersed with personal photos. 

A MOTHER’S DAY QUIZ

The Lord told my husband in a dream that Jerusalem would be destroyed. My sons later went back to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates. Who am I?

-Sariah, mother of Nephi, Sam, Laman & Lemuel, & husband of Lehi

I promised the Lord that if I had a son, he would serve the Lord. My son grew up in the temple & became a prophet. Who am I?

-Hannah, mother of Samuel

I had nine children. One of them saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They called him by name. Who am I?

-Lucy Mack Smith, mother of Joseph Smith

I did not have any children until I was very old. My son baptized Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. Who am I?

-Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist

My husband was commanded by the Lord to sacrifice my son. Who am I?

-Sarah, mother of Isaac & husband of Abraham

I saved my baby son from pharaoh by putting him in a basket in the river. He later led the Israelites to the promised land. Who am I?

-Jochebed, mother of Moses

Our sons, all 2,060 of them, fought valiantly and kept the faith because they had been taught by us. Who are we?

-mothers of the stripling warriors

My son had a coat of many colors and a lot of brothers. They threw him in a pit and sold him into Egypt, but he later saved their lives. Who am I?

-Rachel, mother of Joseph

I was called “blessed” by an angel of the Lord. My son became the Savior of the world. Who am I?

-Mary, mother of Jesus Christ

My husband and I were the first inhabitants of the earth, lived in the garden of Eden and had the first offspring. Who am I?

-Eve, the first woman and first mother

I have many, many children. How many? They are as numberless as the grains of sands on the seashore yet I know each of them all by name. Who am I?

-Heavenly Mother

THE FAITH & GOOD WORKS OF MOTHERS (according to modern-day prophets)

As adults, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum became ill with cholera. As they lay near death, Hyrum suddenly leaped up, saying, “I have had an open vision, in which I saw mother [Lucy Mack Smith] kneeling … asking God, in tears, to spare our lives. … The Spirit testifies, that her prayers … will be answered.” Both brothers soon got well.

While on the trail, the oxen belonging to young Joseph F. Smith and his mother, Mary Fielding Smith, wandered away from camp. Joseph F. searched for hours with no luck. When he returned to camp, he found his mother praying to find the oxen. Immediately after her prayer, she was guided by the Spirit and found the oxen 

Heber J. Grant’s mother, Rachel Ridgeway Grant, came from a wealthy family. After she was baptized, her family offered her a large sum of money to leave the Church. She refused. After her husband died, she worked hard sewing clothes and taking in boarders to provide for Heber.

During the Depression, when many people had no money, men often knocked on the Monson’s door, begging for work and food. Thomas S. Monson’s mother, Gladys Condie Monson, never turned a man away. When Tommy repainted his family’s picket fence, Tommy’s mother instructed him to leave one slat unpainted. It was a sign to any passing men that there was work to do at their home.

The fam in the early 80s

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, “No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.”

That is something I never really comprehended growing up. I knew I had a mother who cared for and loved me. She helped teach me right from wrong. Along with a righteous father, she helped raise me in the gospel. She shot baskets with me in the driveway, came to my ballgames, was a second mom to my buddies and supported me as a full-time missionary. The bottom line is she was always there, always there to support me and my siblings.

Me & baby Aubs

She and my dad showed up at our apartment shortly after our first child, Aubrey, was born with some health issues that required around-the-clock attention. Lori and I were exhausted. Aubrey eventually gained her full health and strength. One day as I held her, my mom said to me, “You know how much you love that little girl? That’s how much I love you!”

It was a personal epiphany. “Wait, she loved me as much as I loved this little girl of ours?” My finally eyes were opened in a big way that day to how much she loved me.

So as sons and daughters of mothers, what is our duty? What is our call regarding our mothers? If we’re younger, it is to honor, stand up for and respect our mothers. It’s also to learn about our moms. Okay, kids & teenagers, what do you know about your mothers? What were they like when they were your age? What did they do for fun? Do they have cool, even legendary stories while growing up? Let me share a little about my mother.

Illena Robinson was born on November 14, 1932. That’s right, if you do the math, she’ll turn 90 later this year.

When she a little girl was in grade school, she and her classmates were playing baseball on the playground. Her team was up to bat. When it got to be her turn, a boy came out of the schoolhouse and said it was his turn. Illena said, “No, it’s not. I’ve been waiting in line with my teammates and now it’s my turn.” The boy insisted, cut in front of her and said it was his turn to bat. Young Illena didn’t like it, punched him in the face which sent him back in the schoolhouse with a bloody nose. The game continued. Later in the game, Illena’s team was again up to bat and she was in line. When she got up to home plate to bat, the boy came out of the schoolhouse and again insisted it was his turn to bat. Young Illena said no. He persisted, “Yes, it’s my turn!” She punched him in the nose again and sent him back into the school – a classic tale from Holyoak family lore.

Illena was an athlete. She played basketball in high school, could really smack a softball and was also good at volleyball.

She grew up during the Great Depression days in a small town of Glendale in southern Utah with three sisters. She also had four brothers. One day, one of her older brothers, playing the role of a taunting big brother said, “I dare you to punch me in the stomach as hard as you can.” She refused. He continued to pester and pester her until she finally relented, wound up, slugged him in the stomach and laid him out on the ground. He never did that again. Apparently he didn’t know about her playground incident several years earlier. Or he didn’t learn from it.

More tales from Mom, in her words: When I was young, we didn't have electricity in Glendale but our house had been wired for it. When it got dark, mother would light the coal-oil lamp with its tall chimney and many nights she would read to us. My mom and dad had an extra bed in their bedroom where we would sleep if we were ill. I was sleeping in that bed, probably 9 years of age, when all of a sudden the electricity came on for the first time ever. Probably the only room in the house where the light switch was turned on. The rest of the family was in the kitchen eating supper when suddenly the power came on. I remember calling out, "I see a light!" After that time, mama didn't read nearly as much since we became involved in playing family games and listening to the radio in the evenings. Played checkers, monopoly & we would wear out a deck of Rook cards nearly every winter. It was fun.

In the winter Farris (her younger sister) & I would hurry upstairs quickly crawl into bed, cuddle up together to keep warm. Had so many quilts on the bed it was hard to roll over. Sometimes, we took a 2-quart fruit bottle filled with hot water wrapped up in a towel and put it in the bottom of our bed to get our feet warm. Had to remember to take it back downstairs the next morning so it wouldn’t freeze.

My grandpa and grandma Robinson, my mom’s folks, had an old ranch house on some family land about 20 miles from town – a place I loved to visit a lot over the years, especially as a teenager.

The Ranch - with the outhouse just to the left of the house

Again, my mom’s words:  The ranch house had no running water or bathroom. Quite primitive or pioneer-like. It was a really fun place to spend time.

It had an outhouse out on the hill with a Sears or Wards catalog to use for toilet paper. The indexes were always used first since it had the softest paper. Every time I went out there, I would check around the outhouse for rattlesnakes before going inside. After I got inside the outhouse, I would look down through the potty holes to make sure there were no snakes underneath.

I will never forget one time we were hunting rabbits at the ranch. My brothers wanted me to shoot a rabbit with a shotgun. This shotgun had two barrels and 2 triggers, one for each barrel. I had my finger on the first trigger and my next finger was between the two triggers. Here came a rabbit so I pulled the first trigger which pushed my second finger to fire the second barrel also. That gun recoiled into my shoulder then flipped up in the air. I had a very painful bruised black and blue shoulder for days. Never shot a shotgun again.

In 1953, my Dad was giving serious consideration to marrying Mom. His words: At that time, Illena Robinson was 20 years of age, approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, with greenish gray eyes, dark brown hair and medium complexion. Illena was pretty, and possessed a calm, cheerful personality, a nice face and figure, and one of the most radiant smiles I have ever seen, a smile that seemed to come straight from her heart and to permeate her whole being.

Mom was receptive to the Spirit and paid attention when it spoke to her. Her words:  In mid-May 1994, I had a strong feeling that I should not go to the farm in southern Utah but stay here in Wichita so Dale hurriedly got his clothes, packed up and left for Utah.

Mark and Lori were living in Topeka, Kansas, at the time. They were expecting their 3rd child due in June. I knew Lori had close friends there so I felt she would probably be okay and have the help needed. I still had this strong feeling that I should stay home.

Mark, Lacey, Aubrey & Lori

After I had been home for 2 weeks, I began to wonder why I needed to be here at home. I knew there was a Hopkins cousins reunion scheduled to be held in St. George and it would be fun to attend so I went to a travel agency and checked on flight schedules and flight prices. The schedules and flight prices were both good but I just couldn’t make myself buy a ticket. As I drove back home I wondered why I needed to be here. Within half hour after I got home the phone rang and it was Lori. She asked me what I was doing. I told her, “Nothing.” She began to cry and told me she had just come home from her doctor’s visit and she had been put on bedrest. I told her I could come right up there and help. She said for me to come before noon the next day since that was the time that Mark would leave for work.  Aubrey and Lacey were little girls so help was needed. I went up and stayed for 2 weeks taking care of Aubrey and Lacey plus preparing meals. Then went home for the weekend and while I was gone Jace was born. Went right back up and stayed helping.

I would also add that Lori was again placed on bedrest three years later before our fourth child was born – for something like 4-6 weeks and Mom was there again to help take care of us.

Mom faithfully served in many callings including helping with Cub Scouts, Relief Society, Seminary, young women’s and many others including 16 years with my dad as temple workers in the Oklahoma City Temple.

I just had the opportunity to spend the last several weeks of one-on-one time with her in Wichita, Kansas. My dad passed away a few years ago and she was now at a point to begin the next chapter of her life by moving in with my younger sister in Texas. First, we had go through her home of 47 years -the home of my teenage years- empty it out, put it on the market and sell it. We worked hard. We got COVID together a couple of weeks ago. We slogged through it and got it done and now she is in Texas.

Mom with her guitar in the living room

Killing time pounding down salad & break sticks while the house was being shown

Disposing of old documents (Man, does she like to burn stuff)

The van is packed & ready to go

 

My childhood home...sold!

Either this past Christmas or the one before, Lori and I gave her a book of memories so we could learn more about my mom. It is filled with questions like “describe what your home life was like,” “write about a favorite family vacation,” “describe a happy or scary experience,” etc.

So as sons and daughters of mothers, what is our duty? What is our call? If we’re older, it is learn about and record their personal histories if they’ve not done so, and to look after our mothers just as they looked after us. Jesus gave us the ultimate example how to do so even as he hung on the cross of Calvary.

John 19:25–27 says…

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

My mother recently wrote, “My deepest blessing is being a
daughter of my Heavenly Father, being a daughter of my earthly parents and being a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a great grandmother.”I am grateful for my mother.

I am grateful for the mother of my children.

I am grateful for many other mothers who helped raised me – Primary teachers, school teachers, mothers of my friends, YW presidents & youth leaders, and so many others who were and are good examples to me, my kids and friends.

(Close with personal testimony)