What My Mother Taught Me about Faith
and
How She Did It.
My mother
was an interesting woman for her age. In
the 1960’s, men seemed to know and read the scriptures more than the
women. Most of my friends mother’s “lived”
the gospel rather than “studied” it.
Not my mom,
she lived it and studied it. I saw her
reading her scriptures quite often. She
knew her Old Testament amazingly well and I was often told a Bible story for a
bedtime story or just during the day because she thought it was a good time to
tell me the story. We had this big
Family Bible with pictures. Mom, often
told me to look through it at the pictures (this was a way of keeping me busy
while she was doing something else). I
didn’t like the pictures. I still don’t
like that artist’s work. But the
pictures made me ask questions and Mom would tell me the story regarding the
picture. Because of this, I gained a
good foundation for my study of the Old Testament later.
My first
year of teaching Seminary turned out to be an Old Testament year. I would often begin the lesson by saying, “Oh,
this is one of my favorite stories! Who
can tell me the story of Jonah and the Whale (for instance)?” I was shocked at how many kids did not know
anything about the Old Testament. They
knew Adam and Eve, a few knew about Noah (the good one, not the bad king) but
the rest of the book was just a black hole to many of my students. (I also wondered if they had not gone to the
Doctor and the Dentist. When I was a kid
there was this blue book of Bible stories in all the doctor’s and dentist’s
offices. That was another place I
learned about the scriptures from my mom. She would sit by me and read the
stories or just tell them in her own words. There wasn’t much else to do while
sitting there. Sure there was Highlights
Magazine, but that was not as much fun as having Mom read to me. But I digress.)
From
listening to my Mom relate the stories of the Bible to me, I knew that she
believed in God. She loved her
Savior. I knew at a very young age that
my mother had a testimony.
I knew that
she said her prayers. I never saw her,
at least not that I recall. She would
close her door to say them. She was very
good at getting me to say my evening prayers as part of my bedtime ritual. She would whisper what I should say and I
would repeat it. Then one day in either
Sunbeams or Stars we were challenged by Sister Inkley to say our prayers at
home by ourselves and to ask Heavenly Father if he was really there and if he
loved us. That night I told Mom that I
needed to pray by myself. It was the
beginning of my testimony. But Mom never
listened to my prayers again. I was a little
hurt by that at first. However, Mom knew
that I no longer needed her guidance with my prayers. Her job there was finished. Because of this I developed a very good
relationship with my Father in Heaven that has helped a lot during my
life. She knew when to let go.
Mom taught
me to keep the commandments and to expect the blessings that came from obeying
them. She often quoted D&C
130:20-21, “There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven…upon which all
blessing are predicated…when we receive any blessing…it is by obedience to that
law…”
She often
took me to deliver food to the sick or a new mother. She would tell me that she was offering a
service and that she would receive a blessing for doing so. She told me that by watching for that
blessing she could be thankful for it.
Another one of her favorite scriptures she liked to quote to me is also
found in the Doctrine and Covenants 59:21.
“And in nothing doth man offend God,…save those who confess not his hand
in all things…”
“If you don’t
expect the blessings,” she taught, “you won’t notice them and you won’t thank
God for them.”
One day when
I was in Junior High, Mom was getting ready to prepare dinner. Michael and Kathleen were both on their
missions. Kennecott Copper Company was
on strike in Utah causing economic problems for the community. Therefore, Dad did not have a lot of
work. No one was building new homes. Well, Mom pulled out the shelf that had the
soup cans on it. “Wow, we only have one
can of soup left to make dinner tonight.
Don’t know what I will do tomorrow night. Glad I paid the tithing this month.”
This was
spoken so matter-of-factly I did not think there was anything to worry
about. I had dinner the next night and
the next night and every night thereafter.
When I was a mother myself, I asked Mom about that time. She said she remembered that night. There really was only one can of soup in the
cupboard. She said there was other food
in the house, but not much, cans of vegetables and all the bottles of fruit downstairs. But she said that we had absolutely no cash
in the house and no cash coming in. The
savings were being eaten up with bills and missionary checks. Then she bore her testimony to me again…”But
I had paid our tithing at the beginning of the month. I wasn’t worried. We would make it. My goodness, two of our children were serving
missions. Your Dad was in the
bishopric. I was in some calling. We were doing what we were supposed to be
doing. We weren’t going to be left destitute.” Again, she was very matter-of-fact.
There was
one area in which I was surprised at my mother’s lack of faith. That was in herself. One day when I was about 10, I asked what she
thought it was going to be like in the Celestial Kingdom. She informed me that she didn’t think she was
going to go there, but she thought the Terrestrial Kingdom was going to be
beautiful.
I was
shocked! How could my mother not think
she was not going to be in the Celestial Kingdom? As I developed a better understanding of the
atonement and salvation I would often read a few scriptures with her and
discuss it. So did my siblings. I think
she changed her viewpoint on this towards the end of her life.
Her lack of
faith in her own worthiness helped me to study and investigate the truth. Because my Mother read her scriptures and believed
and acted on them, because she expected blessings for obedience, because she
knew when to leave me alone with my Father in Heaven, and because she had lack
of faith in herself, I developed my faith.
It is the greatest gift she ever gave me. Thanks Mom.
Love you.
