My Mother's Day talk.

I had the opportunity to speak in church today, and so I spoke on Mother's Day, and in particular, Eve, the mother of all of mortality.  Here it is.

I would be a terrible son, if I did not start my talk on Mother’s day by paying a tribute to my mom. My mom set a tremendous example for me, to show how to serve both as the mother who was always there, and how to help others. She was the best at managing the home. She made clothing. We had a garden, and she canned everything that came out of it. She cooked, she cleaned, she was the best mom taxi ever. All the while, she served in many callings including Relief Society President, and I remember many times going shopping with her to buy food for those that needed it, as there was no storehouse. I don’t speak for my brothers, but I know that while at times I wavered, I never doubted. The footing she provided has kept me on solid ground, and the iron rod was and is always within grasp.

Indeed, I would quote from Alma regarding the sons of Helaman in chapter 56 verse 48;

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it”

While I am no son of Helaman, or stripling warrior, I can say without a doubt that I never doubted my mother and that she truly knows the truth. I was and am blessed with a tremendous mother and a great father.

I could say the same about my wife. If you know Sarah, you know how strong she is, how willing to help others she is. I could go on and on about her strength. It is one of many things that I love about my Sarah Beth. While it would be fairly easy to fill my talk about my mom, and my wife, I wanted to discuss our first mother. Eve. We all know the story, right? Eve was created along with Adam. They were married in the Garden, she partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and gave it to Adam, and well, here we are. I wanted to bring this up, because of the courage that Eve showed. Specifically, I want to talk about the Fall, and our first mother’s role. I will be using a discourse from a devotional given at BYU in 1981, and a talk given by President Eyring, in 2014. The Title of the Devotional is the “the Three Pillars of Eternity”, by Elder Bruce R. McConkie, and President Eyring’s talk is Daughters in the Covenant. If you haven’t heard or read either of these, I would strongly encourage it.

Depending on time as you start read this, if lots of time is left:

While this first quote from the talk does not delve into the doctrine, I fell in love with it, as it is an appeal to reason to each of us. To listen and hear the words.

“And so I now say: Come and let us reason together; let us reason as did righteous men of old that we may come to understanding. Come and hear us declare sound doctrine; let us declare it plainly and in power as do the angels of God in heaven. Come and let us testify of those things which God has made known to us; let us testify as do those whose souls are afire with the Spirit and who know by revelation of the truth and verity of their spoken word”

Otherwise go here

The Three Pillars he discusses are the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They are intertwined with each other and were all part of the plan from the beginning. They cannot be separated. I quote:

“Without any one of them all things would lose their purpose and meaning, and the plans and designs of Deity would come to naught. If there had been no creation, we would not be, neither the earth, nor any form of life upon its face. All things, all primal elements, would be without form and void. God would have no spirit children; there would be no mortal probation; and none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no fall of man, there would not be a mortal probation. Mortal man would not be, nor would there be animals or fowls or fishes or life of any sort upon earth. And, we repeat, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.

If there had been no atonement of Christ, all things would be lost. The purposes of creation would vanish away. Lucifer would triumph over men, and become the captain of their souls. And, we say it again, none of us would be on the way to immortality and eternal life.” Close quote.

Did I mention that it would be wise to go and read or watch listen to this devotional? Due to time constraints, and that I don’t want to deprive Brother Walt of time, I will pass over the Creation, and just say this on the Atonement.

To continue quoting; “The Atonement is part of the eternal plan of the Father. It came at the appointed time, according to the will of the Father, to do for man that which could not have been done in any other way. The Atonement is the child of the fall, and the fall is the father of the atonement. Neither of them, without the other, could have brought to pass the eternal purposes of the Father.”

Elder McConkie listed five essential results of the Fall, and I will elaborate on each briefly. Remember, this is all because of Eve.

1. Temporal death. When Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden, they were told that they would die, or suffer the separation of body from spirit. Because of the Atonement, this death has been defeated, and all will be resurrected.
2. Spiritual death. As a result, we are separated from the presence of the Father. We are natural men, and on our own would be subject to Satan. Because of the Atonement, and through our obedience, and repentance, we can overcome this death, and be reunited with our Father.
3. Mortality. Without the Fall, there would be no mortal life of any sort on earth. Death brings mortality into being.
4. Procreation. I will quote his answer here. “Before the Fall, there was no procreation. I repeat, for thus saith the Holy Word, before the fall, there was no procreation.” There were no children in the garden of Eden. There was no reproduction on the earth. This is very key, and differs from the understanding of many churches. The Fall, as well as the Atonement were planned from the beginning. Thus, because of the Fall, God’s children were able to come to earth and receive a physical body.
5. A probationary estate. Because of the fall we were given commandments, and teachings and we are being tried to see if we will walk by faith. One of the greatest gifts given to us by our Heavenly Father was and is our agency. This gift is so important to our progression that He was willing to allow the sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son, to atone for our sins. It gives us our ability to choose what to do. To make decisions based on faith, or not; based on the knowledge that we have received. The trials began in our premortal existence, when the war was fought in heaven over this agency. A third of the heavenly host was willing to surrender their agency in exchange for no opportunity to fail, and unstated, but no less true, no opportunity to grow. Without agency, there is no progression. We would never be able to fully develop as Father’s children without it. Did we have a guarantee to return to live with Father? No. Father’s plan was explained to us. We knew that we would face temptation, and trial. We knew that we would make mistakes. But what we also knew was that the plan anticipated that. If we would have faith, strive to keep the commandments, and repent, then through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we would be able to return as heirs to our father in heaven. We would not have that option without this probationary state.

President Eyring spoke in the Women’s Conference in the Spring of 2014. He quoted then Elder Russell M. Nelson regarding Eve. He said:

“Consider Eve, the mother of all living. Elder Russell M. Nelson said this of Eve; We and all mankind are forever blessed because of Eve’s great courage and wisdom. By partaking of the fruit first, she did what needed to be done. Adam was wise enough to do likewise.”

Understanding the need of the fall, this phrase comes into full clarity. Can you imagine the realization that Eve had, that all of mortality was depending on her decision to transgress God’s commandment?

Continuing the quote:

Every daughter of Eve has the potential to bring the same blessing to her family that Eve brought to hers. She was so important to the establishment of families that we have this report of her creation: ‘And the Gods said: let us make an help meet for the man, for it is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him”

It is obvious that we were not meant to go through life alone. This was a truth from the beginning. Neither the man without the woman, nor the woman without the man. A wide variety of circumstances can force us to live alone, including the death of a spouse, divorce, or not having ever married. As this is our probationary period, we learn, and we adapt to the life that we have. For those that mourn a spouse, we have the promise that this time is but an instant to eternity, and soon enough we will be reunited with them. For those that have been divorced, I can testify that life does not end. I have never felt lower than that point, but I testify that at times like that, more than any other, the Lord is holding out his arms, to gather us in and help us to see that there is a promise and that opportunity awaits. For those who wonder about eternal blessings for their family, and for those that never marry, the Lord knows you, and will not deny blessings to his children who are faithful. Our Father is merciful, and knows our circumstances, and our hearts. This I know to be true.

As we celebrate Mother’s day, and give special honor, we need to remember that because of the Plan of Salvation, which provides the Atonement for us, upon conditions of faith and repentance, and because of our mother Eve, who chose mortality, thus putting Father’s plan for us in action, we can return to live again with our Father in Heaven.