"Mothers Who Know"- Thank You Sister Beck!

I have been pondering alot lately since I heard the talk "Mothers Who Know" by Sister Julie Beck in General Conference a few weeks ago. I was so grateful for her straight forward nature in delivering information that was bound to be touchy for some women. In the past few years I have watched as women of the church have begun to take "modern" council a bit too far in justifying the increasing amount of time they seem to be spending outside the home. It was a breath of fresh air for Sister Beck to bring us back to the basics. Helping us remember the core priorities that we, as Latter-Day Saint women, are encouraged to keep in focus. I have been extremely disappointed and disturbed with the tremendous backlash that has occurred in response to her inspired words. In an article publish in the Salt Lake Tribune, it discusses this furious debate spawned by her talk. It created quite a stir among Latter-day Saint Women, who I feel, have missed the point entirely. One woman was quoted from a blog entitled Feministmormonhousewives.org. She said, ""I want to sustain Beck," wrote Lisa Butterworth on feministmormonhousewives.org. "I don't want to bash her, but (Whooaa! Stop right there!" I want to sustain her...but"...You either DO or you DON'T- Inserted by me :)there is no way that I can believe that 'keeping our homes as tidy as the temple' or 'being the best homemakers in the world' are the vital lessons that will bring myself and my family closer to the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Was she not listening?! Sister Beck was simple expressing that creating a house of order sets the stage for the spirit to be present when the gospel is being taught in the home. We don't have to be fanatical about keeping our houses clean, and we don't need to feel guilty if it's not always clean. That's not what she was saying. She asking us to realize that doing menial tasks around the home is not merely "work", but a simple way we can express our love and nurture our family. It's a way of showing sacrafice and love. What is happening to our good ol'e fashioned values? Single women were offended because they were not "included". As written in the article, 'The speech made her feel "like an outsider in my own church and inadequate," Reynolds said. "Whatever offering I can give is not enough because I don't have my own kids." ' I wonder what Sister Dew would have to say about that. I don't get offended when there is a talk that doesn't apply perfectly to my situation! Give me a break!

Some were even so petty as to complain about her saying that their daughter's hair should be brushed to perfection for church on sunday. A comment of a female BYU professor stated, "I never had the knack of styling my daughters' hair; their hair on Sunday is usually au naturel, which looks beautiful to my eyes," said Valerie Hudson, a BYU political science professor and mother of eight. "My husband does the cooking in our family, and takes great satisfaction in making what he calls 'food for the soul.' He even bakes the treats for our children's class parties. . .This year I'm teaching my 13-year-old son to sew his own special Halloween costume." Can she not see that in her very comment that she is already doing what Sister Beck is asking of women? That she is nourturing her children in her own way? Why must we all take things so much in the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law? I guess I'm not any better as I am bashing this ridiculous onslaught. But I feel like shouting from the rooftops that the world is going to pot so we need to do everything we can to be on the Lord's side. Complaining about petty things is a waste of time. Sister Beck has been called of God just has President Hinckley and the Quorum of the twelve have. If you choose to sustain them, you accept that their words come directly from the Lord. The last days are here! Will we also reject the warnings of the prophets? I would like to challenge all of you to put aside your own desire to be "validated". Be humble and become "Mothers who know." We owe it to our children and we owe it to the Lord.

Sermon over.