Saturday, October 20, 2007

"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.

9 comments:

Ally said...

You go girl!! I agree with you 100%.

Steve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shawny said...

Amen! I was going to blog about the same thing. I read the same Salt Lake Tribune article and had the exact thoughts. I loved this talk when I heard it and still do. Steve and I have been discussing all the negative comments we've encountered via blogs, articles, etc. Kudos to Sis. Beck for standing up and voicing what I firmly believe.

Kendra said...

ditto, ditto, and ditto!

My Many Coloured Days said...

Apparently I'm completely out of the loop. I had no idea about all the"hoopla" regarding this talk. I thoroughly enjoyed it also and somehow didn't see that it would offend anyone. However, she has a strong voice, is a great speaker and obviously is chosen of God - anyone with those skills and abilities is likely to be torn to pieces by some, and praised by others. Thanks for your thoughts Kara.

singin'mama said...

I"m so glad to have amazing friends that are mothers who know! I love you for it!

Maria said...

*cheer!!! Thank you. I was also going to post something on my blog to add to it but I think you said it. It's been really frustrating--lately especially. It's like everyone has lost some part of their willingness to listen.

I thought it was all incredibly inspiring. You can take it two ways. You can think "WOW, what i have to do here is absolutely amazing... It IS worth it, what I do every day DOES make a difference, and I am going to TRY to do my very best even though I am not perfect" Or....the attitude that has been previously discussed.

I have been getting weirdness about some cultural stuff lately that of course has nothing to do with the gospel and I think this is definitely included in that. Just worry about you!!! Do what you can do!!! Stop looking at how "wonderful" everyone is around you and see what you have to offer and maybe once in a while growing and stepping it up a little. There is nothing wrong with improvement. Isn't that the whole POINT?

I just think we let ourselves get stretched so thin that it's easy to feel like what we do is never enough. And yes, that really sucks. BUT, at the end of the day you do what you can and the Lord fills in the rest.

Sarah said...

I'm glad I found your blog, and I really enjoyed this entry Kara! I'm totally out of the loop and didn't know it had created such a stir. How sad! I can't believe it! I am still re-reading that talk because it was so inspiring to me. I am so thankful for our leaders!!!!! Take care Kara! I'll be checking out your blog again as I am really enjoying staying in touch the Bloomington gals via blogspot!!!

Jen said...

Sarah posted what I wanted to say! I just came across your blog today and I am totally enjoying reading it!
I especially liked this post. I live in Minnesota and so I haven't noticed all the hoopla either, but I totally agree with everything you said! Amen sister!
Hope you had a nice Christmas and New Years. I'll be markig this blog in my favorites, can't wait to see what you write about next.