On this Mother’s Day in 2023, I have reflected on mothers who have affected my life. My thoughts were first drawn to my own mother, Alura Larsen Hunt Nash. It was with sadness that I noted that this is my first Mother’s Day in my 68 years, that I could not celebrate with my mother. She died in September of last year. I thought of her frequently through the day. I missed her greatly, but I also know that she continues to watch over me. I felt again, her love, today.
As I contemplated the generations of mothers whose lives have touched mine, I thought of a church talk that I gave on the subject back on May 11, 2014. I decided to post that talk as a tribute to those special ladies.
Talk given with Larissa’s Mother’s Day Mission Farewell Talk
May 11, 2014
I am happy to be here and to share the Mother’s Day program with Larissa. All week she has wondered who else would be talking, how long they would take, how long she should take, etc. I did not let on to her to nor to my wife that I was to speak also today. My wife just found out and could not believe that I pulled one over on them. She stuck her tongue out at me. It was a great moment.
I’m pleased that Larissa has chosen to go on a mission. She has been influenced by 3 generations of family LM’s – lady missionaries. Three of her sisters served before her and set the example – as did her mother and both grandmothers and her Aunt Laurie on the Hunt side. And on the Belcher side, Lou and ALL four of her sisters (and all four brothers – so all of the 9 Belcher siblings served. One sister did not go when she was young – since she got married – but she later served four or five missions.
In addition to the Hunt ladies, Larissa’s three brothers served – as did five of the Hunt uncles – and all eight of the Belcher uncles.
Mothers of many generations have taught these missionaries. Mothers have a very profound influence upon missionary sons and daughters. In the case of my own mother, she tells of her first recollection of me wanting to go on a mission. She says I asked her one day if I could take Pogo, my teddy bear, and my blanket with me on my mission. She wisely said, “If you want to!” Obviously there had been some missionary discussion prior to that conversation. Pogo was long since worn out by the time that I went on my mission but my mother did make me a new quilt to take with me.
Mother’s Day in 2008 was on May 11th – as it is this year. On that day, I recorded some thoughts in my daily journal:
MAY 11TH – SUNDAY
Today was Mother’s Day – the day set aside to recognize mothers for their sacrifices and contributions in our lives. The Bishop cancelled the leadership meetings of the day so that we could be home with our wives and mothers. This was a welcome blessing.
As I pondered mothers, today, I thought of five generations of mothers who have affected my life. I first thought of my great grandmother, Else Marie Pedersen Larsen – who represents all of the pioneer mothers who sacrificed their worldly goods so that we might today enjoy the great blessings of the Gospel. Her father di3ed just before they joined the church. The mother wanted to go to Zion but could not afford to take all seven children. She took the three youngest – two boys and my great grandmother and headed to America – with plans to send for the other four children later. However, the mother died in St. Louis – leaving the three children on their own. Great grandmother Else made it to Zion, married and ultimately had 10 children.
I then thought of my own grandmother, Augusta Wilcox Hunt who gave her entire life in service to others. I thought of how she raised her thirteen children and how she served them and everyone else. I thought of her funeral when most of my 82 cousins and coincidentally also 82 of her great grandchildren (and I counted them this morning from records of that time) all stood together and sang, “Because I have been Given Much” as a symbol of her life of service. That was one of the great moments of my life.
I next thought of my own mother. I thought of her teaching to me. I thought of how she taught me to work, to trust in the Lord, to serve others. I reflected upon her testimony, her dedication to the Lord and to all worthy causes. I thought of her support of me in Scouting as a youth. Whatever I was interested in, she was also interested in it. She served faithfully on the Scout committee and helped insure that her five sons had a good program. I thought of her today as the continuing example of righteousness and good things.
My wife, Lou was next on my list. I thought with gratitude of her and was glad that she has been given to me – and that she is the mother of our nine children. I reflected upon her great sacrifices for me and each of the children. I thought of her faith through trials and her core of strength and commitment.
And then, finally, I reflected upon each of my six daughters – the mothers of my current and future grandchildren. I thought of their lives and their preparations to be mothers. I wondered if Lou and I have given them the training and preparation that they need and will need for their great lives and work. I reflected on those who are presently mothers and the good things that they are doing with their own children. I hoped that each one would take the time to teach their children the Gospel truths that the children so greatly need in today’s world. I hoped that each daughter might remain true and faithful and joyful in their world and the possibilities that each has and will have as a mother in Zion in these final days of the world.
So, I was grateful for many generations of wonderful mothers who have affected my life and the lives of my ancestors, my children and future generations. I have been blessed to have had association and influence from these great women in my life. I am thankful for each and their contributions to my life.
So, today I am talking of the influence of generations of mothers. My family is blessed to have four generations of mothers present today. I’m going to invite them to be my visual aids for my talk – and they can kill me later. As I tell their names, I’d like them to stand and then to remain standing.
I’d like my own mother, Alura, to stand. She’s shrinking with age but she still stands tall as the grand matriarch of our family.
Mom is:
Mother to 7
Grandmother to 24 (12 boys and 12 girls)
Great Grandmother to 36
And with a second marriage she doubles the children and grandchild generations and I think she’s lost track of the great grands on that side.
Her hunt posterity now numbers 85 (with the in-laws). Of that 85, 33 have served missions, 22 are Eagle Scouts, and 19 girls earned their Young Women Recognition Award and an equal number are mothers.
In the second generation, I have here two sisters – Laurie (mother of two) and Ruthanne (mother of three).
Also in the second generation is my wife, Lou – or “Momma Lou” as we all know her. Lou is:
Mother of 9
Soon to be grandmother to 27 with the upcoming births of three more grands. This will make a total posterity of 45!
Of this 45, three sons and five son-in-laws are Eagle Scouts
8 daughters and daughters in law have received the Young Women Recognition and these eight are now all others
Larissa makes our seventh missionary – and four sons in law have also served
All nine of her children are now endowed at the Temple
In the 3rd Generation, I introduce three of our daughters: Jackie, mother of three and full-time college student at BYU-Idaho; Fabriza – our Brazilian daughter-in-law – and Aunt to Vini the young Brazilian convert whom Larissa referred to; and Marinda – who will give birth to her first child and our 27th grandchild in August. She is nurturing the baby in many ways – even now.
And then we come to the 4th generation. In this generation we have the future mothers. These include Larissa, Abby and Sienna.
I wish that all of our family mothers could have been here to stand as mothers with us but that was not possible. But, look at the power in these generations of mothers!
Let’s talk about each of these generations of mothers. Great grandmothers are just that. They are experienced and really great grandmothers. Mothers in this generation can:
Share their testimonies with their posterity
Write for their posterity
Send birthday cards and letters – the young kids love them
Attend concerts, sports events, weddings, baptisms and blessings
Attend the Temple as an example to her posterity
Encourage and help the grandmothers train young mothers
Contribute to missionary funds for their posterity
A scripture that can characterize this generation is Moses 5:11. This talks of Adam and Mother Eve. Some of you think you have it “bad” with four or five children. Think of Eve – she may have been the mother of 150 or more! Anyway, she was able to look back on her situation and could then rejoice in her posterity.
Grandmothers can:
Bake and decorate cookies with the grandchildren
Make clay dough for the grandchildren
Make dresses for granddaughters for Christmas and special occasions
Go on missions as an example to the grandchildren
Attend events involving the grandchildren
Establish mission savings accounts for the grandchildren (instead of other gifts)
Serve faithfully in the church and in the family
Establish family traditions that are unique to her. Momma Lou, for instance makes home made doughnuts, cinnamon rolls and has rock out dance parties with the grandchildren. They want to do these things with her every time that she goes to their place – and whenever they come to our place.
Call and encourage her daughters as one who has been through it. I know that my wife calls and connects with her daughters almost every day. She is a great source of encouragement to them in their times of challenge. I know when my wife was a young mother she thought her situation was bad. It was so bad, in fact, that she ripped the pages of those days from her journal and burned them. Now it is too bad that she can’t share those entries with her daughters – who are now going through those same struggles. Young mothers, know that it does get better with time!
A scripture for the grandmother generation is found in Alma 56. We are all familiar with the account of the young Ammonite warriors and their mothers who taught them to trust in the Lord. They were definitely “mothers who knew” as Larissa just quoted Sister Beck, former General President of the Relief Society.
But, there were at least two other generations of mothers who were not mentioned in the original account. One of those generations was the grandmothers of the young Ammonite warriors – the mothers of the mothers of the soldiers. This generation of mothers were the first generation converts to the church. They made covenants and were true and faithful. Twenty nine years had passed since their conversions and their daughters would have been the initial Young Women of their day. They taught their daughters to love the Lord. The Ammonite youth were ages 14 to 20 when they served. That would put their mothers around ages 30 to 45 and the grandmothers age 45 to 65. So, most of that generation of mothers would have been alive during the war and would have offered much support and many prayers in support of their daughters and their warrior sons. They would have assisted their daughters in the training of the 3rd generation.
And the third generation of mothers in The Book of Mormon story are those who were the sisters of the Ammonite warriors. Say for an example that each of the soldiers had a sister who was at home. This would mean at least 2,000 sisters – and perhaps many more. These daughters received the same training as their brothers. They were the future mothers who were then preparing for their roles of wives to the 2,000 young men soldiers who would come home from the war – and their future children.
Mothers, you are the generation who are now up to your eyeballs in diapers, you are the barbers, the Cub Scout den leaders and so much more. In your role as mothers, you can teach your young children to trust in the Lord. I still remember when I was a child and how my mother made a large poster with what became our favorite scripture: Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.”
Ammonite mothers taught that same trust in the Lord to their children.
Mothers, you are the women who are just trying to make it “through another day”. You offer your support to your husbands and his family as did Ruth to her widowed mother-in-law as she said to Naomi, “whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” (Ruth 1:16)
You mothers are the true nurturers that Larissa quoted from Sister Beck. Always have family home evening and read the scriptures with your children. Pray with them often. You are the trainers of this greatest generation of missionaries and it is your task to train them so you and they can participate in the great “hastening of the work” which is now in progress with missionary work.
Future mothers … You can use your time to learn from the generations of mothers before you. Read The Book of Mormon, gain a testimony. Be a missionary now and later. A scripture for your generation comes from the story of Esther. She became the queen in a foreign country and with people not her own. Under the tutelage of her Uncle Mordecai, she became the queen and saved her people from destruction. Mordecai told her, “thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this …” (Esther 4:14) And like Esther, you have indeed been reserved to come forth at this great time to help prepare God’s children for the 2nd coming of Christ. You are a part of “the chosen generation a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people” (2 Peter 2:9) and you have a very special service to perform as a mother in these final days.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talked of mother. He said (“Because She is a Mother”, Ensign, May 1997): “I wish to pay tribute to the modern counterparts of those pioneer mothers who watched after, prayed for, and far too often buried their babies on the long trail. … I … praise those motherly hands that have rocked the infant’s cradle and, through righteousness taught to their children there, are at the very center of the Lord’s purposes for us in mortality.
“In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. The young years are often those when either husband or wife – or both – may still be in school or in those earliest and leanest stages of developing the husband’s breadwinning capacities. Finances fluctuate daily between low and nonexistent. The apartment is usually decorated in one or two smart designs – Deseret Industries provincial or early Mother Hubbard. The car, if there is one, runs on smooth tires and an empty tank. But with night feedings and night teethings, often the greatest challenge of all for a young mother is simply fatigue. Through these years, mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island.
“Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. … Mothers, we acknowledge and esteem your faith in every footstep. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever. … Through the thick and the tin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, know deep down inside [you] are doing God’s work [and] … that in [your] motherhood [you] are in an eternal partnership with Him.”
Quoting as did Larissa from Sister Julie B. Beck, former Relief Society General President:
“The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. … Mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children.
“In the culture of the gospel we still believe in having children. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that “God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.” President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that “in the eternal perspective, children – not possessions, not position, not prestige – are our greatest jewels.”
My own mother willingly received all children who came to her. She said often that with each new child came increased resources and capabilities to take care of them. Our family was greatly blessed because our parents brought children – us – into the world. So, young couples, invite as many as you can to your home.
Jackie was our oldest child. She was in a secure position. We have a wall of our home that has various family photos – mainly taken when we added another child to the family. Larissa once looked at that wall and said, “That’s not fair! How come Jackie is in every picture and I am only in one?”
Don’t postpone having children as you wait for “your ship to come in”. If you spend all of your time waiting for your ship to come in, you may sit at the beach for a very long time. You may see some beautiful sunsets but you will miss much of joy and happiness. If you wait to have children until you can afford them, you probably won’t have any.
Fabriza, what would have happened if the Hunt family had quit with just four children. And Mike, what would have happened for you if the Hunt family had quit at six children. And Larissa, where would you be if we had quit after eight! We trusted in the Lord and He has forever taken care of us!
Again quoting from Sister Beck,
“Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness. To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, others who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore Latter-day Saint women should be the best homemakers in the world. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate.”
Sister Beck continues: [And] “Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre-missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation. That is influence; that is power.”
Elder M. Russell Ballard recently spoke to women – wives and mothers. This came after he gave a similar talk to men of the Priesthood. He said, “As you might expect, my 5 daughters, 24 granddaughters and ever-increasing numbers of great-granddaughters have been asking for equal time. …
“And so, my dear young women, with all my heart I urge you not to look to contemporary culture for your role models and mentors. Please look to your faithful mothers for a pattern to follow. Model yourselves after them, not after celebrities whose standards are not the Lord’s standards and whose values may not reflect an eternal perspective. Look to your mother. Learn from her strengths, her courage, and her faithfulness. Listen to her. She may not be a whiz at texting; she may not even have a Facebook page. But, when it comes to matters of the heart and the things of the Lord, she has a wealth of knowledge. As you approach the time for marriage and young motherhood, she will be your greatest source of wisdom. No other person on earth loves you in the same way or is willing to sacrifice as much to encourage you and help you find happiness – in this life and forever. … Teach your daughters to find joy in nurturing children. This is where their love and talents can have the greatest eternal significance.”
Let us all be grateful for the generations of mothers who have influenced our lives. Mothers, of all generations, we thank you! Keep doing and being mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers. I am thankful for the generations of mothers in my own life and all that they have given to me. I have a testimony of their power and influence.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Time ran out – but if I had had time, I would have shared material from my talk given in 2006 at the missionary farewell of Rusty – entitled, “Raising a Righteous Family”
- Commit yourselves and the whole family to the Lord
- Build upon a foundation of family traditions (including Sabbath, missions, general conference, and more)
- Set goals for the family (Achievement, obedience, commitment)
- Plan for a big family
- Keep mom at home with the children
- Don’t have a television. Do other fun things together
- Read together
- Pay a full tithe and generous fast offerings
- Do the basics religiously and regularly
- Be a part of all activities of each other
- Parents and siblings unite in personal example
- Talk often of missions and Temple marriage
- Trust in the Lord
- Record events and blessings
Well, there you have it. In the nine years since that church talk, we have continued to have family changes. The 27 grandchildren have grown to 42! And the next generation of mothers (our daughters and the daughters-in-law), continue to get better and better. They have all turned out to be great moms. Larissa also got married – another Eagle Scout and returned missionary. LIfe is great because of these generations of mothers. I am grateful for each one and their influence upon the family – and their children (our grand-children).
Happy Mother’s Day to all of the generations of Mothers in our family – to all who are living and those who are watching and are with us on the other side of the veil. We love all of you and are so pleased with the work that you are all doing!
KevintheScout 