Line upon Line

As a young woman in my early twenties, I loved imagining what my future family and home life would be like. I was excited by the possibilities that lay ahead – the family dinners, the bedtime stories, the camping trips, and so much more. Looking back almost two decades later, as the mother of five now, I recognize that while I was appropriately enthusiastic about impending parenthood, I was also terribly nave. I had grown up with two younger siblings and had babysat a number of children during my teenage years, but those experiences, while valuable, were scant preparation for the hands-on, non-stop nature of raising a family.

As a young mother in search of some much-needed guidance, I read through a number of outstanding parenting books. Some were highly instructive ( Raising Your Spirited Child by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka) while others were inspirational and encouraging (including Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison and Being the Mom by LDS author Emily Watts).

I learned much from these books and while they have served as helpful and comforting companions over the years, my favorite parenting book is the Book of Mormon. I say this because the Book of Mormon provides me with more guidance, inspiration and support in my role as a mother than any other book I’ve ever read.

Over the years, as I’ve studied the Book of Mormon with motherhood in mind, I have come to understand that this book can bless us as mothers like no other book on earth. Here are just a few of the many reasons I love and value the Book of Mormon in my role as a Mom:

The Book of Mormon provides us with a powerful invitation to come unto Christ and to bring our children with us.

As mothers, we benefit enormously when we embrace the central message of the Book of Mormon to come unto Christ, especially when it comes to receiving the atonement in our lives. I say this because so many mothers I know tend to be too hard on themselves, to feel nothing but awful when they fall short of their ideal vision of motherhood. I think we sometimes forget that the Lord’s atonement was made for mothers too. Yes, we are told to become perfect even as Jesus and our Father in Heaven are perfect (see 3 Nephi 12:48), but we are not left to walk the path toward perfection alone (see Moroni 10:32). The Lord is more than willing to walk with us and to make up for our shortcomings when we earnestly seek Him.

If you tend to be too hard on yourself, especially in your role as a mother, set some time aside to make a focused study of the Book of Mormon with the Savior’s atonement in mind. If you do this, you are sure to find the support and encouragement you need to fully embrace the power of the atonement in your life. Among the many scriptures to consider, see Enos 1:3-8 (when Enos’ sins and guilt are swept away), Alma 22:14-16 (where Aaron teaches Lamoni’s father about the plan of redemption), and Moroni 7:41 (which reminds us of the great hope in the atonement). Scriptures such as these make a compelling case for each of us to make more space for the Savior’s atonement in our lives. The Lord loves you and He made His sacrifice for you – His daughter and the mother to some truly precious children. He invites you to make full use of His priceless gift. I can tell you from experience that when we allow the atonement to work in our lives, a weight lifts and we are more open to the joy available to us in motherhood.

Another thing I love about the Book of Mormon is that it provides wonderful guidance for what we should focus on in raising our children. Consider the words of the Nephites where they proclaim “And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ.that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins (2 Nephi25:26).” When I reflect on this verse, I feel less stressed about the myriad things the world tells me I should be teaching my children and more committed to teaching them the things that matter most. When we seek to help our children build a personal relationship with the Savior through our family home evenings and our informal discussions with them, Heavenly Father will bless our efforts. Our children will know to what example they may look in creating their individual lives, and we as parents will find peace and a reassurance in raising our children greater than any peace the world can provide.

The Book of Mormon reminds us to tap into the power of prayer.

One of my favorite reminders about the power of prayer is found in Alma 37:37: “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” What a comfort it is to know that we can counsel with the Lord in all our doings as mothers to our children, and that he will direct us for good. Who of us does not want to be directed for good by the Lord, especially as we raise our children?

When it comes to making the most of our prayers, The Book of Mormon shows us the way. Within its pages, we come to understand that we are to be humble and to continue in prayer (see Alma 34:19), to fast and pray oft (see Helaman 3:35), to return thanks unto God for whatsoever things we receive (see Alma 7:23), and to pray always unto the Father that he will consecrate our performance in whatever endeavors we may undertake (see 2 Nephi 32:9). The Book of Mormon reminds us that through prayer we can seek to mother with holiness of heart (Mosiah 18:12), to teach our children with power and authority (see Alma 17:3), and to ask the Lord for whatever we may be in need of in our roles as mothers (see 3 Nephi 14:7-8).

Over the years, I have come to understand that if we will pray unto our Father in Heaven with faith and our hearts full of thanksgiving, we can receive revelation upon revelation and knowledge upon knowledge to guide and comfort us as we navigate motherhood and family life (see D&C 42:61) . When we accept the Lord’s invitation to pray unto Him morning and night, and to carry a prayer in our hearts always, He will walk with us and guide us (and our children) through our days (the good and the bad) and along the path toward eternal life.

The Book of Mormon is filled with verses, passages and accounts that we can liken unto our mothering lives for our benefit and for the benefit of our children.

The foundation for this understanding was laid during my youth when my seminary teacher shared Nephi’s thoughts on the scriptures: “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning (1 Nephi 19:23).” As soon as I heard these words, I felt their truth and knew that Nephi’s words would serve as a guiding force for me throughout the rest of my life. From my seminary days forward, I have sought diligently to liken the scriptures unto my life so that they might be for my benefit and the benefit of those I love most.

And during the years that I’ve been a mother, my desire to liken Book of Mormon scriptures unto my own life has only grown. I feel deeply that if we take this sacred book to heart, if we make a consistent and close study of it, and seek to apply what we learn to our individual lives, we stand a better chance of being the mothers the Lord wants us to be, the mothers our children need us to be.

When we read and study the Book of Mormon with motherhood in mind, it becomes clear that the opportunities to liken Book of Mormon scriptures unto our mothering lives are almost limitless. As I mentioned earlier, we benefit enormously from likening scriptures about prayer and the atonement unto our lives, but we benefit from likening many other Book of Mormon scriptures unto our mothering lives as well. There are the scriptures that help us to turn our weaknesses into strengths (Ether 12:27), to do all things in wisdom and order (Mosiah 4:27), to stand for truth and righteousness ( Moroni 8:16), and to help our children find peace in troubled times (3 Nephi 22:13). There are also the passages where we learn that if we exercise faith in Christ, we will have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in him (Moroni 7:33) and where we are told that we can speak with the tongue of angels if we have the Holy Ghost with us (2 Nephi 32:2).

There are also entire accounts, true stories in the Book of Mormon that bless us when we liken them unto our mothering lives. There’s the story of Lehi and his vision of the tree of life that inspires us to share the gospel with our children, to do whatever we can to help them hold fast to the iron rod. There’s the account of Samuel the Lamanite heeding the Lord’s directive to go back and stand on the city wall to speak the words of the Lord to the Nephites even when they answered him with arrows (this account can give us the courage we need to share what the Lord would have us share with a wayward teen even if they aren’t necessarily receptive), and the story of the brother of Jared as he prepares for the journey across the dark and treacherous seas to the new world (the brother of Jared’s collaboration with the Lord in seeking to light the barges during the Jaredites’ journey can be particularly instructive to us as parents in these dark and troubling times).

Over the years, I have come to understand that The Book of Mormon can serve as the ultimate guide to raising children in the latter-days. If we prayerfully search the Book of Mormon for answers to our parenting questions, we will find them. Sometimes, we will find very specific answers to our questions and, at other times, the Book of Mormon will prime our minds for the inspiration the Lord is waiting to share, or point us in the right direction toward the answers we need (by reminding us to pray more, to fast, and to be humble).

We do not need to become consumed with worry and fear as we raise our children in increasingly troubling times. Rather, if we will nourish ourselves with the words of the Lord and pray and exercise faith, we will find for ourselves what hope and positive guidance there can be for raising children in the latter-days.

Start Now

If you would like to make a greater and fuller use of the Book of Mormon in your role as a parent, start now. As you seek to read and study from the Book of Mormon with an eye to motherhood and family life, begin your study sessions with prayer. Ask the Lord to open your heart and mind to the full potential of the Book of Mormon to help you raise your children in righteousness. Read and study with a pen or pencil in hand to mark the passages that touch you, to copy those most affecting, and to place them where you can review them often. Pray in earnest about what you read and study. Seek to liken specific scriptures unto your mothering life. Ask for further light and knowledge from the Lord and strive to put what you learn to work for you and your family, one day at a time.

If you will work to make the most of motherhood and family life with the Book of Mormon as your guide, you and your family will be richly rewarded. For you will discover for yourself in ways not previously imagined what power and blessings can come to a mother who is inspired and empowered by the Book of Mormon .