Mothering and the Book of Mormon - Cast Your Eyes About

This guest post was written by my friend Cheyenne. Cheyenne and I met in elementary school. We had a million sleepovers and kissed a million pictures of Jonathan Taylor Thomas (life lesson learned: you can not wash lipstick off a wall poster). We were friends through high school and have stayed in touch as we've ventured into parenthood. Speaking of parenthood, Cheyenne is a mother to five little boys. A basketball team, in other words. Cheyenne graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelors in Marriage Family and Human Development. She and her husband Seth recently started a web site called Family Tough. Cheyenne has always amazed me - from her devotion to family to her love for the scriptures. She is an amazing person and someone I really look up to.

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The night before my second baby was born I was nervous, thrilled, excited and more than a little bit terrified. I had so many questions. How would I share my time? How could I adequately care for each of them and give them the love and attention they’d both need? What would it be like having two little boys only 18 months apart?

I said a quiet prayer and then opened my scriptures to look for guidance and direction as I tried to mentally prepare for this new adventure. I ended up turning to Alma chapter 33. The particular verses I had turned to were merely by accident. However as I began reading them I realized they were far from an accident, and actually Peace and assurance straight from Heaven.

In this chapter, Alma is teaching a group of people what it means to exercise faith. He shares with them the account of Moses and the brass serpent.

“...yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.”

 

Then Alma asks them this critical question:

“O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?”

I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks this question is so easy to answer. Would we have looked? Of course. Why not? If something so simple would help so much, why wouldn’t we?

Then Alma further challenges the people in verses 22-23.

 “... then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen."

I realized what the Spirit was trying to teach me.

“Plant this word in your hearts.” Study the scriptures. Feast and ponder them.

“...and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life.” Have Faith in what I read and it will begin to grow. I will be filled with the Spirit.

“And then.” These are my favorite two words in the entire verse, because they are so important. We’ve just been told to read and study the scriptures, and to have faith in what we read, and now we’re about to see the promise associated if we do those things.

“And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light.” God will make our burdens light. He will lift the load that we carry and help shoulder the weight we feel as mothers. How?

“through the joy of his Son” Through the Atonement of our Savior and His love for us, not only will our burdens be lifted, but we will feel joy.

“And even all this can ye do...” As mothers, the list of things we need to do is long. The list of things we feel we should do and accomplish is even longer. Cooking, cleaning, playing with the kids, serving in our church and community, being a good wife, a good neighbor, a good friend. All of these worthwhile necessary responsibilities can be difficult to manage, and challenging to find the right balance. Yet with God’s help we can do them all if...

“if ye will.” If we will first do the other things. If we will study our scriptures deeply, and put our faith in the Son of God, we will have the help and capacity we need to be able to do all that is required of us, and to even do it well.

This work we do is so crucial. The dishes, the homework help, the laundry and the lullabies are all a part of building souls. With so much on our plate and so much expected of a mother, why would God leave us to accomplish this great work alone?

He wouldn’t.

He hasn’t.

This is probably the single most important lesson I have learned in my life about motherhood and the Book of Mormon. The simple yet profoundly important truth that I need the scriptures. In order to be the mother that I want to be, to be able to meet the challenges of the day I need to be drinking deeply from those living waters.

It is a lesson I needed to learn then, and it is a lesson I need even more today. I now have five children. Five young boys. This transition has been stretching, trying, work, yet it’s also been beautiful. I’ve been struggling recently with the new demands and the pressures of having so many young children, when I remembered this block of scripture and it has changed me again. As I’ve recommitted my study in the scriptures and cut out other distractions I have literally felt “my burdens become light through the Joy of His Son.” I don’t mean to call my children burdens, because they aren’t. I chose to have the family I have now, and I wouldn’t change any one of those decisions. Yet even blessings can feel heavy.

We all need courage and strength to do the things we do as mothers, whether we have one child, or 4 or 7. And we can find that strength and courage in the scriptures. Whether it’s how to get your baby to nap, or how to potty train a stubborn 3 year old, how to calm a nervous 6 year old as he transitions to first grade, how to help build the confidence of our teenagers, how to balance our time, or renew our spirit, there are answers to be found. If we are in the scriptures the Spirit can work on us, and we can get the answers and the help that we so desperately need.

The Lord is waiting to answer our prayers, to give guidance and direction in our everyday mothering. To lift, and bless, and calm. If we will only turn to Him. But it is up to us.

Just as the children of Israel had a choice, we must choose each day.

To believe Him,

to trust Him,

to Look.

“...begin to believe in the Son of God... .plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen.”

~ Alma 33:23

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This guest post is part of my series, "Mothering and the Book of Mormon." To learn more about why I am writing this series, please read this. To learn more about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, check out Mormon.org or LDS.org.

Did you know you can request a Book of Mormon for free? No joke! See here.

I'll even send you one if you want. Marginalia included.

You can e-mail me: 

{fluentbrittish [at] gmail [dot] com}

I won't even try to baptize you!