To the Mothers

My mother is strong, beautiful, smart, sweet, a great cook, and has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She is a true example to me of a faithful woman. My mother is one of my very best friends. I love her so much. I could go on and on about the importance of mothers and how wonderful my own mother is. Instead I will let you hear about how wonderful mothers are from the prophets and apostles and leaders of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ:

The Divinity of Mothers

"May each of us treasure this truth: ...One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one."
--President Thomas S. Monson

The Sanctity of Mothers

"Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny. He well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family....He has convinced many of the lie that they are third-class citizens in the kingdom of God. That falsehood has led some to trade their divinely given femininity for male coarseness."
--Elder Richard G. Scott

The Sacrifice of Mothers

"Just as a mother's body may be permanently marked with the signs of pregnancy and childbirth, [the Savior] said, 'I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands' (1 Nephi 21:15-16). For both a mother and the Savior, those marks memorialize a wrenching sacrifice--the sacrifice of begetting life--for her, physical birth; for him, spiritual rebirth."
--Elder Bruce C. Hafen and Sister Marie K. Hafen

The Personal Growth of Mothers

"The world would state that a woman is in a form of servitude that does not allow her to develop her gifts and talents. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be further from the truth. Do not let the world define, denigrate, or limit your feelings of lifelong learning, and the values of motherhood in the home. Motherhood is the ideal opportunity for lifelong learning. A mother's learning grows as she nurtures the child in his or development years. They are both learning and maturing together at a remarkable pace. It's exponential, not linear...In the process of rearing her children, a mother studies such topics as child development; nutrition; health care; physiology, psychology, nursing, with medical research and care; and educational tutoring in many diverse fields such as math, science geography, literature, English, and foreign languages. She develops gifts such as music, athletics, dance and public speaking. The learning examples could continue endlessly."
--Elder Robert D. Hales 

The Influence of Mothers

"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life.The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world."
--President David O. McKay

The Goals of Effective Mothering

1. Preserving life.
2. Nurturing growth and development.

The Way To Mother

"There is no perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family....What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else."
--Elder M. Russell Ballard

Husbands & Motherhood

"The greatest work of any man is 'the endowment of motherhood' (Carver, 1913, p. 293). As a husband 'endows' his wife with motherhood, he does all that he can to enable her work as a mother to flourish, because she is the central nurturer of their greatest treasure."
--Jenet J. Erickson

The Definition of Motherhood

"Of all the words they could have chosen to define her role and her essence, both God the Father and Adam called Eve 'the mother of all living'--and they did so before she ever bore a child....Motherhood is more than bearing children....It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us."
--Sister Sheri Dew

Source: Hawkins, A. J. (20122012). Mothers as Nurturers. Successful marriages and families: proclamation principles and research perspectives (131-137). Provo, Utah: BYU Studies and School of Family Life, Brigham Young University.