Happy Mother’s Day!  This week we will study President Thomas S. Monson’s talk from the Sunday morning session of General Conference.  Did you get your Conference edition of the Ensign in the mail this week?!  Now we can carry it around with us and catch up on reading in the car, at the gym, etc.  Anyway, I’ve been accused by someone I love who shall remain nameless (cough, cough, Matt, cough), of being a little bit grumpy lately, so I figured maybe I should revisit President Monson’s message:  “Be of Good Cheer.”  I remember listening to it and feeling like I should be more grateful for the abundant blessings and relative ease of my life.  I’m looking forward to reading it again.  “Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”

If this is your first visit to the General Conference Book Club, click here to learn more about it. You’re welcome to join us at any point along the way.  Just like a New Year’s Resolution, I’ve noticed our comments have been waning on the GCBC posts from week to week, so let’s rally this week and share our insights as we read the words of our living prophet, seer, and revelator.

>>Click here to read “Be of Good Cheer” by President Thomas S. Monson<<

In the spirit of Mother’s Day, I also wanted to share part of a talk called “Choose the Good Part,” which was given exactly 25 years ago in the Spring General Conference by Elder Marvin J. Ashton.

“My personal definition of a good woman is any woman who is moving in the right direction. I humbly thank God constantly for their courage, strength, and commitment. Through you noble sisters, each in different circumstances in life, by your example, encouragement, conduct, and personal integrity, God’s work goes forward with greater purpose and accomplishment.  . . . Oh, how powerful are good women who choose the good part.”

“Sisters, do not allow yourselves to be made to feel inadequate or frustrated because you cannot do everything others seem to be accomplishing. Rather, each should assess her own situation, her own energy, and her own talents, and then choose the best way to mold her family into a team, a unit that works together and supports each other. Only you and your Father in Heaven know your needs, strengths, and desires. Around this knowledge your personal course must be charted and your choices made.” . . .

“Commune daily with your Heavenly Father who knows you best of all. He knows your talents, your strengths, and your weaknesses. You are here on the earth at this time to develop and refine these characteristics. I promise you He will help you. He is aware of your needs. He is aware of your unanswered prayers.” . . .

“God bless our valiant women . . . . You are choice in His […] eyes. We pray that with His help and our personal efforts happiness will be achieved. Certainly when we choose the good part, regardless of our current circumstances or situations, life will be lived to the fullest.”

Have a great Mother’s Day!  Don’t you dare get “mother guilt” when you listen to all those Mother’s Day talks and stuff.  🙂  You’re doing good work.