Tag Archives: motherhood

The “Anti-Mom”?

Posted in Divinity by

Yesterday, I came upon a headline in my news feed called “The Rise of TV’s ‘Anti-Mom’.”  I don’t really recommend the article, but I was alarmed by its main points.  It summarized the evolution of the way mothers are portrayed in popular television programs, tracing their history from Beaver’s mom and Donna Reed, to Carol Brady, Mrs. Huxtable, and then into Rosanne and some current mother characters in “Desperate Housewives” and “Modern Family.”  The implications are obvious.  What society expects from mothers has drastically changed.  We now celebrate, cheer for, and empathize with what the article calls “flawed moms,” claiming that the happy, organized mothers of the past “set up an atmosphere for women that was just impossible to actually stand by.”

Reading it made me sad.  And it didn’t even touch on the dangerous “reality” TV moms.  The very concept of “anti-mom” shows a shift from concern and care for others to an obsession with self and individualism.  I immediately thought of Sister Julie Beck’s recent talk and this bold claim:

“A lot of the antifamily messages that you are hearing are targeting young women. Satan knows that he will never have a body; he will never have a family. He will target those young women who create the bodies for the future generations and who should teach the families. They don’t even know what they’re being taught in the messages. It’s just seeping in, almost through their pores. Because Satan can’t have it, he’s luring away many women, and also men, and they’re losing confidence in their ability to form eternal families.

. . . Anti-Christ is antifamily. Any doctrine or principle our youth hear from the world that is antifamily is also anti-Christ. It’s that clear. They need to know that if it’s antifamily, it’s anti-Christ. An anti-Christ is antifamily.”

I’m not on any national news feed, but since I feel like one of the main purposes of my blog is to defend the divinity of motherhood, I just can’t keep my mouth shut.  I know that motherhood Continue reading →

Sunrise, Sunset.

Posted in Uncategorized by

It’s a new day and I’m fine.

Thank you to all of you who left such nice comments on my pathetic post yesterday and didn’t say things you should have said, like “Buck up, you sissy. It’s life, you chose it, and you have no real problems, so deal with it.” It was a hard day, one of those days where you call a “family meeting” and cry a little bit. But it ended. President Monson always quotes this one scripture (which is really about death and grief and stuff, but for my own purposes, it means crappy days will pass and things will get better) —

“For [her] anger endureth but a moment; in [her] favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” ~Psalms 30:5

and I have a testimony of that one other scripture (I’m totally making this up):

“For behold, when a mother of small children doth begin to despise her flocks, therefore she is weary and it must come to pass that she sleepeth.  And yea, when she doth offer up prayers that she might not harm her flocks, and doth lie in her bed and sleep, behold, the Lord will have mercy upon her and she shall rise again.”  ~Book of Stephanie 4:7

Amen.

If a blogger falls down in a forest of bloggers, does she have a voice?

Posted in About Blogs, Diapers, Divinity by

I haven’t been producing many quality posts lately, and I have no real reasons except that life has seemed a little busy.  And when life is busy, my brain goes a tiny bit frenzied and most of the stuff I have to say is barely comprehensible, much less inspirational.

Oh, I did start taking a Zumba class at my gym.  It’s an exercise class that’s kind of a cross between latin dancing (which I love, mostly because I really like latin music) and jazzercise (or whatever those dancy-type cardio workout classes are called).  Anyway, it’s kind of fun even though it makes muscles that I’ve never even met before cry out in pain for several days at a time.  And it’s also fun if you don’t consider the fact that I look like the biggest, most ridiculous, uncoordinated fool this side of the Tex-Mex border.  Continue reading →

GCBC Week 7: Mothers Teaching Children in the Home

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

General Conference Book Club Week 7:

Elder Perry testifies of the mother’s crucial role in raising up children to the Lord, and he gives several different examples of things his mother did that helped him to learn throughout his life.
I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation . . .
Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility.
What inspires you in this talk?  What are you motivated to do by studying it?

Go here to find the media versions of the talk (audio, video, mp3, etc.).  If this is your first visit to the General Conference Book Club,  click here to learn more about it.

GCBC Week 6: Help Them on Their Way Home

Posted in General Conference Book Club by

General Conference Book Club Week 6:


This talk gives some fantastic tips and reminders about our responsibility to train up our children in righteousness and to instill in them a “staying power” that they will need.

“I speak today of young people already within His true Church and so are started on the strait and narrow way to return to their heavenly home. He wants them to gain early the spiritual strength to stay on the path. And He needs our help to get them back to the path quickly should they begin to wander.”

What stands out to you as you study this talk?  Share your thoughts in the comments.

Go here to find the media versions of the talk (audio, video, mp3, etc.).  If this is your first visit to the General Conference Book Club,  click here to learn more about it.