Photo courtesy lds.org This sculpture called the “Joyful Moment,” located behind the visitor's center in Nauvoo, Ill., depicts the important role mothers lead in their children’s lives.

Example of motherhood found in lives of present, past prophets’ mothers

by Alyssa Epperson Scroll Staff

For example, Lucy Mack Smith, mother of Joseph Smith, Jr., often sought the guidance of the Lord in her life.

During the march known as Zion’s Camp, Joseph and Hyrum fell ill with cholera and nearly died. At one point, “Hyrum sprang to his feet and exclaimed, ‘Joseph, we shall return to our families. I have had an open vision, in which I saw Mother kneeling under an apple tree; and she is even now asking God, in tears, to spare our lives. ... The Spirit testifies, that her prayers ... will be answered,’” according to The History of Joseph Smith written by Lucy Mack Smith.

Lucy Mack Smith gave birth to 11 children, and all but four died before she did. Six of her immediate family and one grandson died as a result of persecution.

“Lucy prepared herself early in her marriage to raise a prophet,” Elder M. Russell Ballard said in the October 1991 General Conference.

Lucy became fatally ill at one point. She wrote that she “made a solemn covenant with God that if He would let me live I would endeavor to serve him according to the best of my abilities.” After a voice assured her that she would live, she told her mother, “the Lord will let me live, if I am faithful to the promise which I made to him, to be a comfort to my mother, my husband, and my children,” according to The History of Joseph Smith.

“She gave continual encouragement, support and strength to her son, Joseph the prophet. His mother was the first person with whom young Joseph shared some of his momentous experiences of the Sacred Grove. Years later, he shared with her the joy and relief he felt when the Lord allowed others to view the sacred plates of gold,” Elder Ballard said.

Another inspiring member of the Smith family is Mary Fielding Smith, second wife of Hyrum. She was the mother of President Joseph F. Smith.

Shortly before Joseph F. was born, Hyrum and Joseph were imprisoned at Liberty Jail.

“She was violently ill for four months following the birth of her son, her husband was in jail and a mob had broken into her home to steal her husband’s possessions, [yet] Mary never ceased to believe in the Lord,” Jane McBride Choate said in a Friend article in 1993.

At her funeral, Joseph F. said, “Nothing beneath the celestial kingdom can surpass my deathless love for the sweet, true, noble soul who gave me birth — my own, own mother! She was good! She was pure! She was indeed a Saint! A royal daughter of God.”

President Ezra Taft Benson recalled times when his mother was an example for him.
“When Mother was called to visit the sick in the ward or to help mothers with new babies, she always went by horse and buggy. [And] as the buggy rolled down the dirt road, the circling wheels left a track that stayed even after the buggy had disappeared. Mother’s influence has also stayed in my life and in the countless lives she blessed through compassionate service and example,” he said.