“Remembering Mothers: Stories from Our Prophets,” Friend, May 2013, 24–25
Remembering Mothers: Stories from Our Prophets
Joseph Smith
As adults, the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum became ill with cholera. As they lay near death, Hyrum suddenly leaped up, saying, “I have had an open vision, in which I saw mother [Lucy Mack Smith] kneeling … asking God, in tears, to spare our lives. … The Spirit testifies, that her prayers … will be answered.”* Both brothers soon got well.
Brigham Young
When young Brigham pulled his wagon up to a toll bridge, the bridge keeper asked why his wagon looked so odd. Brigham informed the man that he and his father, John Young, had turned the wagon into a bed for his sick mother, Abigail Howe Young. Touched by Brigham’s kindness, the bridge keeper let him cross without paying the toll.
Joseph F. Smith
While on the trail, the oxen belonging to young Joseph F. and his mother, Mary Fielding Smith, wandered away from camp. Joseph F. searched for hours with no luck. When he returned to camp, he found his mother praying to find the oxen. Immediately after her prayer, she was guided by the Spirit and found the oxen.
Heber J. Grant
Heber J. Grant’s mother, Rachel Ridgeway Grant, came from a wealthy family. After she was baptized, her family offered her a large sum of money to leave the Church. She refused. After her husband died, she worked hard sewing clothes and taking in boarders to provide for Heber.
Gordon B. Hinckley
Following his mother’s death, Gordon B. Hinckley was called to serve a mission. He accepted but didn’t know how his family could pay for it. Soon after, his family discovered a small savings account his mother, Ada Bitner Hinckley, had left behind. The money from that account helped to pay for Gordon’s mission!
Thomas S. Monson
During the Depression, when many people had no money, men often knocked on the Monsons’ door, begging for work and food. Tommy’s mother, Gladys Condie Monson, never turned a man away. When Tommy repainted his family’s picket fence, Tommy’s mother instructed him to leave one slat unpainted. It was a sign to any passing men that there was work to do at their home.
Illustrations by Matt Smith