Lessons from Mother

By Elder Jairo Mazzagardi

Of the Seventy

When I was growing up, whenever we got any money, my mother would take the very best bills—the ones that were the least wrinkled or dirty—and give them to the minister of the church we went to. She did this her whole life. She said, “This belongs to God.” Those words have stayed with me ever since.

When I was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an adult, it was not hard for me to pay tithing because my mother had taught me to obey that law.

My mother also taught me to be honest, even if it meant doing hard things. Our neighbor grew all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Sometimes his fruit would grow on our side of the fence. Once I picked some of this fruit and took it to my mom. She looked at me and said, “That doesn’t belong to us.”

I couldn’t believe it. I said, “What do you mean? It’s on our side of our fence!” Again she said, “That doesn’t belong to us.” Then she took my hand, and we walked to our neighbor’s house. We asked for forgiveness for taking his fruit. My mother said that if we wanted something, we needed to get it honestly.

Maybe your parents are not members of the Church, or you don’t always agree with their choices. You can still learn true principles from them, such as honesty, responsibility, self-reliance, and hard work. Those principles will be great blessings in your life.

Ask a Parent!

• What’s your favorite part of being a parent?

• What’s the hardest part?

• What makes you happy?

• What’s the most important thing you do every day?

• How does the gospel help you be a better parent?

• What’s the last thing you do every day?

• What other questions can you ask?

Be your mom or dad’s helpful shadow for a day! Write or draw in your journal about what you learned. Thank your parents for all they do.