Angels and Mothers

It’s good to be here every Sunday and to listen to the Words of Christ. Nephi said that after we receive the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, we can “speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels,” “and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.” When we speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, we speak with the tongue of angels, and we speak the words of Christ (see 2 Nephi 31-32).

Never forget, you young people, that every week, from this pulpit and in your classes, inspired men and women speak in tongues, for they speak the words of Christ in the tongue of angels, and they shout praises, even when they whisper.

There is no speech so much like the tongue of angels, as the words spoken by mothers. My mother first told me the story of the First Vision, when Joseph Smith, at age 14, saw the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove—“and also many angels.” She also was the first to tell me about the day in Carthage, Illinois, when Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred by a large group of angry men who refused to accept Joseph as a Prophet of God.

At home we listened to records of Bible songs and stories, and just about everything else, and it was in a Sunday School class taught by my mother that I first remember seeing a blue Book of Mormon, with a colorful picture of Abinadi and King Noah.

My mother’s mother was also our Primary teacher, the first to tell me the stories of all the Latter-day Prophets: Brigham Young, John Taylor, and the others. President Thomas S. Monson is the Lord’s Prophet today.

Both of my grandmothers and also my mother shared with me, as a child and teen, special times in which they had met or spoken with living prophets. My grandmother told me about Elder Matthew Cowley, a modern apostle. There was a dinner party in Los Angeles, the very night Elder Cowley passed away. After dinner, as Elder Cowley was walking out the door, my grandmother heard his brother say to him, “Matt, take good care of yourself, so that you will live a long time!” Elder Cowley answered: “Life is Eternal!” The Lord had revealed to him that he would die that weekend and this faithful apostle viewed his homecoming to God as “a beautiful thing.” 

Brothers and Sisters, never fear death again! Because of Jesus Christ Life is Eternal.

You have all had a special experience in meeting Sister Harriet Uchtdorf and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, an apostle and counselor to President Monson. Just Thursday night I was remembering what he taught us about the Holy Ghost, and I’m glad to recall it again today. He said:

“This afternoon, I have felt even more how inspiring the Holy Ghost is. Here we have a translator. Often, we sit in meetings, not quite understanding the words that are spoken or how they all fit together. When we trust God and listen to the Holy Ghost, He will translate the words into a personal message to us. Whether you are 4 or 40 or 84, the message will be translated by the Holy Ghost.”

My mother also taught her seven children to listen to the voice of the Holy Ghost when we pray and to listen to His voice to protect us from danger or to guide us. The Lord guides mothers by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, the tongue of angels. I testify that the Lord, as Mormon said, “sent angels to minister unto the children of men,” and I know that He also sends all righteous women to minister unto children and to everyone everywhere, so that all might begin to “exercise faith in Christ" (see Moroni 7).

To all you sisters, Happy Mother’s Day!