Obrando en la Viña: Saviors on Mount Zion

I bet she cried when she heard it. I know I did...

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland stood at the pulpit just two days ago and testified of the divinity of motherhood in the great plan of salvation--in God's great plan of salvation. I wanted to add my voice to his, although a little bit simpler and not quite as well written, in expressing my gratitude for the angel mothers in my life.

Grandma Blake served a mission in Hawaii, and she married well in the temple to a worthy and thoughtful priesthood holder--together, they formed a beautiful family and raised their children righteously within the temple covenants they had made and the walls of a home that ALWAYS kept the gospel and the Savior at the center of their lives. She accepted every calling given her to serve, always kept the cookie jar filled up with cookies, and let us play her piano, even when our attempts surely gave her a headache or made her ears bleed. She gives us the biggest hugs, and she always smells like flowers. Everything is spicy to Grandma. ;) This January, Grandma and Grandpa accepted the call to serve a mission--their second--as a couple, and there is nothing so beautiful as two people who have always gone about changing my life, with plaques over their hearts, going about changing the lives of others with the message of Christ's gospel that they share. Grandma raised a righteous family. The third generation are now serving missions like she and Grandpa did, and she has ALWAYS been there to support us in everything we do. I have never seen anyone more loving or more selfless. She truly is a savior on Mount Zion.

After Grandpa's passing, life really took a toll on Grandma Sanford. She suffered a lot, struggling with her back and struggling to find the strength to keep going. But I am grateful for this time of hardship, because it was then that I really learned to know her better. She loves her grandchildren, and even though her health impedes her movement sometimes, I know that she would do anything and everything for us. She is full of courage and inner strength, and she continues on, trusting in the Savior, despite the hardships that may overcome her life. She finds solace in the scriptures, and I'm grateful for her example of their dedicated and daily study. Grandma Sanford is like a beautiful porcelain doll, and sometimes I'm afraid to break her;), but she is SO strong on the inside. I know that nothing could ever break her down. I give thanks for her example. She is an angel--a savior in my life.

Aunt Kathy never married. But she is the most vibrant, tenacious person I know. She is chock full of knowledge about everything, but she's so humble, she'd never tell you. She is a talented basketball player, loves sports and reading, and has always been one of the most influential people in my life. When we got too crazy at Grandma's, she helped us see the line of irreverence, and her guidance as a little girl helped me learn to behave myself as the Savior would have me behave, because I know she always strives to live worthy of the companionship of the Spirit and to create an environment in which He can dwell. Always. She spends all her free time in the temple, because she truly loves the Lord, and she puts her covenants first in everything. I'm grateful for the silly picture she sent me at Christmas, for her smiles and laughter, and for her quiet remarkable example of dedicated service and a life consecrated to the Lord. Someday the time will come for her to have children, but for now, I hope she knows that I will always consider her another mother to me. Love you, Aunt Kathy. You are a savior on Mount Zion.

Anel Farias Padilla is my trainer, my very first mission companion. She doesn't yet have children, thank goodness, but she's got a daughter in me! I don't know if I ever told her, but she's my best friend, and she single handedly shaped my entire 18 months of missionary service to the Lord, She ranks in the "Most Influential" of my life. I love her for her faith and dedication--her selflessness and consecration, in this the work of the Lord. I love how she always stayed focused, no matter what came and no matter what happened. I had the privilege to see her in action, and oh, what a privilege it was. She's the best missionary I know--and I don't just say that because she's my mom. Hermanita, you're a savior on Mount Zion. You're a savior here in Chile. Love you.:)

Amy Coray taught me to play the piano and how to love the Savior, Denise Johnson took me to the temple when I was too scared to go by myself and then faithfully wrote me every single week on my mission, Pam Noyes changed the heart of a lonely young woman without any friends and was the friend that I so badly needed, Mandy Olsen stayed by my side when I was alone and just loved me, Carole Erickson taught me to play the organ when her withered and beautiful hands just couldn't play anymore...then she asked me to play at the funeral of her sweetheart and honored me with the opportunity to honor him...Judy Keller always cheered me on, and Carol Williams is the closest to a grandma that I've ever, ever had. My aunts are incredible, my teachers are incredible, my leaders have all been incredible...

My life is what it is because of the remarkable women that shaped it. But, as Elder Holland testified, "What mothers do is an essential element of Christ's work," and MY mother is the most loving, Christlike person I know. She is the mama bear, the protector, the advocate...she protects us and fights for us and weeps with us and would do anything in her power to keep us safe. She prays for us, she thinks of us, and she knows how to give the best hugs. I know she'll be there waiting to give me the biggest one of my life when I come down the stairs in the airport, but for now, I thank Heavenly Father for her prayers, her fasting, and her trips to the temple on mine and my companion's behalf these last 18 months of my life. She is so selfless, and she goes out of her way to serve ALWAYS; every time she acts on the quiet revelation she receives, it is always exactly what I or someone else needs. I think she knows me perfectly, but maybe just my Father does, and she is so in tune with Him that she does, too. She loves me for my potential, she sees beyond my faults, and she is so patient--she forgives again and again and again, even when I really don't deserve it. She bends over backwards to make things work out for me, and I know that my life would not even be a SHADOW of what it is without her influence. I will be forever grateful for a mother that loves the way my Father does, and whose pure, unconditional love helps me understand the perfect love of my Savior. I am working here in Chile to change--to be worthy of that love... To become the person that she deserves her daughter to be.

I have incredible mothers. I have incredible parents. And I thank my Heavenly Father for them every single day.

I love them...and I love Him.

There is nothing like the love of a mother. And even though we will never be worthy of it, we can prepare to someday turn around and give the same love to another. This life is the time to learn to love like the Savior. His love is perfect. And so is my mother's.

Te amo, mamá.

You are a savior on Mount Zion for me.