Taylor's Mothers Day Talk

Pres. Boyd K. Packer
A merchant man seeking precious jewels found at last the perfect pearl. He had the finest craftsman carve a superb jewel box and line it with blue velvet. He put his pearl of great price on display so others could share his treasure. He watched as people came to see it. Soon he turned away in sorrow. It was the box they admired, not the pearl.

In this parable the pearl is likened to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the box represents the peripheral things to the gospel.

I would like to use a similar parable to describe Motherhood.

A woman is given a box and is told that there is something of great worth inside. (Here Taylor pulled out a crude wooden box...the fun really began with this object lesson.) The woman unwraps the box in anticipation and is shocked that the box doesn’t look like it contains something of great worth. It looks like the measurements were improvised and it might fall apart if handled to roughly. Its hinge is made from masking tape and it looks like it is held together with gum and other sticky stuff. It says “Mom” in smudged puffy paint on the top. The woman opens it suspecting that the box might have been mixed up with another one and can’t wait to see what the item of great worth is. She looks inside, and is confused. She pulls out a smashed Pringle that had fallen down the seat of her car. She pulls out a toy animal that seems like it is out to get her. She finds a penny covered in something sticky. And then she pulls out a strange tiny pearl. Her heart sunk, “This was it? This was the item of great worth?” She then saw what looked like a black smudge on the pearl. She looked closer and pulled out a magnifying glass. It said “The smell of your baby after their first bath.” Instantly she was returned to a happy place in her life. She looked down into the box and while she still saw the dirty diapers, PB&J lunches and the outfits that had all been ruined, she now knows what she is looking for and pushes all the junk aside and finds another tiny pearl. She looks for the writing. This one says, “An unsolicited Thank You” She digs in earnest now.

“A sleeping child”
“My first school play”
“Your children playing nicely together”
“My baptism”
“Receiving my college diploma”

Some of the beads had monumental events others were fairly ordinary. Even though there was still junk in the box. She now knows what she is looking for and collects the little pearls daily.

(These were the only notes he had, but he improvised a few other profound things, too. It really was a fabulous talk for a Mothers Day sacrament meeting. I've never heard a person receive so many heart-felt compliments. Someone even called him on the phone after we got home from church - just to say how much she enjoyed his talk. Way to go, Taylor!)