I’m Chantelle. Born and bred in the North-East of England, I met my sweetheart in 2007 and was married in September 2009. I am a daughter of God and follower of Christ first and foremost, a Mother to an almost two year old boy, the quintessential bookworm & love homemaking, thrifting, baking and blogging at Mama Collier.

Don’t forget to visit We Talk of Christ, Diapers and Divinity, and Middle-aged Mormon Man to read more posts about the Family Proclamation!

“Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”

That one small sentence strikes a chord in my heart, and resonates with my spirit in a big way.

It is amazing how our society has changed over the years. It is amazing how our society’s perception of a woman has changed – how the worlds design for her has changed.

Recently, my parents were having some decorating and remodeling done at their home. Because everything needed to be moved anyway, they decided to sort through some of the years of accumulated clutter to make life a little easier when putting things back after the work was completed. As I was packing boxes, I was happily surprised to find a few old wedding magazines from when my Mum was planning her big day back in 1965. It warmed my heart to see how the women were portrayed – here was a well-dressed lady proudly cooking a meal for her husband ready for his return from work. Here was another happily keeping her home spic-span using the latest, greatest cleaning product on the market. There was a third swearing that her brand new gas cooker (which her husband had generously allowed her to have) was the most amazing innovation ever to grace her kitchen.

This is in stark contrast to some of the women in today’s media – one is dressed in a slick business suit, swinging a briefcase as she struts down a crowded city street. Another is claiming liberation whilst half exposed in a skimpy, barely-there bathing suit. I won’t even try and touch on the irony of that kind of an image!

What kind of woman does today’s world applaud? Taking inspiration from popular media – movies, books, music and the like – the modern superwoman might look something like this:

She works, builds her career and demands equal pay. She refuses to submit to her husband {editor’s note: Chantelle has written an excellent series about this starting here}, instead demanding equality with him in all things. She perhaps has an affair or two and a divorce or two. She exercises independence and relies on her own resources. Doesn’t want her husband or children (if she has any) to threaten her personal goals. Hires a maid or housekeeper. Eats out around half of the time either with or without her family. When she does eat at home, she prepares quick, often frozen convenience foods. She is coiffed, tanned and aerobicised (is that a word? It is now!). She shops regularly (sometimes beyond her means) to keep up with the latest ever-changing fashion trends. She puts her children in daycare and ensures they can make their own entertainment whilst home with the bevy of electronics each has on hand in their bedroom, leaving them to be heavily influenced through the world of increasingly immoral TV & radio shows, DVD’s and video games. She is outspoken and opinionated, likes to be heard and is eager to fulfill her personal goals.

It is difficult not to look back and yearn for the simplicity of the past. It is wonderful to know that Heavenly Father created us for today, to live and to serve in these crucial latter-days. But the so-called progress of society and development of technology that is supposed to make life easier certainly hasn’t made it any better. The relativistic culture and times in which we live further complicate the role of motherhood. I long for the simplicity of yesteryear when honouring motherhood epitomised the virtuous woman.

I am only a little way along my journey into motherhood, with one almost two year old boy. From him being around six months old, I’ve had people consistently ask me, “when are you going back to work?”. They tell me that I lack ambition, that I could be doing so much more with my life, that I am “too smart” to be “just a mother”. At first, after hearing these kinds of remarks, I felt almost apologetic when I would explain that actually I wasn’t going “back to work” – I would just be home looking after my son. After a little while – and with a greater understanding of my role as a wife and mother – I would just smile and tell them that I was incredibly blessed to be able to stay home, teach my son and cultivate a haven for our family away from the world. The strange thing is, I’ve found that as my attitude towards my calling as a wife and mother has changed, the way that others respond to me has changed, too. Instead of almost sympathetic looks at being trapped in my self-imposed prison, I’m finding myself on the receiving end of impressed and often envious looks from those not able to be in the same position.

Motherhood isn’t – as many may think – an easy vocation. To do it properly, to do it well, is increasingly difficult in a world that is steaming towards ever loosening morals and steadily chipping away at traditional family values. To make a stand and refuse to allow such things to seep into your home and affect the developing hearts and minds of your children is hard work.

A woman is divinely called to weave together a strong fabric of family life born from a commitment to her role, her husband and his position as patriarch of the family. From a commitment to her children and their learning, and above all from a commitment to the Lord and his word. Spiritually inclined Sisters around the world embrace the call to raise children who treasure the gospel message. They understand the divinity of the spirits that have been entrusted to their care, and they take seriously the huge responsibility our Heavenly Father places upon their shoulders. They make motherhood and all that it entails the core, dominant responsibility of their gospel-centred lives. They know that the way of life, traditions and faith they have so carefully crafted and cultivated over the years is only ever one generation away from extinction, and they work tirelessly and passionately to plant the seeds of faith and and love for these values in their children.

In the eyes of our Heavenly Father, motherhood is higher than any walk of life. The world tries to tell women, “Do something important with your life.” God says, “What is important is sitting at the dinner table staring at you.” Children are not an interruption of your life’s work, they are your life’s work. The greatest vocation is found in the hungry eyes of an infant, the inquisitive stare of a child, the hopeful gaze of a youth, the confident stride of a teenager, and the independence of a young man or woman stepping beyond the bounds of home for the first time.

President David O. McKay said of mothers – “The noblest calling in the world is motherhood. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserves the admiration and plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose immortal souls will exert an influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God” (Chapter 16: The Noble Calling of Parents, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 153).

I am eternally grateful for my calling as a mother. For all that it teaches me and for the wonderful influence for good that I can be. I am more than aware of my failings, but I know that through dependence upon my Heavenly Father and my Saviour, I am strong. And powerful. And able. And so is any woman who will have Christ at her centre.

Can you imagine the collective power and influence women of Christ have as described here by Chantelle?