Proclamations - Sarah

This post comes from my friend Sarah. She traveled to London with me back in 2002 (oh, so long ago!) and proved to have a sincere, pleasant, and constant character, a rare and precious combination. She's had many great adventures since, but has most recently embraced the adventures of motherhood, and appears to be doing it beautifully!

If you're interested in contributing my this series about the Family, please email me at readyformycloseupmrdemille@gmail.com


By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

Finding Fulfillment in Motherhood:

I have been fortunate enough to live in six different countries and travel to many others during the course of my life. The experiences I have had in doing so have deeply impacted who I am, and the way I feel about the world. We are all children of our Heavenly Father, and despite our differences, we have so much in common. Knowing this, I have developed a sense of responsibility to those around me, whether in my own community, or in distant lands.

In my single days, I tried to fulfill this responsibility by taking advantage of service opportunities in various parts of the world. I was a full time missionary in Spain, and taught employment workshops to the un- and under-employed in Mexico and Costa Rica. I participated in outreach programs to schools in Texas, and again, traveled to Mexico to help young people there gain an appreciation for their own rich literary heritage. These activities fulfilled me. I thrived on my travels and service.


I have learned lessons since then that are, perhaps, more poignant due to how quickly my life changed. In January of 2008 I started dating the love of my life. Five short months later, after graduating with bachelors degrees, we were married. A year after that, our gorgeous baby girl was born. In less than 18 months, I went from being a single, jet set college student to being a stay at home mother and wife. This whirlwind romance and start of a family is nothing to complain about. It is really what I always dreamed of. But it was a lot of change in a little amount of time.

An important lesson came during the time between marriage and baby, when I spent my days teaching high school Spanish. In many ways, that filled the place of my travels and service-learning programs. My students needed guidance, and I was someone who could give it to them. Some lacked perspective, and I would like to think that my classroom was a much needed daily dose of it for them. As my belly grew, students began to ask questions. “Will you be back next year?” was among the most common. When the answer came back “Well, no.” one of my brightest students looked appalled. “Why would you do that? Why would you go to college, and get a job in your field, and then just quit!?” she asked.

In my heart, I knew how I wanted to answer, but I am afraid that in that moment, the answer didn’t come out quite right. So for the next several weeks, I really thought about it. Why would I do that?

It comes down to this:

The Family: A Proclamation to the World states that “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.” (emphasis added)

The answer I finally gave my student?

You will have other Spanish teachers. My daughter will never have another mother. I’m the only one she’s got. This is important.


This I believe, and this I know.

But even so, sometimes, I have occasion to remind myself of these truths.

After the recent devastating earth quake in Haiti, I wanted to help. Writing checks is all well and good, but I wanted to go there and get my hands dirty. I wanted to care for the orphaned children, and cry with the widows, and be a source of hope in some way. And if it had happened two years earlier, I would have.

But things are different now.

I am a mother.

The prophets have called the nurturing of my daughter a sacred responsibility. Indeed, it is not only important, it is the most important thing I will ever do. And while the way I fulfill my responsibility to the world has changed, the importance and impact of what I do has not. In my own quiet way, day by day, I am changing the world by giving myself to my family. I am thankful for my own very capable mother who taught me this by example, and for modern prophets who articulate the principle so beautifully. If I do my job well, I can build people who will also change the world for good. Who will learn that they have a responsibility to those around them. Although I don’t get to travel to distant lands to do my work, what I have to do is more than enough. And that fulfills me.