Barbara Bradshaw Smith

I was reading an article about Barbara Bradshaw Smith, former General Relief Society President, and loved this quote:
"'All the world is a stage and each one plays a part' is a popular paraphrase from Shakespeare....Each mother should be the leading lady on life's stage...Being part of the life-giving moment is a great and significant thing that each mother finds anew with wonder and discovery. Although it has happened millions of times through all the centuries of time, each moment of birth, when hallowed by the eternal perspective of the restored gospel, is in fact a new beginning in the drama of life....

The magnitude of the challenge to rear a family is hard to comprehend. It requires the most continued effort of the part of the mother so that she can grow fast enough to be able to enrich her children by the quality of her own life.

Certainly a house needs order. Certainly, it needs to e a place of preparation where needs can be met. Just as certainly, it needs to be a place of stimulation where people can grow in faith and knowledge and where their hearts can expand with wisdom and love and service. The great message for all mothers is to accept the challenge of the mighty task. Rearing children is worthy of our best efforts and the joys and blessings of this challenge are great....

Motherhood is a cause to command the best effort of every woman who has the opportunity. The care and training of the next generation is a cause to engage the finest minds and the greatest spirits in the world today, just as it has been in the past."
"Let every day be Mother's Day," Church News April 30, 1977.