A Mother’s Legacy

May 12, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy Mother’s Day, all mothers! I hope you are having a wonderful day! It has been a very nice day here in Nauvoo. The sun is shining and there is a balmy breeze. I will share with you my Mother’s Day poem, which I wrote into a song some years ago.

A Mother’s Legacy

She lulled the baby and kissed the hurt,
Baked all the bread, and pressed the shirt,
Sewed little dresses, everyone,
Nurtured the sick, worked in the sun.
She turned to Him in time of need.
“God, bless this child!” I heard her plead!

Now I sing my own babes to sleep,
Though laundry piles and dust get so deep.
Each day seems shorter than before,
Someone is teasing, milk’s on the floor.
Problems are solved on bended knee,
All for the faith that she bequest me.

Such is the legacy my mother gave me. That legacy of faith was the substance that got me through many difficult times, that helped me with my lofty ambitions, and that served as a springboard to get us all the way out here in the Midwest on a mission. Such is the faith of my mother of rich pioneer heritage.
Thank you, Mom!
Thank you, Grandma Mary Lou, too, for all of the faith that you instilled into your son, which has much to do with him being willing to serve another mission, and for him being the wonderful man that he is today!
Happy Mother’s Day to both of you, and to all of you wonderful mothers. You are all great examples to me.
This week has been a little slow for me, as I caught the bug that Elder Campbell was struggling with last week. I actually didn’t go work at any of the sites this week, but stayed home most of the time and slept. By Friday, Elder Campbell’s birthday, I was feeling a lot better. We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Hamilton called El Camino Real. It had pretty good food. Saturday we didn’t do much, either. We did do our show on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. We also did our “Sunset” practice on Thursday evening.
Elder Campbell finished the restroom project with his work crew on Friday. He finished tiling and grouting and hauling garbage off to the dump. The floor was made to look like an old barn floor. The only thing left is the stalls and the fixtures, but Elder Campbell will be on to a new project on Monday.
In Sunday School class today the teacher, our Brazilian Elder Munjos, stood up to teach the huge class. He said that this was probably the largest class he had taught. The people he was teaching were the most qualified people than any group he had had. But he wanted the real teacher to teach the class, that teacher being the Holy Ghost. Then he presented a lesson on the Law of Tithing. He drew examples out of the class members and from the lesson manual.
We learned that tithing is a law that was for a period in the early days of the church, largely ignored. When President Lorenzo Snow became the prophet he promised the Saints many blessings for paying their tithing. One blessing was the moisture that the whole area so badly needed. Another was a blessing of prosperity not only for the individual members, but for the church as a whole. All of these blessings came to pass, after a severe trial of the faith of the Saints.
Elder Campbell and I continue to pay our tithing. It is a law that has been a continual blessing as we have lived it throughout our married lives.
We trust that you are all well! I will write more next week. I just found out that I will be playing a violin, viola, piano trio in Sacrament meeting in June. We will have to start practicing together.
Love,
Elder and Sister Campbell

In the Women’s Gardens, the Nauvoo Monuments to Womanhood