A Mother's Duty

A Mother's duty is to Love.

That's practically what the word Mother means. Ideally it would mean that the mother would be able to spend her time at home with society's most important figures. Her children. They are not staying at home just to keep house. That is not what is most important. Above all, her time is most valuably spent with her children. Teaching them, nurturing them, playing with them, and above all, loving them.

A Mother's duty is to love. As women, we are born with an innate instinct and ability to love. But that ability is also partially learned from the example of the mothers before. If a child is not loved, then how can they learn to love? These pure children came to us from our Heavenly Father. They have already been taught and shown how to love by Him. We are to love them also, for their memories have been swept clean, although their hearts still feel what they felt when living with Heavenly Father.

A Mother's duty is to love. The world has become a harder and harder place. In a lot of ways it has become cold and unloving. If no one else is to love that child, at least their mother will. Hopefully. Their father will too. When they have no one else to turn to, hopefully they'll have their mother. When everyone else is tearing them down, hopefully they will still have their mother. When others break their heart and leave them lonely, hopefully their mother is still there for them.

A Mother's duty is to love. If they teach that child nothing else, they will still have succeeded. Love is the hardest lesson to teach, and even harder to get someone to believe. If the parents didn't love or show their love for their children, it can become very hard for that child to believe that anyone else could. William Shakespeare said, "They do not love that do not show their love." And no, love is not just providing for their physical needs. Another well-known saying goes like this, "Parents must fill their child's bucket of self-esteem so full that the world cannot possibly poke enough holes in it to drain it dry." Never underestimate the great power that strong self-esteem can have in a person's life. It can literally change their whole lives.

If you are going to have a child, you better be able to love them. If you cannot, think about giving them to someone who will. Love is the most important thing a child needs in their development. It does not matter if you provide them with all the nicest clothes and fanciest gadgets. The child would prefer to have someone that loves them rather than all that other useless garbage.

How do you love someone? You spend time with them. Time is so absolutely and totally critical. You talk to them. Listen to them. Treat their thoughts and ideas with Respect, and love them all the more for it. Be trustworthy. Make sure you are a solid rock that they can lean on. Do not falter. Never, Ever tear them down. They do not need that, and it will Never do them any good. They are young, precious, pure, and sensitive. Strengthen them. Build them up. Tell them they're great, and smart, and wonderful, and that you love them. Treat them with gentleness and righteous persuasion. Never should you exercise unrighteous dominion.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has said, "Motherhood is near to divinity. It is the highest, holiest service to be assumed by mankind." There is a big difference between raising children, and being a mother to them.

These children are too precious and too pure to lose. We really need them to be strong in the world today. We need them more than ever, and we need them stronger than ever before.

If you love them, everything else will fall into place. If you love them, everything else will come naturally. If you love them, they will never totally forsake. If you love them, they will be able to love themselves. If you don't, then they will really struggle.

A Mother's duty is to Love.
Please Love Them.

Tara J. Howard


Copyright November 2014

Miracles Still

Don't get discouraged. It is alright.
Sometimes the miracles aren't within sight.

But they are there, and the angels stand firm.
They'll walk beside you; you'll make it, you'll learn.

Never give up, you are doing your best.
You give your all, and God gives you the rest.
God loves you, He's there, and He knows how you feel.
Be not afraid! God sends miracles still.


Tara J. Howard


Copyright January 2015

Diverging Paths

I looked ahead and saw the paths.
The one I was on could lead to the past.
The one to my left could lead to my dreams.
I'd have all that I want, glory and prestige.

But the one to my right is the one that I chose.
Full, straight, and narrow is the way that it goes.
I let all things go, and just followed the Lord.
Turned my life to Him, and He helped me to soar.

What prestige on Earth could be better than this,
To pull others out of the darkest abyss?
Bring them to God and help them to see,
Why I chose to be one of God's missionaries!

Through me God preaches the Gospel to them,
And helps them receive the blessings of heaven.
A life given to God multiplies back ten-fold,
I believe in Christ! I believe and I know!


Tara J. Howard


Copyright Dec. 2014

The Purpose of Education

                

               The ultimate goal in this world is simply to understand. We were sent to this earth for a purpose, and it wasn’t just to live and then die. We need to be seeking for total understanding of absolutely any and all righteous subjects we desire. Ludwig Van Beethoven once said, “Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets. For it, and knowledge, can raise men to the divine.” (Beethoven) There is no greater joy than understanding, and the wisdom that comes with it. It takes a lifetime to understand something, and only a moment to change that understanding. It is something you must constantly be seeking for. It does not matter in what area you choose, but try to fully understand something, for that will open the doors to every single other area of knowledge that exists. Every area of knowledge is connected together in a thick network that is penetrable one thread at a time through diligence. Becoming perfect and all-knowledgeable, such as God is, will not just happen overnight when we get resurrected or anything. We will still have to work for it, so we may as well get a head start on it right now. Knowledge is the source of understanding; and understanding is the source of wisdom. We must gain all three.

           There is not much more important in this world than obtaining an education. We have great institutions set up for the continuous learning of studious pupils, as well as great masses of books and other educational writings available at our fingertips. Since we were young it has been pounded into our heads the need to go to college and get a degree, but why? I will touch on a few points, including what you should study, why, and what you can do with the things you have learned.

Some of the world’s greatest people have never obtained a formal education. Why do we place such an emphasis on it then? Brilliant minds don’t just happen; they must be nurtured and grown. Whether or not the education was formal does not mean they never got one. Some of the best education that has been reached has been informal. In Elder David A. Bednar’s article titled “Learning to Love Learning”, he stated that “The type of learning I am attempting to describe is not merely the accumulation of data and facts and frameworks; rather, it is acquiring and applying knowledge for righteousness.” (Bednar 2) The extraordinary thing about learning is that it doesn’t matter what you learn, as long as it is useful and interesting to you. In my case, I am at a university obtaining an education with the hopes of eventually getting a master’s degree. To me though, that college degree is not the most important education that I am reaching for right now. Although some might disagree, my training in the Martial Arts is even more important to me. Some people have indignantly contradicted me in my hopes for the future, but I know what’s important to me. I love it, and that is what matters. Just because someone, or everyone, might not see the usefulness of the particular education you are obtaining, that doesn’t mean it is wrong. If it is taking you down the right paths, giving you valuable knowledge, and giving you a place to go, then there is nothing wrong with it. Keep that in mind as you seek and set up the pieces of your future.

The greatest ability that continuous knowledge gives us is the ability to venture out on our own to seek and change the world to how we want it to be. Until you learn to tie your own shoes and feed yourself, you cannot break away from your parents and live life your own way. As such, until you learn the things you need to, you cannot break away from society as a whole and make your own paths. As you gain more knowledge, more of the world opens up to you. Nobody wants to just be part of the masses as they move. There is nothing substantial in that, and quite often they are wrong or jumping off of figurative cliffs without thinking first. Hitler had a good idea of how the masses worked. Aldous Huxley described how Hitler thought of the masses in his article titled “The Love of Learning.” He wrote that “the masses are utterly contemptible. They are incapable of abstract thinking and uninterested in any fact outside the circle of their immediate experience. Their behavior is determined, not by knowledge and reason, but by feelings and unconscious drives.” (Huxley 3) We cannot break away from the masses until we have gained sufficient knowledge to do so. Whatever education you strive for, make it proficient enough that you will not be constantly led on by those who wish you to just blindly believe. Granted, you will not be able to obtain all the knowledge of the world in even fifty lifetimes, but general education in all areas will give you enough to get started.

              In the article titled “The Love of Learning” by David McCullough, he talked about how knowledge is not memorizing facts or anything like it, although that can be important. It can be a key in your life through some doorway, or out of some critical situation. The real importance of it though is what we decide to make of it. How we decide to use it will determine its usefulness to us. (McCullough 2) Too often there is too great an emphasis placed on memorizing facts such as the bones in our body, or important dates of the past. What you’ve got to realize is that the memorization is only the very beginning of learning. It is only the very scratch on the surface of the iron cage you are in. In order to break free and enter the world and discover all its value, you’ve got to know how to use that knowledge. You’ve got to go beyond the bounds that your teachers and coaches have set for you and discover what more there is to find. You cannot be taught and spoon fed everything. The most important part of learning is discovering things on your own, figuring out how they fit together, and working to use them in your life in whatever ways you might need to. Everything you learn should make you want to learn more.

              Finally, your overall purpose in learning should include a deep desire to give back to the world the education that it gave you. Face it, learning is fun. There is almost no greater joy to be found in this world. As the generations pass, and we each learn, our new knowledge is compounded with our experiences and the knowledge is deepened and then passed on to those who come after us. Your knowledge came partially from others before you, and so you must give back too. That is the whole grand design behind learning. David Bednar also stated that:

Perhaps President Young was such a consummate learner precisely because he was not constrained unduly by the arbitrary boundaries so often imposed through the structures and processes of formal education. He clearly learned to love learning. He clearly learned how to learn. He ultimately became a powerful disciple and teacher precisely because he first was an effective learner. (Bednar, 2)

As you learn, you will become a teacher; you will become a guide to your children, your friends, anyone around you. One leads to the other, just as day follows night. Knowledge in the world then becomes a great snowball that just keeps rolling, gaining more substance, and gaining more momentum as the time goes on. That will only happen if we allow our contributions to the world of knowledge to be made known. Give back what has been given to you, with your own little seasoning and extra, inspired ingredients added to it too. What you find is yours to keep, but don’t be selfish by keeping it back from either people too. As you share knowledge with each other, everyone will grow and discover something new. Nobody can be totally knowledgeable in everything, but everyone together can be totally knowledgeable in everything. We need each other, and we need to all help each other along.

               Education has a million purposes behind it, although I only talked about a few. That is the whole reason behind us being born here and sent on the journey of life. We cannot neglect it, and we cannot let it die within us. Give back to the world the knowledge you have obtained. Don’t just let the superficial facts clutter your mind, but learn to dig deeper to find the treasured gems. The best things in life are not easy to get. Take what you know and run with it to the next level. I don’t care what you study. Just study what you love, and learn to love what you study. If it was me, I would be spending all day in a Martial Arts school learning kicks, throws, weapons, and any other possible knowledge in that area that I could lay my hands on. If you want to learn everything about butterflies or the values of strawberry pancakes, I say “Go for it!” The world needs knowledge in all areas, not just math, science, and English. Find what you love, and make it every bit of it a part of you, and a part of the world around you.

Tara J. Howard

Copyright 2014

Believe in Yourself

Believe in Yourself

When nobody else will help you, Help yourself.

When nobody else will love you, Love yourself.

When nobody else will check up on you, Check up on Yourself.

When nobody else will be with you, Be With Yourself. 

When nobody else will believe in you,

Believe in Yourself.

That's all it takes. And eventually everyone will see the truth, and will see the goodness in you. And you will have so much more than you even had before.  

And in the hardest days of your trials, when you feel so alone, and maybe worthless. Do Not Forget! There is one person who is always there for you, who will never leave you, who will care about you when everyone else has deserted you. A Loving God who cares about all His children. He will always be there for you.

To Help You.

To Love You.

To Check Up on You.

To Be With You.

And To Believe in You. 

Always and Forever.

Tara J. Howard

~Missionary



Copyright 2014

Memories from the Mission: February 16, 2013

These are the letters I wrote home during my 18-month mission to Texas to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people there:
***************************************************

Dear Family,

P-day today!!! Even though it is only my third full day here. It seems like it's been a month already though. So much has happened. It really is an amazing place here.

On Wednesday, after you dropped me off, they took me around, checked all my info, got all my stuff (including my awesome "Sister Howard" name tag), then we took all my luggage to my room, left it there, and then I went to class. My new companion for these two weeks while I am here is Sister Piutau. She is full-blooded Tongan, and just awesome! She actually grew up in the Los Angeles area though, and hates Tongan food. We get along well.

My four other roommates have been here around five or six weeks now. They're learning Spanish, so they won't be leaving until a week or two after Sister Piutau and I leave. Only a week and half left before I head to Texas!!!

Thursday:

Since it was Valentine's Day, the MTC was decorated up a bit for it. Hearts everywhere, little quotes on the mirrors. It was fun. One really cute sign I saw said "Let's Bring the World His Love!!!"

I loved learning today. Practicing some teaching was so great too. We met with our Branch Presidency and Zone leaders today. We practiced the official invitation that we memorize to invite others to be baptized.

There is a very strong emphasis on listening to the Spirit, also on becoming truly converted ourselves first. There are a lot of little things we need to learn how to do, including responsibilites, TRC's, companion inventory, planning, etc... A TRC is when one of the teachers here pretends to be an real investigator, and we teach him, and he acts just like he would. It's interesting, because, as Brother Leah said, they are as real as you make them. You can really feel the spirit and the promptings even when just teaching a "pretend" investigator. Although sometimes (but only with us English speaking missionaries), people from outside the MTC will volunteer to be an investigator, and sometimes, they really are non-Mormons that are seeking to know about the church. So it's like we are starting already. It's so great!!!

You know, a year and half can seem so far away sometimes, but tomorrow doesn't. Even next week, or next month don't seem so far away. And when you think about it that way, a year and half just seems like way too short of a time to get to be out here in the mission field.

I finally got some pictures these last couple of days. I was going to bring them down here and get them sent to you, but, I need to find my cord first, and I just totally forgot today. Oh well! Next time. There's some cute ones already. I have some great friends here already.

Friday:

We had two 3-hour classes today. Almost back to back. We just had a zone meeting and dinner in between. At the first 3 hour class, that was our first real TRC. It went.... well, but there was so much we needed to fix. We sort of just poured the lesson down the investigator's throat, and we need to be a lot better about reading the signs, and actually finding out what his background is like first, and what sort of things he knows, what sort of things he's got questions about, etc... Especially on the first lesson. Teach them, but find out what they're looking for too, and what's on their mind. We did give him the Baptism invitation on the first lesson (we were taught that right before, and committed to do it). He told us he had already been baptized into the baptist church, and that it was a "good experience". So we discussed proper authority, and he accepted that well.

Then we had zone meeting. We started talking about the importance of prayer, and why it is so important to get an investigator to pray. If they never pray, they can never actually be converted. We're just here to hook up the phone line to God, but they have to take a hold of it themselves. If they don't, there is no way we can ever make any progress.

Then we went to dinner. The food here is interesting. Sometimes you're not quite sure what it is, but usually it's really good. I promised myself that in my lifetime, I would never eat tofu. Well, I took a bit of something that I thought was chicken in a noodle salad, and nope! It was tofu. I didn't really like it that much. But we had pizza for dinner yesterday too, so that was great.

I am loving these treats that you gave me. Any day is good with some chocolate! :)

After dinner, we had another 3-hour class. Every single one of these classes are in a tiny room, with a total of twelve of us in there. It gets really hot and stuffy sometimes. But the time passes fast, because we are learning so much, and just having a good time. We do lots of role-playing, and we are all gradually getting better and more comfortable with it all the time. We are gradually going from the phase of "the investigator has to say yes" to "the investigator isn't sure, or is hesitating" to "the investigator says outright that no, they won't". And you know, it's alright. And we're learning, and we all make mistakes and totally forget what we're going to say. But we love it, and my district is great. And we all love each other, and we're all good friends already. We sit with each other at lunch, and laugh, and have fun, and share things we have learned. It is altogether just such a great environment, and am loving every second of being here.

I have found great comfort and peace in following everything that I am asked to do with complete exactness. We study at certain times, exercise at certain times. Some girls here will just sleep in through their exercise time, and it really does make a difference. I just feel so good all the time while I am here, and it is really helping me to really remember just how much I am really worth. These investigators.... well, I just love them already. I sincerely want to help them to the truth, and to help them to see all the great things that they can have, all the blessings, and the infinite amount of happiness that can come through these teachings of Christ.

Well, my time on the computer is almost up. Since it's P-Day, we get some free time to write a few letters, and to finish up our journals, and clean, and do laundry. We also get to go to the Provo temple today!!! And I am so absolutely excited about that!!! Going to the temple with all of my friends here, is just going to be so great!!!

Oh! And I sister Hermana (Andrea) Rane here (one of my good friends from high school), as well as one of the Elder Robbins, and Hermana Holbrook (one of my favorite roommates from college), and one or two other people that I can't remember.

Life is good, and I love being here. Everyone here is just so happy, and smiling, and everyone says "Hi Sisters!!!" or "Hi Elders!!!" or "Hi Hermanas!!!" all the time.

Life can be glorious!!!! But only if we choose it to be. And only if we can be humble enough to lose our pride and selfishness, and to think of others first!!! Be good, and don't be a hypocrite!!! You cannot teach others what to do, if you are not following you own advice first!!!

Favorite scripture of the week: John 7:17.

Love to you all!!!

Sister Howard

5 Things I Stand By

1. I stand by God. I will never deny Him or His Gospel. I know what the truth is, and I will never let Him down.


2. I stand by my friends. Through life, you will find those that will always stand by you, and I will stand by them. This includes certain friends from high school, college, brothers and sisters, etc...


3. I stand by what's good and right. Integrity, patience, honor, courage, and all the other good traits that are found in earthly heroes, and especially in our Savior Jesus Christ.


4. I stand by growth. Another way of saying this is change for the better. Change is constant, but not always good. We must be consistently striving to change for the better. With that, I also believe that anybody can change and that everyone deserves another chance.


5. I stand by myself. That might sound selfish, but I know who I am, and I also know that nobody has the right to trample me down, no matter who they are. We are all different, and that's okay. We all make mistakes (big and small), and that's okay. We get back up, we brush ourselves off, and we try again. We're not always going to be perfect, great or even totally good sometimes; and that's okay. We stand by each other, we stand by ourselves, and we stand for Jesus Christ and His ability to make us better.




Tara J. Howard


Copyright October 2014