If you can, call your mother. I read a brief snippet of Tom Friedman's 2008 Mothers' Day column in the beginning of Elders' Quorum, and some have asked that I post the article online for all to read. Here's the full column, and this is what I quoted:
Whenever I’ve had the honor of giving a college graduation speech, I always try to end it with this story about the legendary University of Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant. Late in his career, after his mother had died, South Central Bell Telephone Company asked Bear Bryant to do a TV commercial. As best I can piece together, the commercial was supposed to be very simple — just a little music and Coach Bryant saying in his tough voice: “Have you called your mama today?”
On the day of the filming, though, he decided to ad-lib something. He reportedly looked into the camera and said: “Have you called your mama today? I sure wish I could call mine.” That was how the commercial ran, and it got a huge response from audiences.
And if you're in the mood for famous a columnist's remembrances of his mother, here's perhaps the most moving George Will column you'll ever read. An excerpt:
In 1951, in Champaign, Ill., for her 10-year-old son, she made a mother's sacrifice: She became a White Sox fan so she could converse with the argumentative Cubs fan who each evening dried the dishes as she washed. Even after much of her stock of memories had been depleted, she dimly knew that the name Nellie Fox (a second baseman) once meant something playful.
In Alma, we read about Helaman's 2000 warriors, whose strength and obedience were remarkable. Helaman attributes much of the goodness of those young men to their mothers (Alma 57:21, Alma 56:47-48). Take a moment today to reflect on the blessings we enjoy in knowing that we can have our families forever. And then if you can, call your mom.
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