A Precious and Chosen Vessel

Last night as we had our Family Home Evening about the birth of Christ, I was thinking about the mother of Jesus and what courage and strength Mary had. Just to travel at 9 months pregnant would be incredibly hard. And then to have such a little baby in a dirty stable and then travel back home soon after. She really is amazing. What a valiant hero for us mothers! This is one of my favorite paintings by Judy Law.

"Can any of us reflect on the scene surrounding the birth of our Savior and not marvel at the inner "strength and honour" of Mary, that "precious and chosen vessel" who bore the Christ child? (Alma 7:10).

"I wonder what must have been in Mary's mind as she held the Baby in her arms—the awesome wonderment of what had happened to her, the declaration of the angels, the proclamation that she would conceive by the Father, that she would bear a son, that His name would be Jesus, that He would be the Son of God, the Savior and the Redeemer of the world.

"After hearing all of the things she heard and witnessing so many marvelous things, I suppose Mary still went through the natural, normal processes of rearing her child. We read in the scriptures that "the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him" (Luke 2:40).

"I have great affection for the mother of Jesus. His relationship with her gives us a sense of His respect for her and for all women. As in all things, the Savior sets the perfect example for all of us in how we should relate to our mothers, to our sisters, and to all the women of the Church. Elder James E. Talmage stated: "The world's greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus Christ"."

M. Russell Ballard (excerpt from 'When Thou Art Converted')