Suspending Mother's and Father's Day celebrations in worship services

This is a letter that was sent to ward leaders in April 2012 in anticipation of upcoming Mother's and Father's Days always celebrated on the Sabbath Day. This came about due to complaints from mothers in one ward feeling they were being slighted as they watched how other wards treated their mothers.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We thank you for your righteous lives and your faithful service. As we serve, the Lord knits our hearts together in love and kindness so that we all become more sensitive to the feelings of others.

Our hearts were touched recently by an article in the April edition of the Ensign magazine titled “My Search for Motherhood.” It reminded us that there are those in our stake, both women and men, who find the tradition of celebrating Mother’s and Father’s Day in our Sabbath services to be uncomfortable—even painful for some.

In 2002, the First Presidency eliminated the tradition of missionary farewells during sacrament meeting. That precedent helped all of us remember that our worship services should be reserved for paying “our devotions to the Most High” (D&C 59:10) and Him only.

In the spirit of this direction, we have asked bishops to do away with the tradition of commemorating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in our Sunday meetings, especially the giving of gifts, plants, and/or food.

We recognize this was a special tradition for many in our stake. Please forgive us if this causes offense to anyone. Our desire is simply to: (1) preserve our Sabbath meetings for worshipping the Lord; and (2) avoid causing heartache to any who may have found the tradition painful.

We are very grateful for the doctrine of mothers and fathers in the Lord’s Plan and affirm it is an appropriate topic for sacrament meeting talks on any Sunday. We also encourage families to gather on these special holidays to honor parents. Therefore, we ask stake and ward leaders to cancel all leadership meetings on Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day, if they choose) so all parents can be home with their families on that special day, outside of their three-hour block meetings.

We express to you our heartfelt love and appreciation for your willingness to live a higher law as we join together each week in worshipping our Savior Jesus Christ.