Mothers have the responsibility to nurture and train their children.  This principle applies to the animal kingdom as well.

My grandson (Karson Lloyd) told me about his friend, whom he described as a spiritual giant.  Each morning at 5:00 the man took his scriptures, climbed up the mountain near his home, and sat on a rock where he read and studied.

One morning as he completed this daily ritual, he began walking down the mountain, headed for home.  Suddenly a feeling came over him.  The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.  He turned and looked behind him.  A young cougar was creeping up on him.  Off to the side was another.  Not knowing what else to do, he stooped and picked up a rock which he threw with all his might.  He claimed to not be athletic and could not throw well, but the rock hit the cougar right on the nose.

It turned and ran.  So did its companion.  So did two others.  There were four of them!  They'd all been stalking him from different directions.  They ran up the mountain where the man saw the mother watching.

That mother cougar was obviously training her kittens.  She pointed out the prey, and had told them, "See what you can do."  She then watched to see how things would play out.

The outcome would have been much different, except that the man had a secret weapon much more powerful than any big cats intent on eating him.  That secret weapon was conferred upon him by his father following his baptism, and then his mother taught him how to use it.  It was the Holy Ghost.  It was the Holy Ghost that told him to turn around.  It was surely the Holy Ghost that guided his thrown rock to its target.  It is the Holy Ghost that gives us warnings, that brings all things to our remembrance, that gives us testimonies and courage, and that tells us what to do and when to do it.

It was the Holy Ghost that helped David become an expert marksman with the sling, who inspired him to take on the giant, and who guided the stone to the one vulnerable place on the giant's anatomy.

A worthy, priesthood-holding father confers the gift, and then the mother teaches the youngster how to feel it, how to hear it, and how to use it.  Hers is the responsibility to nurture and to train.

How does she do it?

At the earliest age she teaches the child to pray.  She lets the child see her praying, as well.  She reads to the child.  She tells the child stories.  She takes the child to church and to Primary.  She teaches it gentleness, kindness, and compassion.  She is always with the child, just like the Holy Ghost.  She protects the child.  She teaches it, testifies to it, warns it, warms it, holds it, reminds it, and is the child's constant companion during its first years.

What does the Holy Ghost feel like?

A mother's love.

She is the child's companion for the first eight years of life, and then the father gives the child a similar companion that takes her place as the child begins to find his own way in the world.

Listen to your mother.  Imitate your mother.  Remember your mother and how she made you feel.  Ask yourself if your mother would approve of your intended action.

If you have a righteous mother, you know how the Holy Ghost feels when it acts upon you.  If you have a righteous mother, you know how the Holy Ghost works.  You know its purpose.  You know what it does.

The Holy Ghost is there to protect you from evil.  It will warn you of things that would harm you.  It will tell you what is right.  You will know the things you should do.

You will feel the same feelings you felt when your mother hugged you to her bosom.  Be grateful for your mother.  Be grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.  They have similar purposes, and their work is the same.