Yeah, there's an "easy patch" which puts in an item that allows you to get double the experience points (I think?).
Mother is an interesting game but it is really hard and heavily dated. It'll always have a place in my heart, but Earthbound and Mother 3 are way more accessible games.
It's like the difference between any RPG that went from NES->SNES. The original Final Fantasy is ridiculous, but Final Fantasy IV and VI are way more manageable.
Earthbound can be tough at times if you're not particularly good at RPGs, but it never required you to use a "guaranteed escape" PSI ability like Mother did (i.e. 4th-D Slip).
If you can't run from battles then areas like Snowman, the Swamp, and Mt. Itoi are completely unfair.