Fathers and Sons

I Knew my Father Knew - A Tribute to Fathers

Sand by one of my friends, the fabulous James Loynes.

A Laptop

"All children need a laptop. Not a computer, but a human laptop. Moms, dads, gra[mm]ies and grandpas, aunts, uncles - someone to hold them, read to them, teach them. Loved ones who will them and pass on the experience, rituals and knowledge of a hundred generations. Loved ones who will pass to the next generation their expectations of them, their hopes, and their dreams."
General Colin Powell

Temporary Travelers

Elder Uchtdorf:
"Work can be ennobling and fulfilling, but remember Jacob’s warning not to “spend . . . your labor for that which cannot satisfy.” If we devote ourselves to the pursuit of worldly wealth and the glitter of public recognition at the expense of our families and our spiritual growth, we will discover soon enough that we have made a fool’s bargain. The righteous work we do within the walls of our homes is most sacred; its benefits are eternal in nature.

Remember, we are only temporary travelers in this world. Let us not devote our God-given talents and energies solely to setting earthly anchors, but rather let us spend our days growing spiritual wings. For, as [children] of the Most High God, we were created to soar unto new horizons."
(Two Principles for any Economy, Ensign, Nov 2009)

The Chinese Bamboo Tree: A Parable for Parents

I just read this a couple of days ago, here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

"In everything you do in your family, keep in mind the miracle of the Chinese bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!

"Many things in family life are like the Chinese bamboo tree. You work and you invest time and effort, and you do everything you can possibly do to nurture growth, and sometimes you don't see anything for weeks, months, or even years. But if you're patient and keep working and nurturing, that "fifth year" will come, and you will be astonished at the growth and change you see taking place.

"Patience is faith in action. Patience is emotional diligence. It's the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow. It reveals love. It gives birth to understanding."

From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey (pp. 22-23)

Parental Influence

M. Russell Ballard:

"Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.

And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it. [Alma 56:47–48; emphasis added]

Our youth need steadfast, courageous mothers--and they need fathers like Enos had. As you will recall, Enos was Lehi's grandson, the son of Jacob. Enos recorded that his father was "a just man" who "taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord--and blessed be the name of my God for it" (Enos 1:1).

The scriptural record seems to suggest that Enos had a spiritual change of heart one day while hunting. He wrote that during this quiet time alone, "the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart" (Enos 1:3).

Notice that this moment of spiritual enlightenment did not come at the height of a lecture from a concerned father to a troubled son. As important as those occasional lectures are, they rarely result in immediate long-term change. Nor did it come in the midst of one of Jacob's great gospel sermons. It may be that Jacob wasn't even alive to enjoy his son's spiritual rebirth. None of that matters. The important thing is Jacob made sure that he taught his son "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Enos heard, and eventually he understood. And, as Enos said, "blessed be the name of my God for it."

He Doesn't Attack Jell-O or Peanut Butter Supplies!

M. Russell Ballard:

"When you stop and think about it, from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense. When Satan wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn't poison the world's peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church's missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn't send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn't legislate against green Jell-O or casseroles. When Satan truly wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he attempts to confuse gender and attacks God's plan for His spirit children. He works to drive a wedge of disharmony between a father and a mother. He entices children to be disobedient to their parents. He makes family home evening and family prayer inconvenient. He suggests family scripture study is impractical and not doable. That's all it takes, because Satan knows that the surest and most effective way to disrupt the Lord's work is to diminish the effectiveness of the family and the sanctity of the home."

(The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood, M. RUSSELL BALLARD, 19 August 2003, BYU)

Journals and Blessings

I was reminded recently of this talk by Elder Eyring about the importance of keeping a journal, and recognising your blessings. I hope it uplifts you too:):

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"I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened.

The years have gone by. My boys are grown men. And now and then one of them will surprise me by saying, “Dad, I was reading in my copy of the journal about when . . . ” and then he will tell me about how reading of what happened long ago helped him notice something God had done in his day.

My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done. You remember that song we sometimes sing: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”

"O Remember, Remember", General Conference, October 2007, Henry B. Eyring

Everything is Better with Ice Cream!!

Hilary Weeks' favorite things:)

The Women in Our Lives by President Hinckley

Giving Parental Love

"The giving of love from a parent to a son or daughter must not be dependant on his or her performance. Oftimes those we think deserve our love the least need it the most".
(Elder H Burke Peterson)

A Family Experience

"Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it."

—Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 2000-

What Heaven See's in You

A Father's Love

I was touched by this story I read in “The Incomparable Christ” by Vaughn J Featherstone:

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Voris Tenney, a former mission president and descendant of Jacob Hamblin, told us the following experience as related by Jacob Hamblin, I believe:

‘A little girl, a daughter of a family crossing the plains, had one precious possession that she loved with all her heart. It was a stick doll. The mother had made a little dress bonnet for it. She held it to her bosom, she cradled and cuddled it constantly. One morning before the wagons began to move, the little girl played with her doll, then she put it to sleep in a little bed of pine branches and leaves. She forgot the doll as the wagons rolled westward. That night she cried uncontrollably. The father came back to her. He took her in his arms and kissed her and loved her and said, “Don’t worry, honey; I will go back and get your doll.” He left immediately and walked the 15 miles back to retrieve her doll and then returned the 15 miles and arrived back to the wagon train just before dawn. He presented his daughter with her doll and prepared to “move out” with the rest of the wagon train.’

The greatness in that story comes as you ponder the situation. Here was a man, a real pioneer, who would have worked and walked almost to exhaustion every single day. When we become exhausted and fatigue takes over, our bodies plead for rest. Mentally we waver; we lack enthusiasm, strength and commitment; we need rest.

The doll was of little economic value – a substitute could have been made. A great deal of justifiable rationalization could have been considered. How deep is the love of a sweet, gentle father who would walk thirty miles when he was exhausted to soothe his brokenhearted little daughter! This is one of the sweet stories of sacrifice that will never make it into the popular history books where great and mighty deeds are recorded. But I promise you it will be emblazoned in gold on Judgment Day, and a little girl who grew up will never forget a father’s love for her.

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Moroni 7:47:
“But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

Happy Fathers Day!

Let Us Be Men

Trust in the Lord

Seeing Eternity

I really liked this part of a book I recently read called “House of Glory” by S. Michael Wilcox:

“We should also realize the words, the covenants, the clothing, and the architecture all present opportunities for wonderful insight. I once learned a great lesson on marriage while witnessing the sealing of a relative. After the ceremony, I stood with my wife looking into the mirrors that reflect a strait and narrow path into eternity. As usual, I was moving this was and that way, trying to see a little farther, but my own reflection was in the way, and I could not see as far as I waned. I remember consciously thinking: “I wish I could take myself out of the mirror. I could see eternity better, but I keep getting in the way”.

As I pondered this, the Spirit bore a strong witness to its truth. Concentrating too much on ourselves obscures our view of eternal things. I thought of all the couples I had counselled while serving as bishop and realized that in every case of marital conflict, one or both partners had focused so much on themselves that they could no longer see eternity. I wanted to bring each couple in my ward to the sealing room, stand them in front of the mirrors and say: “Can you see what we sometimes do? Can you understand the problem and also perceive the solution? The mirrors teach us a powerful truth that can strengthen, enhance, or save our marriages”.
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Psalms 27:4:
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”

Have a lovely day.

Amazing

Ecclesiastes 9:9
“Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life….”

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“A young couple gave birth to a son. They named him “Amazing”, hoping that somehow he would live up to his name and do something great. Actually, he never did. In fact, all that he did was rather mundane. He never really accomplished anything great. He married, lived on the family farm, raised a family, and was the brunt of all jokes all his life because of his name.

Finally, as he grew old, he said to his wife, “When I die, please do not put my name on the gravemarker; maybe that will stop all of the jokes.” Later he died, and she was true to her promise but decided she ought to have something inscribed. She had them put, “Here lies a man who for sixty years loved and was faithful to his wife.” And now people read the inscription, then point and say, “That’s amazing.”
(Vaughn J Featherstone, “The Incomparable Christ”, p.68)

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There are some things in life which matter, and some that just don’t. This example shows one of the things which matters the most.

Hope you have a wonderful day loving each other.

An Eternal Family Experience

Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it."

—Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov. 2000