Just find what works for you and your family and then try to do a little better each day.
Ward Council’s are authorized to hold teacher council for parents quarterly.
This sounds to me like a good way to use 5th Sundays (which happen quarterly).
To build our lives on the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, we need to dig deep. We remove anything that is sandy or superfluous in our lives. We keep digging until we find Him. And we teach our children to bind themselves to Him through sacred ordinances and covenants so that when the oppositional storms and floods come, as they surely will, they will have little effect upon them “because of the rock upon which [they] are built.”
That’s what I needed to hear today. We can’t just hope to find an exposed truck and build there. Instead we have to build where we are by digging down to wherever the bedrock is at our location.
When King Benjamin gave his final address to his people, they gathered as families to hear his words. King Benjamin bore powerful witness of Jesus Christ, and the people were deeply moved by his testimony. They declared:
“The Spirit … has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts. …
“And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will … all the remainder of our days.”
One might expect that little children with such deeply converted parents would eventually become converted and make covenants themselves. And yet, for some reason not mentioned in the record, the covenant made by the parents did not get traction with some of their children. Several years later “there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers.
“They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ. …
“And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith.”
What a sobering thought! For the rising generation, it’s not enough for faith in Jesus Christ to be “the tradition of their fathers.” They need to own faith in Christ for themselves. As the covenant people of God, how can we instill within the hearts of our children a desire to make and keep covenants with Him?
Following the tradition of their father’s sometimes seems to work but it is unreliable at best.
As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face.
— Russell M. Nelson
I think it is telling that he acknowledges that we will face things we didn’t expect to face.
So what does it look like to feast on the words of Christ and hear Him? Well, it looks like whatever works best for you! It might be gathering with your family to talk about the things the Holy Ghost taught you in your scripture study using Come, Follow Me. It might be gathering each day with your children to read a few verses from the scriptures and then looking for opportunities to discuss what you learned as you spend time together. Just find what works for you and your family; then try to do a little better each day.
That’s how we have to do everything in life.
You may feel a bit inadequate in this role, but you should never feel alone. For example, ward councils are authorized to organize teacher council meetings for parents. In these quarterly meetings, parents can gather to learn from each other’s experiences, discuss how they are strengthening their families, and learn key principles of Christlike teaching. This meeting should be held in the second hour of church. It is led by a ward member selected by the bishop and follows the format of regular teacher council meetings, using Teaching in the Savior’s Way as the primary resource.
Quarterly and in the second hour of church. (5th Sundays would be good) It should probably be broken up into 2 or 3 different classes based on stages of life (although w let people self-select).
Let us accept the Savior’s invitation and bring our children to Him. As we do so, they will see Him. They will feel Him. They will know Him. He will teach them. He will bless them. And, oh, how He will love them.
Bringing our children to church is not the same as bringing them to Christ. No matter how much we are bringing them to church and church activities we have to make sure we are actually leading them to Him.
Leave a Reply