Honoring Continued...

The parent/child relationship is sacred and eternal. I guess sometimes in the daily grind I forget that. But I know that I have learned more about how Heavenly Fathers loves, cares, teaches, and chastises me through my relationship with my children.

I was reading the talk by Elder F. Burton Howard when he talks about marriage and the parable of the silverware, but some of the things he said applied to this parent/child relationship.

"Eternal implies continuing growth and improvement... eternal signifies repentance, forgiveness, long-suffering, hope, charity, love, and humility."

"If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don't expose it to the elements. You don't make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by."

Maybe this is one of the reasons why honoring your father and mother is so important. And its why when parents work hard to make your relationship with their child strong and full of love it brings joy and we feel honorable.

Elder Howard also says that those who are "moderately adopting worldly ways" are at risk for not keeping their covenants. Maybe moderately adopting worldly ways- like not treasuring, putting the time in, respecting, and correcting the parent/child relationship will make it common. The children won't be honoring and the parents won't be honorable.

In Jacob 1:5-6 it says, "For because of faith and great anxiety, it truly had been made manifest unto us concerning our people, what things should^ahappen unto them.

And we also had many revelations, and the spirit of much prophecy; wherefore, we knew of ^aChrist and his kingdom, which should come."

When I read this I thought of "my people" being my children. And I loved how it says "because of faith and great anxiety". When I think and ponder and worry and try hard with my relationship with each individual child, I really believe that the blessings that were listed come - revelations, prophecies, knowing Christ and His kingdom.

And I believe it is worth everything to put time, work, effort, play, faith, anxiety, or whatever it takes to make my eternal relationships different so they can last forever and we can know Christ and His kingdom.

PS - If you haven't read Elder Howard's talk in awhile- its great.

Above All Else, Let Us Think Straight

 Recently I came across a 1983 talk to BYU by Elder Ballard.  He tells of his Grandfather Ballard being in a coma for some time prior to his death.  Before he died he sat up in bed and plainly said, "Above all else, let us think straight."  Elder Ballard said these words hang on his wall as a guide.  I see this statement as an invitation to me to seek out and hold on to truth, in a way that truth will be my guide.

For example, on Mother's Day I looked up the word "honor" as in "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother."  What I learned is that the word means in Hebrew "to glorify," as in glorifying God.  I also read an article that used the words "fear and revere" (not meant to rhyme.)  The author made me think of my relationship with my kids.  Is it too casual?  If they revere and glorify me, how am I living in order to be worthy of that?  How am I bringing honor or glory to my parents?  If every family did this, how would the world change, the church change?  What is wrong with casualness in that relationship?  Where is friendship in all this?  As I continue pondering this one point of truth I feel like it has changed and will continue to effect some important factors in my life.

My point in all this is that the truth, "thinking straight" in this case, seems to elevate all involved and give clarity and purpose to my earthly relationships.   Whereas without this truth, I could live without direction, and my life becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.  

In 3 Ne. 24:15 it says, "And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered." As the world becomes more confused about what is right and wrong, and is filled with less "straight thinking," the very next verse gives an antidote:

"Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard; and a book of rememberance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."

Perhaps it is no "book of remembrance," but I see A Gospel Conversation as a place to "speak often" with others that "think upon his name," in order to keep truth as our standard, or keep us thinking straight.