Psalm 127

 

"Sometimes it's hard to imagine that the four-year-old who fed your favorite tie to the dog or the seventeen-year-old who came home from a date at 2:00 A.M. and could only say, "I forgot what time it was," are blessings from heaven.

 

"Children are a great challenge as well as a great blessing. As fathers, our responsibility to them is great. (See Matt. 18:10; Mark 9:37; Eph. 6:4; D&C 68:25-28; Mosiah 4:14.) As with all important responsibilities, to be successful with our children requires making them an important priority.

 

"Elder Richard L. Evans said: 'In all things there is a priority of importance ... and one of our urgent opportunities is to respond to a child when he earnestly asks-remembering they don't always ask, that they aren't always teachable, that they won't always listen. And often we have to take them on their terms and at their times. But if we respond to them with sincere attention and sincere concern they will likely continue to come to us and ask. And if they find they can trust us with their trivial questions, they may later trust us with the more weighty ones.' (The Spoken Word, KSL broadcast, 31 Jan. 1970.)

 

"...When over two thousand children of all ages and backgrounds were asked, 'What makes a wonderful dad?' the essence of their replies was, 'He takes time for me.' If you were to add up the time you actually spend with your children, the total may not be as much as you think. In one study of three-month-old infants, it was found that fathers spent only thirty-eight seconds a day with their young children! When sufficient time isn't given to a child, not only is he being deprived of a father's important positive influence, but in some instances he may even be harmed. Evidence has shown that a child who is always shunned or ignored will begin to think of himself as worthless. Giving time to your children, the kind of time that will help them feel good about themselves, life, and others-including you-is the first major step in becoming a better father." ("Becoming a Better Father," Ensign, Jan. 1983, 26-27)

 

May the Lord bless you, my beloved sisters. You are the guardians of the hearth. You are the bearers of the children. You are they who nurture them and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God. May you be strengthened for the challenges of the day. May you be endowed with wisdom beyond your own in dealing with the problems you constantly face. May your prayers and your pleadings be answered with blessings upon your heads and upon the heads of your loved ones. We leave with you our love and our blessing, that your lives may be filled with peace and gladness. ("Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World," Ensign, Nov. 1995, 101)

 

The proclamation [on the family] describes our schooling here for family life:

 

"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. 'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Ps. 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God, and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives-mothers and fathers-will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations." ("The Family," Ensign, Feb. 1998, 15)

 

(Referencing the above paragraph in the Proclamation) These are sobering words, particularly in light of the adversary's continuing assault on traditional values and the impact it is having upon the family. It becomes obvious that much needs to be done to reverse trends that continue to place the family at risk.

 

In desperation, society turns to the secular. Social programs are spawned. Government agencies are enlisted to provide public funding and programs in an attempt to change the destructive trends. While some spotty successes are observed, general trends remain alarming. I submit that if real and lasting change is to occur, it will come only as we return to our spiritual moorings. We need to be listening to the counsel of the prophets. ("Children and the Family," Ensign, May 1998, 58)