Christ's invitation to seek Him is an invitation to know who He is, what He has done for us, and what He has asked us to do. Coming to Christ, and eventually seeing His face, comes only as we draw close to Him through our faith and our actions. It comes through a lifetime of effort.
It is our sacred responsibility as parents and leaders of this rising generation of children to bring them to the Savior so that they might wee His face and the face of our Father in Heaven as well. As we do so, we also bring ourselves.
Again the question, how do we do this, especially in a world that is full of distractions? Again I see this theme of distractions. Many of the speakers at the conference have talked about the fact that there are things 'distracting' us more and more and we need to aware and counteract that.
Sister Lant quotes a passage of scripture about what Christ asks parents to do:
"All thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (3 Nephi 22:13)
Now, I would ask you to look around you at those you love. This is what matters most - our families.
The account in 3 Nephi can help us bring our children to Him because it gives us a pattern to follow.
- First, we must learn how to love the Lord and our families. This takes time, experience, and faith. It requires selfless service. Then, as we are filled with the love of the Lord, we can love.
- Second, we must become worthy examples. This is also a process. If we want our children to come to Christ so that they might see His face, it is important that we seek to see it as well. We must put our own lives in order so that the children can look to us and follow.
- And third, . . . teaching [our children] the truths of the gospel from the scriptures and the prophets and by helping them to feel and recognize the Spirit. They love the scriptures, and they love the prophet. They intuitively want to be good. It is up to us to help them keep that connection to heaven open. It is up to us to protect them from influences that detract from the Spirit. We can help them find the joy of living the gospel. This will build a firm foundation of faith and obedience in their lives that will strengthen them.
While Sister Lant was discussing her second item above, she asked an interesting question and had some excellent counsel:
"What do my children see when they look at my face? Do they see the image of the Savior in my countenance because of how I live my life?"
Now remember, none of us will be the perfect example for our children, but we all can become worthy parents and leaders. Our striving to be worthy is an example in itself. I like that comparison between 'perfect' (which is basically unattainable in this life) and 'worthy' (which is well within the capacity of each of us.)
I used this talk in the talk I gave a week ago. I also told them about this blog & how helpful it was for preparing for my talk. "Christ's invitation to seek Him (D&C 101:38) is an invitation to know who He is, what He has done for us, and what He has asked us to do. Coming to Christ, and eventually seeing His face comes only as we draw close to Him through our faith & our actions. It comes through a lifetime of effort. So how do we seek Him in this life so that we might see His face in the next?" (my talk was on bringing Christ into our home.) 1. "We must learn to love the Lord & our families"
ReplyDelete2. "We must become worthy examples." What do my children see when they look at my face? Do they see the image of the Savior in my countenance because of how I live my life?"
3. "(Teach) them the truths of the gospel from the scriptures & the prophets & by helping them to feel & recognize the Spirit...It is up to us to help them keep that connection to heaven open. It is up to us to protect them from the influences that detract from the Spirit." We need to especially watch what media we allow into our home because it has a huge effect on us.