Speaking in Church

Last Sunday I had the trilling opportunity to speak in church...lucky me! About a week before giving the talk I got a call from a member in the bishopric asking me to speak. He said he thought of me when he was trying to think of somebody who could speak about the topic. The topic was teaching children the gospel in the home. I thought it was interesting that he chose me, considering my husband is Catholic, so I'm the only one in the house who will teach them. Scott isn't opposed to me teaching the children, he just isn't going to help, of course. I mean, he will bow his head for prayers, and he enjoys having the missionaries over for dinner, but that's about it.

I think I was suppose to give this talk though so that I could get a kick in the butt to start teaching my children more. I read a lot of interesting things in my search for information. So I thought I would post my talk here for everybody to read, and so I could read it over from time to time, when I need a refresher. I left a few things out, but it's pretty much intact. Hopefully I didn't teach any false doctrine while I was up there! I was pretty amazed after giving the talk. I wasn't as nervous as I usually am, and I might have actually used the whole 15 minutes I was suppose to use. I didn't notice the time when I started though. So, if you have a free 15 minutes or so, here it is!

"It has been amazing to me these past few years to watch my children learn how to live in this world that is new to them. Right now Holly is learning how to use her body to get around. It’s so fun to watch her crawl around and discover everything that the vacuum cleaner missed, or to watch her pull herself up in preparation for walking. It is so fun to watch Owen go swimming for the first time, or to watch him riding on his first ride at an amusement park. The world is a wonderful new place to them and I feel like I am rediscovering things as I watch them discovering them for the first time.

"At the same time, they are growing up quickly. As they grow up quickly I realize I don’t have a lot of time with them. Before I know it they will be going off to college, getting married, and hopefully somewhere before marriage they will go on a mission. (**Side note that wasn't in my talk. I thought it was really funny that I said we don't have a lot of time with our children...but the MAN who spoke after me stated that we have to have our children in our home for 18 YEARS! He said it was a long time. I love the different perspective from a mother and a father.**)

"We need to make the most of the time we have with our children. And the most important thing we can do for our children is to teach them the gospel. It is so important for us to teach our children correct principal’s when they are young. Our children are little sponges ready to soak up information. Our children are eager to learn, they want to be taught and they need to be taught. So who are we going to let fill their minds with information…ourselves…or the world?

"We have been commanded, just like all parents since the time of Adam and Eve, to teach our children the gospel. In D&C 93:40 we read, "I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth." We only have a short time period to teach our children all that they need to know too.

"Dr Glenn Doman, a prominent author and renowned scientist, reported a lifetime of research in the statement: 'What is placed in the child’s brain during the first 6 years of life is probably there to stay…if you put misinformation into his brain during this period it is extremely difficult to erase it.'

"President Gordon B. Hinkley wrote an article for the December 2007 Ensign entitled, "These, Our Little Ones." In it he gives 4 imperatives for teaching our children the gospel. I would like to share those with you today.

"The first imperative is LOVE.

"One of the most important things we can do for our children is to love them. Some of my earliest memories in life are of getting hugs from my parents. Our children are much more likely to listen to us if they know we love them. It is important to tell our children we love them with our words and our actions.

"President Hinkley warned against child abuse, in any form.

"Brigham Young said, 'Bring up your children in the love and fear of the Lord; study their dispositions and their temperaments, and deal with them accordingly, never allowing yourself to correct them in the heat of passion; teach them to love you rather than to fear you.'

"The 2nd imperative is to TEACH THEM

"We need to teach our children the gospel in a way that they will understand. We need to teach them that they are children of God and that they have a divine birthright.

"The best place to teach our children the Gospel is in our homes.

"We have many tools for teaching our children in our homes, and we know them.

"1st – Scripture Study. Families should read together each day. Each family member that can read should take a turn reading. Children who cannot read can repeat verses as somebody else reads them. For very small children there are also many illustrated versions of the scriptures. It’s also a good idea to ask the children questions about what they have just read, and to see how they can relate them to their lives. For example, after reading about David and Goliath, you can ask the children what kind of "Goliath’s" they are facing in their daily lives.

"2nd – Family Home Evening. Monday nights have been set aside by the church as Family Home Evening Night. Church buildings are closed and no activities are planned for this night so that our families can meet together. FHE is about teaching our children gospel principals in our homes. FHE should include and opening hymn and prayer, a lesson, an activity to enforce the lesson, a closing hymn and prayer…and of course refreshments! When trying to decide on a lesson for FHE you should consider the needs of your family at the time. Is there a child getting ready for baptism? Has there been a lot of fighting going on in your home? Growing up my family did not have family home evening very often. I always wanted to have it though. I remember I would try to make cute little charts that would say who had the lesson, refreshment or activity for a certain week. It never stuck for very long though. Talking to my parents now I have learned that the reason for the lack of Family Home Evenings is that my parents had different ideas of how FHE should be run, and neither one wanted to budge. So our family lost out on a lot of learning experiences. Don’t let conflicts in your family stop this important night from happening!

"3rd – Family Mealtimes. It seems like in our busy world more and more families are having dinner in their cars on the way to soccer games. We may have busy schedules, but I believe family dinners should be on the top of our schedules. It may be the only time during the day when you can gather all the family together to share in the days events and to discuss ideas together. Family mealtimes should be cheerful events, so keep the politics out of them. Turn off the TV and just enjoy each others company. Praying over meals also helps your children learn how to pray.

"We have many more opportunities to teach our children. I like to sing primary songs with my children when we are in the car. Maybe you can ask your children what they learned in church…this will help them remember what their teachers have taught them.

"Holidays are also a great tool for teaching. We can make sure that Christmas and Easter aren’t just about presents and candy. Make sure that the main focus of these Holidays is to teach your children about Christ and his life.

"I think that most importantly we need to teach them by example. Your example will be the greatest learning tool for your children. It’s amazing to look at myself and my brothers and to see how much we are like our parents, even though we vowed we would never be like them! Children grow up to be like their parents, it’s just a fact of life.

"The 3rd Imperative is to RESPECT THEM

"We need to recognize the worth of our children. We know that our children are children of God just as we are children of God. Because of this they deserve the respect that all children of God deserve. We have been told in Matthew 18:3, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

"The 4th Imperative is to PRAY WITH THEM AND FOR THEM.

"Our children need to learn how to pray so that they can communicate with Heavenly Father.
Family prayer is very important. 3 Nephi 18:21 "Pray in your families until the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." Children learn a lot from family prayers. They learn about repentance when others ask for forgiveness. They learn gratitude when they hear others thanking Heavenly Father for their blessings. They learn faith, humility and obedience as they see their parents seeking guidance. They learn to honor and respect church leaders as we pray for them. They gain a desire to go on missions when we pray for the missionaries. Children learn to have love and concern for others when we pray for other people. And our children will fill our love for them when they hear us pray for them.

"Pray with your children in the morning, before bedtime, at mealtime, when you are leaving on a trip, or any time you feel you need to pray as a family. In a beautiful children’s song we sing.

"I see my mother kneeling
With her family each day
I hear the words she whispers
As she bows her head and prays
Her plea to the father
Quiets all my fears
And I am thankful, Love is spoken here."

"I've always loved this song and the beautiful image it bring to my mind...of a mother praying with her family. Praying does bring peace to your home and your family. As soon as your children can talk, teach them to pray, and remember to pray for them always.

"It isn’t always easy to teach our children all that they need to know. We will make mistakes, and sometimes children may react with opposition to what we are teaching them. But as long as we take the time to teach them correct principals we should not blame ourselves if they choose another path.

"I read something interesting by Harold B. Lee that I would like to share with you.

"Why is it that the Lord doesn’t permit Satan to tempt a little child until he comes to the age of accountability? It is in order to give parents their golden opportunity to plant in the hearts of little children those vital things except for which, when that time of accountability comes, they may have waited too long.

"So if Satan cannot tempt children until the come to the age of accountability, how does he get his hands on them? He does it by trying to make those of us who are entrusted with their care and training to be careless and negligent in teaching them correct principals when they are young so that by the time they are at an age of accountability they will not know the truth of the gospel. In D&C 68:25 we read, "And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrines of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents."

"Do not let Satan tempt you into being lazy and not teaching your children the gospel. Bringing them to church each Sunday is just a small part of teaching them the gospel. The most important part of teaching your children the gospel will happen in your home with you. Don’t leave your child’s future in the hands of somebody else.

"I want to close with a quote from President Hinkley, "How much more beautiful would be the world and the society in which we live if every father looked upon his children as the most precious of his assets, if he led them by the power of his example in kindness and love, and if in times of stress he blessed them by the authority of the holy priesthood; and if every mother regarded her children as the jewels of her life, as gifts from the God of heaven who is their Eternal Father, and brought them up with true affection in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord."

"I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has entrusted the care of two of his children into my hands. I pray that I will be able to teach them all that they need to know to live with him again someday. "