Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:20

1 Nephi 1:20

* We need to teach our children to recognize the "tender mercies of the Lord." Apparently, Nephi says he can help us with that... so one way to do this is to immerse our families in the stories and teachings of the Book of Mormon.

* We need to teach them that the Lord can make us "mighty even unto the power of deliverance." This assumes that even the righteous have things in our lives for which we need that power of deliverance.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:19-20

1 Nephi 1:19-20

* Make sure your children know that you fear God more than man.

I try to imagine the impression it made on Nephi to see that his father was not afraid of mockery or even violent anger. He saw that Lehi's love for God and the other Jews strengthened him even when his life was in danger.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:16

1 Nephi 1:16

* "Speak and prophesy" to your children. Testify to them.

Testifying is not something that we do only in church meetings or in our callings. We need to find ways to truly testify at home. It doesn't have to be as formal as in a testimony meeting at church, but our children need to hear it.

* Because of the stewardship we have as parents, we have a right to receive revelation -- even prophecies -- pertaining to our families. Depending on the nature of that revelation, it may be important to share those things with our family members.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:14-15

1 Nephi 1:14-15

The phrase that really struck me in these verses was, "his soul did rejoice, and his whole heart was filled, because of the things which he had seen." Keep in mind that this fullness of joy is being described, not by Lehi, but by his son.

Do our children know how happy the gospel makes us? Do they occasionally see us "praise our God" when we have spiritual experiences and find our hearts filled?

* Make sure your children know that the things of God bring you joy -- true joy. Let them see how happy you are, and help them make the connection so they know that the happiness comes from God.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:7

1 Nephi 1:7

* Our homes should be environments where we can feel the Spirit and receive revelation.

Lehi's home served two purposes in this example -- First, it was a place he could GO after receiving one vision and recover (or bask in the Spirit, or whatever.) Second, it was a place for him to receive further revelation. Ideally, our homes would create an atmosphere where both of these things can happen.

In addition, my own opinion is that, while cleanliness is part of that environment, it is the relationships in the home that affect that Spirit more.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:5

1 Nephi 1:5

* "Pray unto the Lord... with all [your] heart in behalf of [your children]."

Often we talk about the effects of a 14-year-old boy going into a grove to pray, but interestingly enough, the Book of Mormon is, in one respect, the record of what happened when a different man went to the Lord to pray.

I believe that, in a similar way, the future of our children may sometimes hinge on our willingness to earnestly approach the Lord in prayer. Sometimes the answers to those prayers will affect them directly, and sometimes it will be much more subtle, but our relationship with the Lord WILL affect our ability to be parents.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:2

1 Nephi 1:2 * Language and culture are sometimes as important to teach as gospel principles. Make sure you know your own language and culture well enough to pass them on, and then take the time to do it.

Lessons from 1 Nephi 1:1

1 Nephi 1:1 * Teach your children ALL the (good) things you have learned. * Help them to understand that even righteous, "highly favored" people see affliction in the course of their days. * Teach them to want to SHARE their testimonies of the "goodness of God," whether by recording those experiences or by vocally testifying.

In the Beginning

There's a verse in the Book of Mormon that I have read more times than I care to count. It's the first one -- the one I find myself reading every time I feel motivated enough to start a new study of the Book of Mormon.

It says, "I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents..."

And yes, I wrote that without having to look it up. I think we all know that part by heart.

But it just so happened that one time when I was reading this verse, I stopped there. And I wondered -- what is a goodly parent? It's the kind of parent I would like to be, whatever it is. Of course, this happened at a time when I had already been pondering deeply about what I should be doing as a parent -- what things I should be teaching my children so that they can reach their divine potential.

I thought about what a good father Lehi was, and then my mind flashed forward to other good parents in the Book of Mormon -- Jacob, Alma, Helaman, Mormon, etc.. And then an idea was born. In all of my starting-the-Book-of-Mormon momentum, I made a decision -- that I would study the lives of these people, looking for what it was that made them such good parents. What did THEY teach their children? What did THEY do as parents that can help me in my own plight?

I didn't get very far, but I showed it to my mom. Like any good mom, she told me it was brilliant, and then she read from it in her Stake Conference talk and passed out copies to her friends. My dad was similarly encouraging and told me that I should send it in to the Ensign (like any good dad, right?). But considering that it isn't finished, and considering that it is long, boring, and somewhat repetitive, I decided I'd just blog about it instead. Because that's what blogs are all about.