Raising Our Children

By: Shiloah Baker

I was sitting in Stake Conference this morning, enjoying the Spirit and filling my soul with the things that were being said. The concluding speaker was President David K. Lunt. I knew that I needed to take notes. I was inspired to write down what he said, add my feelings and share it you all.

Our children should be raised with the following four things being the most important. These things are extremely imperative in raising righteous, good children.

"1) Security" ¹

They need to feel secure in their homes. It needs to be a place of sanctuary from the outside world. They need to feel that they can talk with their parents and that their parents care and will listen.

"2) A Good Example"

Do as I say and not as I do. Does that go on in your homes? Children need their parents to set the example. They love you. They respect you. Make sure you are showing them the way they should go by example.

"3) Spiritually Feed Them"¹

Children will not learn about Christ alone. You need to take time out each day to read from the scriptures. Talk about God, Christ and the Holy Ghost frequently. It's frustrating for me to sit down with my young family and they run around and jump on the furniture or pick their noses, etc. And all the while my husband is have a hard listening as well. We sat down as a couple and discussed what we can do to improve family scripture study. What we do now is, I have a devotional with the children in the mornings. We sing and learn new hymns and primary songs. Then we read from the Book of Mormon Readers. At night, before bedtime, we have them "read" a verse. We read and they repeat. They enjoy it very much. They look forward to scripture time.

"4) A Sense That They Will Become Something"

Children need to know that their parents care that they will aspire to something great.

"People routinely welcome filth into their homes."¹ It used to be that filth was limited to dark shops hidden in downtown slums. Now people are inviting it into their homes through TV, books, magazines and the internet. Members of the church are just as guilty of this as those outside the church. They are pushing the Spirit of the Lord out of their homes and allowing our common enemy to enter.

"Do our children feel safe in our homes? Is the home a sanctuary from the world? "¹

"Do your children know that they can count on Dad? Is Dad the inducer to the difficulties or is a solution? Does he see himself as a provider or as a protector? Many husbands/ Fathers go to work and do the daily grind. They come home and expect to do nothing but rest. They don't want to bother with the ongoing problems. He needs to change his role from that of the provider to that of the protector. The children's protector."¹

Mosiah 4:14, "And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry or naked, neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God and fight and quarrel one with another or serve the devil who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our forefathers. He being an enemy of all righteousness."

"Don't tell your children to amount to something as you sit there on the couch. Get up and show them the way to go and how to get there! What they see they will do! What are we teaching our children? What services are we doing for them?"¹

"There was a young boy who was very allergic to candy and sweets. He broke out in huge hives every time he ate it. His parent's took him to the doctor's and were told that he should not eat anymore sweets.

When they got home, they continually left sweets on the table and ate in front of the boy. It became hard for him to resist and he went behind their backs and ate the candy.

The parents were frustrated and decided to take the boy to Gandhi and have a miracle performed on him. They talked to Gandhi and told him their problem. Gandhi told them to bring the boy back in 15 days.

15 days later, they brought the boy to see Gandhi. He was only in the room with him a couple of minutes and came out and said, "Ok, mom and dad, I am not going to any more sweets." The parents were astonished. They asked Gandhi to tell him what miracle he performed that their son would quit eating sweets so quickly!

Gandhi told them that he performed no miracle. He simply told the boy that he quit eating sweets for 15 days and he wouldn't eat any sweets again until the boy could eat them again. The boy felt so special and knew he had support."¹

Why do we waste our breath? If they grow up to be exactly like us, will we like them? Will we want to be around them?

Doctrine and Covenants 68:28-31

"Young people these days have no goals, guidance or accountability. Don't force things; teach, encourage. Discuss goals with them."¹

"Do they know you expect them to amount to something? They don't turn out the way they do by accident. We as parents, will have the consequence."¹

Teach small children to be allowed to make small choices. For example: I give my children the choice between the punishment or whatever I ask them to do. I'll tell my daughter, Charisa that she can pick up her toys. If she chooses to clean, but she doesn't do, she knows her consequence.

"A mother is not a person to lean on, but to make leaning unnecessary." Fisher

Teaching the gospel in the home

Doctrine & Covenants 35:25

Our Primary goal as parents is: Teach them

Doctrine & Covenants 130:20

Teach them to be more than they are: They are Royal Offspring of God, the Eternal Father. To return with honor.

¹President David K. Lunt- Killeen, Texas Stake President