Together Forever

“Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.” 

One of my all time favorite primary songs is "Love is Spoken here", in fact when I was three years old instead of giving a talk in primary I got up and sang this song.

     "I see my mother kneeling with our family each day.
I hear the words she whispers as she bows her head to pray. Her plea to the Father quiets all my fears And I am thankful love is spoken here. Mine is a home where ev'ry hour is blessed by The strength of priesthood pow'r, With father and mother leading the way, Teaching me how to trust and obey; And the things they teach are crystal clear, For love is spoken here."

     As addressed in my first post my parents separated when I was 6 and divorced when I   was almost 8, so while I loved this song it was not at all the kind of home I was growing up in. My father on many levels has failed to keep his covenants and tore apart the home and family that my siblings and I were entitled to, and its left its scars on all of us. In thinking about our divine gender roles this last week I realized that my father was incapable of acting as he should have, whether his past, traumatic experiences defined him, his testimony was weak or his temptations too great, he was not up for the responsibilities placed on his plate. I think that speaks more of his ignorance than anything else, it seems to me that he simply did not know that he was a child of God, and that above all my father was loved by Him. Because my dad didn't know this for himself, he also didn't understand the great influence the lack of priesthood power in our home would have on my siblings and I. A fathers role in the home is to not only provide temporally for his family but to provide spiritually, to help build and increase testimonies, to teach us how to rely on Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in times of need, and to show us how to love ourselves, because we are worth far more than this world has to offer. But as a child when our father does not know these things how can you? How could we?

     We are all sent to this earth to become charitable, Christ-like beings, those that can help the wounded and heal the broken, those that can adhere to the promptings of the spirit and act in accordance with the laws and ordinances that we have agreed to, that can stand as witness of God and those that can protect others, who cannot protect themselves. In this very short life it is important to know our place, to know where we belong and to find within ourselves the tools that will help us return home; we must not forget to strengthen our relationships with Christ so that we can in turn help others who have become lost--more importantly we must consider how our actions, knowledge and examples will affect the children around us.

Though my biological father fell short of his divine calling in this life, I was blessed with a mother who taught me my worth, how to pray and how to serve and a father-though not by blood- who taught me to be patient, to be strengthened by my trials and that I was truly worth more than this world could give me. I am honored to be sealed to such strong, faithful people. Every day I am grateful for parents who understand who they are and the important role they have in helping me come to the knowledge of my role and place in this world.