“Hold your little ones close—so close that they see your daily religious behavior and watch you keeping your promises and covenants. “Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate.” We are indeed helping to teach and raise a sin-resistant generation unto the Lord promise by promise and covenant by covenant” -Joy D. Jones
Parenting is the greatest responsibility that we have. The Lord is counting on us to raise this generation in truth and light. We must do our best, and then do a little better. As a parent, I have found the the trend for good cautious parents is to follow the trends of other good and cautious parents. The problem is that the line of what is best for our kids will move when we look to others. Right has always been right and wrong has always been wrong. God’s laws have not changed and they will not change even if, and especially when his ways appear “peculiar.” It’s okay to be the only person to says “no” to activities that are not in line with what we know to be best for our children, even when all the other parents are allowing their children to do it! We have to show our children what it looks like to take a stand when it’s not popular, even when they don’t appreciate the example.
“Our most impactful parental teaching is our example. We are counseled to be “an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”-Devin G. Durrant
Last year, Mark and I had one of these situations happen in our home. As I tell you the story, you will instantly think, of course I would say “no”. Any parent on the outside would. The problem is, that when you aren’t on the outside, and all the other parents who you trust to stand with you on important matters, are approving of the activity, your mind starts to question whether or not you’re missing something. When that happens, Mark and I have found that we must stand firmly together, so we don’t waver and tip. Hindsight is never fun when you regret your parenting decision, but it’s the best feeling when you follow your instinct and stand tall.
“There is not a right way to do the wrong thing!” -Becky Craven
My daughter called because their friend group was having a lake house sleepover and she really wanted to go. The kicker was their boy friend group was staying as well. (Huge emphasis on “friend”) This was an obvious “no.” We don’t do sleepovers with boys, not even boys who are just friends. I also knew that the other moms weren’t going to agree: One by one, each of parent said “Yes.” Now my daughter was the only one not going. For a second Mark and I thought maybe we were being too strict. As we talked about it we both knew that this was a huge NO, and that we could not compromise what we knew to be right. My daughter didn’t do the lake sleep over, and she has survived. It became a regular practice for this group to have boy/girl sleepovers. Because we took a stand from the beginning they all knew where we stood, and we didn’t had to restate our stance. We have been grateful that we stood firm together because we have lots of little kids watching the example that we give. We also were thankful that we took a stand, so our daughter knows how important virtue is. We hope that she can carry this with her throughout life. As parents if we don’t teach our children, no one else will.
“The standards of Christ and (Christ’s) Church have not moved. As He said, “The truth abideth forever and ever.” When we understand and accept this, we are prepared to face the social pressure, ridicule, and even discrimination that will come from the world and some who call themselves friends.” -Robert D. Hales
These decisions will come up regularly, and may include decisions about activities, modesty, or media. Just because the world is pushing their standards on us, doesn’t mean we have to follow. Our children look to us as their example. When the time comes that they have to make their own decisions, they will be ready to stand tall on their own. If they make choices that aren’t in line with what we taught them, we don’t have to bear the weight of their choices upon our own shoulders. We can rest knowing that we taught them well, prayed fervently for them, loved them, and believed in them. They are after all, Heavenly Father’s “most noble spirits”, His “finest team”.(Russell M. Nelson)
-Sherri Jorgensen
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