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FAITH FAMILY ADVENTURE SHORT ANSWERS

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Three Book of Mormon Challenges: Challenge 3

Elder H. Bryan Richards gave three Book of Mormon challenges in a conference talk a couple of years ago. Here are my thoughts on challenge 1 and challenge 2.

And now for Elder Richards' third challenge:

3. "If you were going to teach your children three great truths that you would want them to remember, what would they be?" With this question, Elder Richards encourages us to read Helaman, chapter 5, where Helaman, a Book of Mormon prophet, asked his sons to remember three things "that ye may . . . lay up for yourselves a treasure in heaven, . . . that ye may have that precious gift of eternal life" (Hel. 5:8).

This chapter of Helaman actually uses the word remember several times. As I read it, I count four truths that he teaches. You could probably combine numbers 1 and 2 or numbers 3 and 4 to get to three truths. But I think it's worth mentioning them individually.

1. "Remember to keep the commandments of God" (Hel. 5:6).

2. Helaman named his two sons Nephi and Lehi after their ancestors, the first two prophets of the Book of Mormon. "This I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works. . . . I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them" (Hel. 5:6-7).

3. "Remember that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ" (v. 9).

4. "Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation" (Hel. 5:12).

Those are certainly great teachings. If I had to choose three things for my children to remember, what would they be? I'm not sure. Certainly obedience and faith in Christ. I also think remembering the faith and works of ancestors is a valuable thing for children to do. So those three would be strong contenders. I'm wondering, though, if there are other things I would add to my list.

There are other places in the Book of Mormon where fathers taught their children--often in a "last words" sort of situation. What did they teach?

Lehi taught his children (2 Ne. 1-3)
  • obedience to God's commandments (2 Ne. 1:16)
  • the plan of redemption, centered on "the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah" (2 Ne. 2:8) and including doctrines of judgment, opposition, agency, and the fall of Adam and Eve (see 2 Ne. 2)
  • the promises and covenants of God unto his people; in this case, specifically one promise given to Lehi' ancestor regarding his posterity (2 Ne. 3)

Enos often heard his father, Jacob, teach about (Enos 1:3)
  • eternal life
  • the joy of the saints

King Benjamin taught his sons
  • the value of the scriptures and the importance of studying them (Mosiah 1:3-7)
  • "many more things" :) (Mosiah 1:8)

In King Benjamin's last words to his people (which included his sons), he taught them (Mosiah 2-4)
  • service to God
  • service to each other
  • our relative nothingness, and our dependence on God
  • punishment for sin and blessings for righteous living
  • the redemption of Christ
  • the importance of yielding our hearts to God
  • faith in God
  • the importance of giving to those in need

Alma taught his son Helaman (Alma 36-37)
  • remember the captivity of your fathers
  • trust in God and you will be supported in trials and delivered from bondage
  • obedience and its blessings
  • repentance, faith, humility, good works, resistance of sin
  • counsel with God in all you do
  • give heed to the words of God (scriptures); look to God and live

Notably, one of the main things Alma shared with Helaman was his own testimony and conversion experience. It seems that might be one of the most important things you would want your children to remember: that their parents had a firm testimony of the truth.

Alma taught his son Shiblon (Alma 38)
  • obedience and its blessings
  • trust in God and you will be delivered and lifted up at the last day
  • "there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ" (v. 9)
  • be diligent, temperate, humble, bold, sober

Again, Alma shares his own testimony and conversion experience.

Alma taught his son Corianton (Alma 39-42)
  • turn away from temporal lusts
  • Christ redeems men from sin
  • the doctrine of the resurrection and the state of souls between death and resurrection
  • wickedness never was happiness
  • the plan of redemption, including the fall, atonement, punishment for sin, repentance, God's mercy and justice, and agency

Moroni recorded these teachings from his father, Mormon (Moroni 7-9); this is perhaps the reverse: not what Mormon wanted Moroni to remember but what Moroni did remember from Mormon's teachings:
  • do things with real intent; "a man being evil cannot do that which is good" (7:10)
  • how to judge good from evil
  • faith and the products of faith (miracles, repentance, communication from God through angels and the Holy Ghost)
  • hope, specifically hope of eternal life through the atonement of Christ
  • charity
  • repentance, baptism, and redemption
  • the Atonement includes pure mercy for children and those who are without the law
  • labor diligently, for we are accountable to God for the trust he has placed in us


This has been a good exercise. Good to think about what other fathers have taught and what I should teach. If I had to choose only three things to teach my children, I think it would be these three things (though I might give a different answer 20 years from now):

1. The Doctrine of Redemption: I want my children to have a solid understanding of the plan of salvation and all that entails, including the Fall, the Atonement, faith, repentance, obedience, and endurance. Perhaps this is cheating because there are so many things included in the doctrine of redemption that it allows me to teach more than just three things. :) But I want my children to understand not just faith, but how faith is related to redemption, for instance. I want them to have clear knowledge of justice and mercy and eternal salvation and how we make the Atonement operative in our lives.

2. Build Your Foundation on Christ: I want my children to understand the importance of having a solid relationship with the Savior and how to build that relationship. I want them to trust in Him and do all that is necessary to sustain a dynamic, life-giving relationship with Him.

3. Your Father had a Vibrant Testimony of Christ Born of Personal Experience: Perhaps the most important thing I want my children to know is that I know. I want them to be able to say, like Helaman's warriors, "We do not doubt our father knew it." And more than knowing that I know, I want them to know how I know. Like Alma, I want my children to know the experiences that have brought me to my testimony. I want them to see the development of my conversion and understand how it worked in my life so they may understand how it might work in theirs. I want them to be able to see my gradual change of heart and be able to witness the influence of the Spirit in my life. I want them to sense the depth of my conversion and feel the strength of my love for my Savior as well as for them.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Family Home Evening Log

Conducting: Daddy

Trick by Lizzy: Sommerwheel (a cross between a sommersault and a cartwheel)

Opening Song: O God, Our Help in Ages Past

Opening Prayer: Mommy

Lesson: Lizzy had us read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." Then we all drew pictures related to the proclamation (see below) and then said what we like about the proclamation and what we think we need to work on as a family.

Closing Song: Love at Home

Family Prayer: Daddy

Treats: Cookies

Game: Quiddler; Lizzy won with 82 points; Mommy had 78 and Daddy had 67 points. Best word: jinx (32 points).


Picture by Lizzy. "The family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."



Picture by Daddy. "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."



Picture by Mommy. "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live."

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Fibonacci... WHAT?!?

So last week Lizzy and I were going on a walk around the neighborhood when she started noticing the house numbers.

"Look, Dad," she said, pointing to a house numbered 132. "If you just change the order, it's 1-2-3!"

A minute later, Lizzy noticed another interesting house number: 112. "Hey," she called out, "it's the first three Fibonacci numbers!"

Excuse me?

I froze in my tracks and looked, rather stunned, at this little 8-year-old blonde girl happily walking down the sidewalk. It was somewhat otherworldly. Ignoring the words that had just come out of her mouth, this seemed like a very normal afternoon walk. Happy, carefree, bubbly child. Nice weather. Concrete sidewalk. All very normal. But Fibonacci?!?

"Where did you learn about the Fibonacci sequence?" I asked.

"Oh, in some books," said my little bookworm.

But more than knowing the name of this mathematical phenomenon, she knew how it works. "You know, 1 plus 1 is 2; 1 plus 2 is 3; 2 plus 3 is 5..."

Where did this child come from? I hadn't even heard of the Fibonacci sequence until I read the Da Vinci Code when I was probably 35. And even then, I didn't retain in memory how it worked. To me it was some obscure spy code thing that math whizzes knew. But not normal people. So I ignored it. Then last year it came up at work and I later learned it wasn't so complicated after all. Just start with 1 (or zero, according to some people) and add the first two numbers to get a sum. Then add the sum and the previous number. Soon you have a sequence that goes like this: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on. Apparently this sequence has all sorts of spooky occurrences in the natural world and so on.

But I'm 39 and I'm only now learning about this sequence. And here's my third grader recognizing Fibonacci numbers in an address.

Once I got over the weirdness of it all, it became rather fun. We talked Fibonacci through the rest of our walk, with me quizzing Lizzy on which was the next Fibonacci number.

We were actually out soliciting donations for Boy Scouts, and as we stood on one porch, Lizzy was dancing around the porch chanting the next Fibonacci number--377. The woman at the door asked for a suggested donation amount and Lizzy chanted her number. The woman was a bit stunned that we would ask for $377, and though I explained Lizzy was just doing math, she continued to be suspicious that I was using Lizzy to get people to donate more money.

Anyway, we got up to 987 before we stopped calculating the sequence. Impressively, Lizzy only needed to use paper and pencil for the last couple of numbers (610 and 987, I believe).

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Three Book of Mormon Challenges: Challenge 2

Elder Richards' second Book of Mormon challenge is based on Alma 32, where Alma teaches that faith is like a seed. Here is the challenge:

2. "Discover specifically what the word, or seed, is and plant it in your heart. You will have to go to Alma, chapter 33 to find it."

Alma 33 begins with a question from the people Alma has been teaching. They ask what they should believe in (one god or many) and how to plant the word.

Alma answers by recounting the teachings of prophets who talk about worship and prayer (how to plant the word) and who also testify of Christ. The third of the prophets he quotes from is Moses:

    Behold, [Christ] was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live. But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them. O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish? [Alma 33:19-21]

I love that symbol: a brazen serpent on a pole, held up for all to see and endowed with healing power. Those who would look would be healed. It seems so simple. Sometimes the gospel does not seem so simple, and the help of the Savior may seem more distant and not so readily available. But at its basic level, it is. If we will look to Christ, if we will place our focus, our trust, our hope, our faith in him, we can also be healed. As we come to Him, he reaches our reaching and blesses us with the comfort and healing of his Spirit. And that is how we plant the seed. We desire to believe in Christ, we look to Him, we have hope in him, and the seed of faith grows and bears fruit, "which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst" (Alma 32:42).

Alma charges the people he taught--and us--to plant the seed of faith in Christ:

    Cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection, that all men shall stand before him, to be judged at the last and judgment day, according to their works. And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. [Alma 33:22-23]

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Three Book of Mormon Challenges: Challenge 1

The other day I listened to a talk by Elder H. Bryan Richards about the Book of Mormon. In the talk, Elder Richards gives three Book of Mormon challenges--questions to ponder. Here is the first one.

1. The scriptures make a point that Helaman's 2,000 stripling warriors were taught by their mothers. What did their mothers teach them?

The quick answer to this is faith. In Alma 56, when Helaman's army was debating whether to turn back to fight the Lamanite army which had been pursuing them but which had halted, it says that the young men "had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them" (vs. 47).

But that answer seems too easy. Are there other things they were taught by their mothers? Well, of course... but what other things are evident from the Book of Mormon?

After another Nephite victory, Helaman recounts that these young men "did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them" (Alma 57:21). From this passage, it appears that in addition to faith, the mothers likely taught their young men obedience--exact obedience.

This exact obedience was likely taught in word, but it was also certainly taught by example. The mothers of those young men were part of the generation of Lamanites who were converted to the gospel and gave up their warring ways. They buried their weapons and made a covenant with God to never fight again. They then held true to that covenant even though it meant allowing themselves to be killed by their enemies without putting up a fight of defense. That example of strict obedience to a covenant surely helped their sons learn to obey orders on the battlefield.

Of course the mothers of these sons were also part of the former Lamanites who moved into Nephite lands, where they were "distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end. And they did look upon shedding the blood of their brethren with the greatest abhorrence; and they never could be prevailed upon to take up arms against their brethren; and they never did look upon death with any degree of terror, for their hope and views of Christ and the resurrection; therefore, death was swallowed up to them by the victory of Christ over it" (Alma 27:27-28).

The mothers of these sons taught their sons many things by example, it appears. Integrity, faith, testimony of Christ, religious zeal, obedience, commitment to covenants--these and many other virtues were exemplified by them. The young men themselves were examples of many of these same virtues, as well as others. Certainly they learned these things from their parents.

Here is a list I created a month or so ago while studying the qualities of these young men (as recorded in Alma chapters 53 and 56–58).

  • They were all young men. (Alma 53:20)
  • They were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity. (Alma 53:20)
  • They were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. (Alma 53:20)
  • They were men of truth and soberness. (Alma 53:21)
  • They had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him. (Alma 53:21)
  • They did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives. (Alma 56:47)
  • They had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. (Alma 56:47)
  • They had fought as if with the strength of God. (Alma 56:56)
  • Those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted. (Alma 57:20)
  • They did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness. (Alma 57:21)
  • Even according to their faith it was done unto them. (Alma 57:21)
  • Their minds are firm. (Alma 57:27)
  • They do put their trust in God continually. (Alma 57:57)
  • They have received many wounds. (Alma 58:40)
  • They stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free. (Alma 58:40)
  • They are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day. (Alma 58:40)
  • They do observe to keep his statues, and his judgments, and his commandments continually. (Alma 58:40)
  • Their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come. (Alma 58:40)