Ye Will Teach Them

Many years ago in general conference, President Nelson invited us to set our houses in order. He quoted this injunction from the Lord in our day: “I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth. But verily I say unto you, … You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments. … And now a commandment I give unto you … you shall set in order your own house, for there are many things that are not right in your house. … First set in order thy house” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:40-44). Parents have a sacred responsibility to teach the principles of the gospel to their children, as President Nelson then summarized: “Scriptures direct parents to teach faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Parents are to teach the plan of salvation and the importance of living in complete accord with the commandments of God. Otherwise, their children will surely suffer in ignorance of God’s redeeming and liberating law. Parents should also teach by example how to consecrate their lives—using their time, talents, tithing, and substance to establish the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth.” We are to teach our families the commandments of God, or as King Benjamin put it: “Ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness” (Mosiah 4:15). Lehi gave us a powerful example of this as he taught his sons many times, such as when they were in the valley of Lemuel. He urged Laman, “O that thou mightest be like unto this river, continually running into the fountain of all righteousness!” To Lemuel he similarly pleaded: “O that thou mightest be like unto this valley, firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord!” (1 Nephi 2:9-10) Like Lehi we should urge our children to keep the commandments of God.

                Recently the state of Louisiana became the first state to require that in every classroom of public schools the 10 Commandments should be displayed. One of the responses to this was the following meme: “If your state ranks 47^th in education, perhaps you should be posting the ABCs instead of the 10 Commandments in the classroom.” I have been thinking about this since someone showed it to me a while ago. While I disagree that displaying a part of the Bible should be mandated for schools, I also disagree with the premise of this meme in terms of what is most important in the education of my children in my own home. Knowledge of and a desire to follow the commandments of God are far more important for them to learn than secular subjects. In fact, learning the commandments and choosing to keep them will benefit my children in all aspects of their lives, even in secular learning. King Benjamin put it this way, “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness” (Mosiah 2:41). In other words, if we can help our children understand and keep the commandments of God, this will lead to happiness, to temporal and spiritual blessings, and ultimately to return back to their Father in Heaven. We cannot underestimate the importance of helping them understand what the Lord has commanded them and to instill in them a desire to please Him. Alma was a powerful example of teaching his children the commandments of God, and to Helaman he said this: “But behold, my son, this is not all; for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence” (Alma 36:30). One of our greatest responsibilities as parents is to help our children understand the blessings that will come into their lives as they keep the commandments of God.