In the House and By the Way

The Lord said this about the responsibility of parents in this dispensation: “Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion… that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents…. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:25,28). The duty of parents is to teach their children the gospel, and if they don’t the Lord will hold them accountable. In another modern revelation the Lord chastened Frederick G. Williams in these words, “You have not taught your children light and truth, according to the commandments” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:42). Clearly for Him the responsibility to teach our children truth and the principles of the gospel is of paramount importance.

                We see this same theme in the way that the book of Deuteronomy also emphasizes the need for parents to continually teach their children. The Lord told Moses that one of the reasons He gave the prophet His words was so they could be given to the people “that they may teach their children” (Deuteronomy 4:10). He commanded even more directly in this instruction: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:7). Parents are to teach their children to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might, and they should seek every opportunity to teach: in the house, by the way, as they lie down to sleep, and when they rise up again in the morning. He emphasized the same thing again in another verse: “And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 11:19). We should not waste any opportunity to teach our children light and truth, no matter where we are.

                I think the example of the sons of Mosiah preaching to the Lamanites is also instructive for how parents should teach their children. Ammon recounted their efforts in these words: “We have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings…. And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them.” Despite the significant setbacks they faced—they were “cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote up”—they continued seeking every opportunity to preach the gospel to this people in every place possible. So too we should seek to preach our children the gospel even if we face challenges and setbacks, even if they are resistant or hard to teach. Whether in our houses or in the streets, in nature or in a church, we should seek to teach them truth. The sons of Mosiah showed that the words of the Lord to them were true as they did this: “Bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give you success” (Alma 26:27-29). Surely it is the same for us as we seek to raise our children in the light of the gospel—we must teach them with patience and He will give us success.