I woke up yesterday morning at 4:00 AM, and the first
thought I had as I became conscious was the first verse in the Book of Mormon –
I Nephi 1:1
1 I, Nephi, having been born of
goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my
father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days,
nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea,
having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God,
therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days.
As I thought on this scripture, my mind was turned to the
historic change that is taking place this week in the Church. What is that? – Changing from the 3 hour
block to a 2 hour block and increasing the responsibility of the family for
their study of the word of God.
When I was a youth, church was at least 4 hours each
Sunday. At 9:00 we had priesthood. At 10:00 was Sunday School. In many ways the Sunday School President was
the 2nd most important leader in the ward, since he was in charge of
about two hours of the Sunday meetings.
(Describe Sunday School meetings.)
Then late in the afternoon or evening we would have Sacrament meeting. This schedule required one church building
per ward.
In the early 1980s, partly because of the growth of the
Church, another historic change happened where we changed to the 3-hour
block. This allowed for more wards to be
in the same building at a time, but it also gave more time for parents, if they
would, to teach their families the gospel.
It was during this time that Grandma and I felt we should step up to
this challenge, and we began working to bring in stories about Church history
and our ancestors to add to what was taught at Church.
Now as a Church we are cutting back even further time spent
at church, to enable parents to move toward a more celestial family model,
where parents take more of the responsibility for teaching their children. We read in Ephesians 4:11-13
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature of the fullness of Christ:
Now our Savior gave all
these offices in the Church for what purpose?
Until when?
The change we are going through now is part of that coming
to “…the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ….” The eternal worlds will not be governed by
prophets and apostles. Those are
temporary. The eternal, celestial unit
is the family. We lived as a family
before we came to earth governed by our Heavenly parents. The Lord is preparing a people who will be
ready to receive Him when He comes again.
He is pushing parents to become patriarchs and matriarchs to their
families. If we perfect families to this
point, Zion will be established. We will
have become like the City of Enoch and ready to receive the Lord in all His
glory. The government will then be upon
His shoulders, no more corruption or deception.
At that point Satan will be bound and peace will cover all the earth.
When I was a boy, and with my name, I wanted to be like
President David O. McKay and King David before his fall, but during my mission
my desires changed to wanting to be like the fathers who raised righteous sons,
many of whom became prophets, fathers like Joseph Smith Sr. and Father Lehi
who, though not perfect, the Lord could trust to send choice sons and daughters,
where they would receive the teachings that would help them to live the
commandments and allow the Spirit to guide them the rest of the way to fill
their divine missions.
Now I call your attention to Nephi’s words that I began with
“…having been born of goodly parents….”
He didn’t say of just a goodly father or mother, but of goodly parents –
mother and father. It is our hope and
all our desire that each of you embrace this change by taking the
responsibility for the spiritual nourishment of yourselves and your families
during this precious hour the Lord has directed to be given you to teach your
children every Sunday in all the learning of the Lord. You won’t be perfect at it, but you will be
learning how to run eternal families.
I still remember my father pulling out his missionary chart
of the Plan of Salvation and teaching us clear back in Orem when I was only 5
or 6 in Family Home Evening. Those
experiences gave me my foundation. It
left a lasting impact on my life. God
bless you all this coming year, not with ease and plenty, but with what will
help you grow and become stronger, becoming truly converted.
