Care for the Lambs

I have been doing some thinking since we just had Mothers Day.  I am very grateful for the great Mother that I had.  She taught me a lot by her example as well as her teachings.  I have also been reflecting on myself as a mother.  We have 7 children with 5 spouses and 19 grandchildren that we love dearly.  One thing that I am very grateful for is that because of the priesthood power that has been restored through Joseph Smith, we can now be eternal families.  I know that as I strive to keep the commandments and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ and if my family will do the same, we can be together forever in the next life.  That is my greatest desire.  Richard J. Maynes talked about this in our last General Conference.  He talked about the responsibility we have as parents to teach our children.  I love the poem that he quoted:

         

’Twas a sheep not a lamb

That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong,

It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when the sheep are lost

What a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay. 

He goes on to say,

The consequences to parents who lead their children astray are laid before us by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants: “And again, 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, … the sin be upon the heads of the parents.”Doctrine and Covenants 68:25

I know that it is so important as parents we teach our children, love them, care for them and make our 

homes a refuge from the world.  Always remember that the family is the most important social unit on the

 

earth.

To read the entire talk go to this link: http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/establishing-a-christ-centered-home?lang=eng#7