Do Your Roots Run Deep?

We spent about a week in Hawaii and had a wonderful time. Boogie boarding at Pyramid Point and Waimea Bay, snorkeling, Pearl Harbor, the PCC, and other fun activities. On Sunday, we visited the "Punchbowl", a place where many people are buried and where the names of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were never found are listed on the walls.

While at the Punchbowl, we rested underneath some enormous green giants. It was interesting to look carefully at these trees. They were massive in size and breadth. They were balanced. They were beautiful. The other thing that was clearly noticeable was the size and mass of the roots. Imagine how deep and strong the roots would have to be to sustain such a tree!

It caused me to think about my own life. How deep and strong do my roots run?

The words of Alma came to mind. In Alma 32:37 - 38 he teaches:

"And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.

But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out."

Alma goes on to say in verse 41, "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life."

The trees in the pictures above have withstood the tremendous forces of hurricanes, heat, etc. When we examine our own personal lives, would we find deep roots required to withstand the storms that are coming?

The time has arrived and things will continue to erode spiritually. Unless we make a conscious effort to nourish the word, stay close to the spirit of the Lord, and serve him, we may be scorched and cast out. On the other hand, if we make the time to nourish the word and serve the Lord, the gospel will take root in us and the tree will spring up and we will have the blessing of partaking of its fruit.

As for me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord!

The Responsibility to Teach our Children

When Lehi was near the end of his mortal life, he brought his children and grandchildren together to give them a blessing. Of particular interest is the blessing he imparted on Laman and Lemuel’s children.

In 2 Nephi 4: 5 – 6 Lehi tells his grandchildren, “But behold, my sons and my daughters, I cannot go down to my grave save I should leave a blessing upon you; for behold, I know that if ye are brought up in the way ye should go ye will not depart from it.

 Wherefore, if ye are cursed, behold, I leave my blessing upon you, that the cursing may be taken from you and be answered upon the heads of your parents.

That last sentence uttered by Lehi should cause any parent to sit up in their chair and pay attention!

D&C 68: 25 & 28 goes on to teach, “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, 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.”

These scriptures are poignant and direct with implication.

I took this short Facebook story from a good friend of ours who’s not LDS (Cece Thorne):

“I was reminded today why, as a Mama, I'm so privileged to get to do what I do. In the van coming home from Walmart Michael says, "Mama, I saw a lady in Walmart that didn't have an arm". I told Michael that I saw her too. Then he asks "Can we pray for her?" **sigh...be still my heart** I said of course, and he prayed that God would allow her to be able to do what she needs to do each day. All I can say is, whom ever gets my little mister one day is one fortunate girl!!”

Are we teaching our children to pray and think of others like young Michael in this story?

Reading these scriptures and story causes me to ask myself a few additional questions:

1. What am I teaching my children?
2. Are we teaching them to look to the Lord, to pray, and to study from the scriptures?
3. Am I teaching by example and action or simply by word alone?
4. Do we pray and read together daily as a family?

It’s my hope that in this chaotic and fast world, we don’t forget the grand call of our raising our children in righteousness. The Lord has entrusted parents with a stewardship and commended them with a sacred responsibility.