My dear friend Jane recently sent me a picture taken by paparazzi of Steve and I going to church. I laughed when she said, “I guess they were just reporting back to God on your church attendance!” What they were doing was spying on us to find out if we actually went to church. 😂
While we were on the phone, Jane shared a story about her “friend” (let’s call this friend Carol). Jane said, “You know those people who act like they are trying to be helpful when in reality they are just trying to point out mistakes? Carol just asked me, ‘Is there any reason your son would be driving down the main road in front of the high school at 10 am this morning?’ I responded, ‘No.’ So Carol continued, ‘Well, I saw him and a car full of kids obviously ditching school, and I felt you should know.’”
Jane said she tried so hard not to be angry at Carol. She said, “I knew she wasn’t trying to be hurtful; she just wanted to point out my son was doing something wrong. Then after I hung up with Carol, I felt terrible. I knew the only thing I could do to stop feeling so angry was to pray—pray for the Savior to soften my heart. I didn’t want to have bad feelings toward Carol, and I didn’t want to download my anger on my son, so I went into the bedroom and downloaded my anger onto the Savior.”
Isn’t Jane amazing? The good news is that she and Carol remained somewhat friendly, and her son… well, he still wreaks havoc in her life from time to time.😂
This story stirred my thinking toward today’s message. I can see that although human nature will lean toward finding fault with others, the Savior leads us toward finding forgiveness. I have found that going to Him always brings peace when trials come.
No one is perfect, and none of us have perfect children. (However, grandchildren are perfect!!!)😂👍 But as parents, we try to do our best and use every tool we can find. One tool that I believe in is church.
We live in a world where people are downgrading Sabbath day church attendance because it can be inconvenient or conflicts with skiing or going to the lake. Sometimes, we may feel our love of God is enough because He’s in our hearts, who needs a church? Another friend of mine stopped going because she felt judged by other women in her congregation. Then a sweet single mom I know, who needs now more than ever that feeling of community and family from people she should be able to find in church, stopped going because of what she felt people were saying about her children. I told her that church was a workshop for sinners, not an edifice for saints, and encouraged her to return.
I learned this lesson when I was about 17. We moved back to Utah from California to do our TV show there. I was so excited to go into my new Sunday School class with girls my age, but when I walked in, they all got up and moved to the other side of the room, leaving me all alone. They said, “You think you’re pretty hot stuff, don’t you? Well, guess what …we don’t want you here!” So guess what happened? I stopped going to church. One day my brilliant mother came to me and said, “What’s going on?” I explained what had happened, and she said. “Marie, we don’t go to church because of other people; we go to church because God asked us to go. We do it for Him. All you’re doing, honey, is hurting yourself and proving them right. We go to church to take the sacrament and to show God that no matter what, we love Him first. We go to learn about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and we go to love the people in our congregation unconditionally, even if they’re unlovable. We go to church to learn to be better people, but mostly we go to feel His Spirit and Be With Him!”
We all make mistakes, but by raising our children in a church environment, WHEN they DO make mistakes, they will know where to find real help. When I made mistakes as a young person, I knew my Savior would never leave me. I learned so much from my parents, but also from putting in the effort to attend church, pray daily, and read God’s word in the Scriptures. One of the most important lessons was this: I knew my Heavenly Father’s love was unconditional. I learned through the scriptures that He always invites us back into His arms no matter what… and He sent us His son, Jesus Christ, who would always leave the ninety and nine and come for ME! That knowledge came from the consistency of going to church every week. This effort grew a testimony in my heart, like exercising a muscle, and gave me comfort, security, and confidence that God hears and loves me! That relationship was so much more than I ever imagined. It has given me great peace which was more important than worrying about what other people thought.
I was raised that going to church was not about being holier than anyone else but to understand the Atonement and that it covers everything. So many learn at church that it wasn’t a “partial” Atonement… it was an “infinite” Atonement. There was nothing I could do wrong (or our children) that the Savior wouldn’t understand. He walked our path so He would understand us!
We should never feel bad or apologize for raising our children in church. Luke 4:16 says, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.“
I am so grateful the Savior set that example for our children and us to make church a priority over other things. The Sabbath day is more than just a couple of hours in church every week; it’s more than just learning a scripture story in Sunday School. What our children can learn in church goes to their hearts so that when they become broken or lost and forget who to trust, they will remember to go to Him. He is the source of all peace and is waiting with His arms outstretched! There isn’t a better lesson we can teach our children: be that, no matter what, simply ”Go to Him.”
#HappySunday