Leonard received sweet gifts from his kids this year: Kaleb made him blueberry muffins; Noé made him a coupon wheel; Gavin made him a sailboat and he wrote "Dad, you're a Jedi!" on it; Teague made him a cute "hands" card and some homemade barbeque sauce. I was terribly sick on Father's Day, so we didn't take any pictures that day, but I think the pictures below are of Leonard's favorite Father's Day gifts:
I'm so grateful that Leonard is the father of my sweet babies. I'm also so grateful for all of my dads- Joseph, Steve, Arland, and for my Heavenly Father. Here as some quotes I really liked this year:
"I'm as lucky as can be for the world's best dad belongs to me."
"A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society." -Billy Graham
"A man must shave for to spare his daughter's cheeks."
(This made me remember all the times my dad would rub his whiskers on my cheeks when I was little!)
"There is no place quite as soft as a father's strong shoulder."
I was especially sad that I was sick on Father's Day because Ali and I had to miss church. The 3 little boys (yep, Hiram went up too) sang with the primary kids in Sacrament meeting, Kaleb was the Bishop's messenger, but the most exciting was that Noé gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting. I wanted to share it here.
In the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, verse 12, it reads "Honor
thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
which the LORD thy God giveth thee."
This is one of the Ten Commandments that God gave to the children
of Israel.
That one of only ten commandments is about our parents tells us
that parents are an important part of God's plan.
While both of our parents are important, and I love my mom more
than anything or anyone in the whole world, today is Father's Day.
So, suprisingly, I'm going to be talking about fatherhood.
Fathers are an important part of Heavenly Father's plan. And
fathers are an important part of our everyday life, especially when
you are a child.
Fathers love their children.
Father's help little kids by making them food so they don't starve
and have proper nutrition.
They fix their toys for them.
Fathers are guardians to their children to keep them safe.
Fathers are peacemakers for their children. When they get in
to fights, he helps them to solve their differences.
He gives blessings when you're sick and before school so you can
have a good year and do well.
He helps you with stuff you need help with, like homework, or
writing a talk for church, or to help you surprise your mom with
breakfast.
Fathers have jobs to provide for their families.
Fathers are loving to their children and to their wife and to
their babies.
I know all of this stuff about fathers because I have the best kind
of father you can get.
My daddy works hard so he can provide for our family.
He is funny and fun and lets me watch movies, play the Wii, and he
buys books so I can read them.
He helps me with my talks so I won't cry.
But he also trusts me with hard tasks and tells me I can do them.
He builds my confidence.
My daddy is a nice person. He's not mean.
When I grow up, I want to marry someone just like him.
Fathers are important because, when we are small, they help us to
survive and to thrive.
When Jesus was on the earth, he taught people to call God
"Father".
All of us - even old people who aren't kids anymore - are like
children to God.
God loves us and cares for us and teaches us.
He tells us to love each other and be kind to one another.
God helps us, and blesses us.
God trusts us and tells us we can do it, even when we sometimes
wish that He would do it all for us.
The Proclamation on the Family tells us that we are all the spirit
children of Heavenly Parents.
I am grateful that I am also the physical child of my earthly
parents.
They love me and I know they love me, both because they tell me
and by how they treat me.
That my earthly parents love me lets me know that my Heavenly
Parents love me too.
And today, on Father's Day, I hope we can all remember to tell our
Fathers - both our Heavenly Father and our earthly fathers that we
love them.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Two weeks later Kaleb spoke in Sacrament meeting, so I wanted to share his talk too.
A
Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he
was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him
up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance a priest came
along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other
side of the road and passed him by. A Levite walked over and looked
at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a
despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt
compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his
wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man
on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him.
The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him,
‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll
pay you the next time I’m here.’
In
case you didn't know, that was the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
This
story is a classic and familiar one that demonstrates what it means
to live in a selfless manner. It gives a great example of what it
means to love our neighbor.
Selflessness
plays a major role in the second great commandment, “Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself.” To love others as ourselves is to recognize
that other people are as important as us, and to treat them as if
their needs are like our own needs.
The
opposite of selflessness is selfishness.
Selfishness
is only caring about yourself.
You
use your energy to meet your own wants, regardless of the needs of
others.
If
you are selfish, the end result is that you will end up alone.
One
of my favorite Christmas stories is Charles Dicken's “A Christmas
Carol”.
This
story helps us to understand selflessness by showing us someone who
starts selfish but becomes selfless.
In
the Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge lived by himself, with his
only dream to get more and more money. He chose not to get married
and refused to give to charities despite his fortune.
One
Christmas eve, Scrooge was visited by three ghosts who showed him his
past, present, and future, and how his selfishness had made both his
own life and the life of those around him worse.
Following
these visits, Scrooge decided to live his life more selflessly.
Instead of spending all of his time alone, he spent time with both
his real family, his employee- Mr. Cratchet's family, and with the
people of London.
Selflessness
is putting other people's needs in front of your own wants.
If
you are selfless, you care about others. You use your own energy to
help meet their needs, rather than your own wants.
If
you are selfless, the end result is that you will have happy
relationships with others.
William
R. Bradford, now an emeritus member of the First Quorum of the
Seventy said this about selflessness:
"Selflessness
is righteousness. It embraces the true spirit of companionship. It
is the very essence of friendship. It is the portrayer of true love
and oneness in humanity. Its reward is the freeing of the soul, a
nearness to divinity, a worthiness for the companionship of the
Spirit. Every requirement that God’s plan for our salvation places
upon us is based on the giving of one’s self.”
Acts
of selflessness include everything from mowing your neighbor's lawn,
to holding open a door for someone, to attending the temple, and going
on a mission.
In
the Pearl of Great Price we learn that in the council of Gods
Lucifer volunteers to be the Savior and save everyone following
his own plan, so he believes he should have God's glory. He is
selfish, and wants the glory of God all for himself.
Jesus
also volunteers, but wants to follow God's plan, and he says
that the glory should remain with God. And what is God's glory?
In
Moses 1: 39 it says, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
So
God's glory is to help us become like him; He wants us to become gods.
God's
glory is selflessness, and He will share as much of it as people are
willing to receive. He will even share all of it.
When
Jesus offered to be the Savior, he was being selfless in the same
way. Everything he did on earth was for the benefit of other people.
In
Luke 6:35, Jesus invites us to be selfless. He says, “But love
your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and
your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for
he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Whether
it's through Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan or Charles Dickens' tale of
Ebeneezer Scrooge or Christ's election as Savior, I see that
selflessness is an important role, and I will be more selfless in the
upcoming years, and I hope you are to.
And
I say these things in the name Jesus Christ, Amen.
