C. C. A. Christensen (circa 1900)
Children have an honesty and simplicity that cannot be easily replicated by adults. Our family lives near the handcart trail, and I have tried hard to teach my boys the significance of that portion of Mormon history. Son#3's honesty and simplicity noticeably came through when he gave a Primary talk on handcarts in June of 2001 at age 7.
Naturally, I assisted Son#3 in writing his talk, but I did not write it word for word. I would come up with an idea, and then I would make Son#3 fill in the details. The result was a true collaboration between a father and a little son with his arm in a padded splint. Does that sound cute?
Let's be truthful. The collaboration was NOT exactly fun. Son#3 kept running in and out of the computer room. Why was he running away? The reason was because he kept beating me (his Dad) over the head with his splint in a strange game of tag while I was seated trying to type his talk. Further, he refused to practice the talk all the way through. He would read a couple of lines and then run off.
The next day was Sunday, and I was a little worried. Son#3 had not practiced the talk all the way through in one continuous sitting.
The Primary program began and a little four-year old girl (cute as could be) got up and sang “I am a Child of God” all by herself with no piano or adult help. To me, she sang like Shirley Temple. After which, another little girl came up to the stand and read a scriptural passage. She read it pretty well but mangled a few words. The woman conducting thanked the little girl for doing such a wonderful job of reading.
My wife and I were at the back of the room. She leaned over to me and said, "If she was impressed with that, just watch [our boy].” Well, my wife must have known something I did not. I was keeping my fingers crossed.
Then came a couple of surprises. When Son#3 read his Primary talk, he looked up at the audience like a professional news anchor and he spoke clearly and distinctly. He read it word perfect, even though his practice at home consisted predominantly of goofing off. The second surprise came because he told me (his Dad) that he was not going to show off his splint because he said that would embarrass him.
Here is how the talk went:
Our parents tell us to be careful on the playground because they love us. When we are not careful enough you get a splint like mine. [Son#3 held up his right hand and the Primary kids laughed]. Just as kids need to follow parents, we all need to follow God and his Prophets.
Sometimes this requires us to do hard things. Can you imagine walking all the way across Iowa?! Nearly 150 years ago that is what the handcart Mormons had to do. They put all their belongings and toys in carts and then they pushed and pulled them on the dirt roads of Iowa.
They walked all the way from Iowa City to Des Moines to Omaha, and then they kept walking all the way to Utah. They did this because the Prophet told them that it was important.
Because of their faith our church became strong, and now we can have churches in Iowa and Temples in Omaha and Nauvoo. Sometimes God is hard, but we will be blessed when we do the right things. In the name of Jesus, AMEN.
As you can imagine, we Fauxes were one happy family after that talk. In my own theological theory, it is NOT such a bad thing to brag about one's children. All kids need to be lifted up and rewarded (at appropriate times), and they need to feel good about themselves (when they accomplish significant personal goals). Sure, it was ONLY a Primary talk with few adults in attendance. But, it was an event that served as a foundation for the coming years. To a parent, that means a lot.
For more essays about the handcart pioneers on this blog, see:
1) Honoring Mormon Handcart Pioneers
2) Lessons from the Mormon Handcart Trail
3) Prejudices Against the Mormon Handcart Pioneers
How many LDS High Priests does it take to change a light bulb on an overhead garage door opener?
Answer: Three: one with back problems to hold the stool to make sure it does not tip over; the second, the youngest of the group, to actually climb on the stool to change the bulb; and the third, the most spiritual of the old bunch, to pray for light.
Oh, how I wish I could start Primary all over again -- of course, knowing what I now know.
Copyright 2009 S.Faux (Email: foxgoku54 [at] gmail [d0t] c0m; URL: http://mormoninsights.blogspot.com). Readers may distribute this post for noncommercial purposes provided such distributing is of the entire post, including author's copyright and contact information. All other rights reserved.
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2 comments:
Those kids sure keep us on our toes, and never short of surprises! I can just see the way this would go at our house with my daughter climbing all over the place, throwing things, and running away etc. etc. However in the end, to the astonishment of all, these rascals are learning significant things in spite of their apparent distraction. It is these small moments of pride that keep me going as a parent.
Thanks, Mormon Scientist, for your response. Thank goodness for Mormon scientists, by the way.
We cannot have enough science.
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