Father's

 This week this blog is going to be a little different. We were asked to find an article on fatherhood. Now I have said this before and I will say it again. My biggest goals in life are to be a father and a husband. So to write an entire blog post about fatherhood and that sort of thing is pretty exciting.

In his talk entitled Fatherhood, an Eternal Calling Elder L Tom Perry who was a member of the quorum of the twelve apostles in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has some things to say about fatherhood. 

He talks about how Satan is attacking the family and that part of that attack is an attack on fatherhood. We can see this trend in some television shows. Not all shows mind you. Phil Dunphy in Modern family is a very imperfect father and it is amazing. But we see the degradation of the father in the household as an oaf or a fool. Which as a father I bet would be hard to watch. And God is our heavenly father. He is the prime standard of Fatherhood.  

Elder Perry also shares many scriptural examples of Father’s and their eternal role. He shares when the Savior during the atonement asks his father for help and God sends him an angel. He talks about Moses and Jethro. The scriptures lay a good foundation for Father and parent roles. Helping the children learn and grow in a loving and safe environment. One of my favorite scriptural examples is found in the Book of mormon. Alma the Younger has to chastise his son for breaking the law of Chastity on his mission. However after this he explains important doctrinal pieces. Then his son goes back out and tries again. Like all of us. We fail, we learn , we try again. Rinse repeat. Which is all possible because of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Elder Perry also shares how Father’s and Mother’s are in an equal partnership. Look, my Mom runs her own business. She is amazing. And if she had not worked we would not be as fortunate as we are. Each family is different. Each one needs to honestly figure out what works best for them. People can live the gospel differently. It is truly a beautiful thing.

Look, my father is not perfect. But everything he does is for us. He works his butt off and gives up so many of his interests for us. Because we are the most important people in his life. We have not always gotten along. We have had our struggles but I know he does what he does out of love. I remember in a particular rough patch in our relationship I went and saw Spiderman Into the Spiderverse. And in this movie which is a masterpiece by the way Miles’s dad comes to talk to Miles. And Miles is stuck in Webbing and cannot respond. And his dad talks about how he sees this spark in Miles. Whoo tears were shed. I went home and after getting some In and Out on the way home I told my parents I loved them. That movie was very powerful and needed a spiritual experience for me. Because my Father in Heaven knew what I needed to grow closer to my father on earth.

One day I am going to be a father. I already have a #1 Dad Shirt. I can learn so much from my father and many other father’s. I have great examples to follow as I raise children of Heavenly Parents. I am very excited for that day.