Sisters and Brothers –
For over a year, the primary children of our ward have been without regular church instruction. I appreciate and am amazed at the diligent efforts and consideration shown by our primary teachers and leaders who, despite their physical distance and restrictions, reach out and offer support to children during what has most likely been the most stressful time of their young lives.
I am hopeful that in the coming weeks, we will be able to meet for in-person primary activities — in some form or another — and know that this will be a welcome reconnection for the parents and children alike. Rest assured that I will keep you all informed as I have final details about any schedule and meeting changes.
As it is, I remind each of the parents and family members that the primary place of learning the gospel is, and always has been, in our homes. The Church is, and was always meant to be, a secondary, supportive entity that adds additional weight, instruction and power to the teachings and testimonies of parents.
Don’t neglect this responsibility.
Sister Joy D. Jones, recently released general president of the primary, shared insights into this responsibility in her talk, “Essential Conversations” in the April 2021 general conference just a few weeks ago. While her entire talk isworth a more careful study than I will put forth here, I wanted to share a couple of thoughts that have stood out to me in my work as a parent.
First, she reminds us that the experiences that lead to gospel testimony don’t occur by happenstance.
“We cannot wait for conversion to simply happen to our children. Accidental conversion is not a principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Becoming like our Savior will not happen randomly. Being intentional in loving, teaching, and testifying can help children begin at a young age to feel the influence of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is essential to our children’s testimony of and conversion to Jesus Christ; we desire them to always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them.”
We must make the gospel a priority in our homes. We must do what we can to make out homes places where the Holy Ghost is felt and recognized. We must make specific efforts to teach our children about how it feels when we communicate with the Holy Ghost. It is an ongoing effort that, like many other parenting principles, doesn’t end when a child turns 18 or leaves the house.
I have many well-meaning friends — in a desire to not “shove religion down their children’s throats” — who declare that they will wait and see if their child asks questions about the gospel or asks to be baptized before bringing it up. While i am a fierce advocate of agency, this simply will not do. We wouldn’t wait for a child to naturally be drawn to arithmetic or ask questions about the Gettysburg Address before teaching them the value of a temporal education. Parents take on the responsibility as “first teacher” in a number of areas of life — including gospel learning.
This leads to a second great reminder from Sister Jones.
“Children deserve to understand this great truth: eternity is the wrong thing to be wrong about.”
Parenting is hard.
Even if it was done in a vacuum — without the distractions and stresses of the world swirling into our lives like a hurricane — parenting would be full of redos, frustrations, could-haves, should-haves and “I-can’t-believe-I-said-that” moments. However, if there is something we should do all we can to get right, it is teaching our children the gospel.
The gospel is simple and wonderful and hopeful. The principles I learned from my parents before I could even read are still the principles I try to emphasize to adults who have been members of the Church for 40 years.
Faith. Repentance. Baptism. The Gift of the Holy Ghost. Endure to the end.
The gospel isn’t a subject that gets more complicated as your child grows. You won’t need a 20-minute YouTube video refresher course before helping your child like you do with that fractions assignment for their math homework.
You simply need your heartfelt and sincere testimony (an individual quest that probably deserves its own bishop’s message, I suppose) and an elementary understanding of the Articles of Faith. Then, know that the Lord will amplify your efforts and the Church will support your family.
I look forward to seeing you later this morning for sacrament meeting. If you are unable to make it in person, you are welcome to watch a live broadcast from here. If you are unable to join us and would like to administer the sacrament at home, please reach out to a member of the bishopric to discuss the situation and receive authorization.
Have a wonderful Sabbath!
Bishop Bennett
Upcoming events:
Seminary registration
Ongoing
As a reminder, children attending seminary need to be registered for Released Time through their school counselors and for seminary through the Church’s website. Specifically, parents can access their child’s seminary registration at myseminary.churchofjesuschrist.org or by contacting me directly.
Young adult fireside broadcast
May 2, 6 p.m.
Elder Gary E. And Sis. Lesa Stevenson
National day of prayer
May 6
Various activities available in person and virtually
Face to Face event for single adults ages 31 and older
June 13, 4 p.m.
Elder Neil L. Andersen, President Jean B. Bingham, and Sister Sharon Eubank.