1 Nephi 8

(January 8, 2014)
I cannot imagine the pain that must be associated with having a child who strays from the Gospel.  For a long time, I never understood how it could even happen – if you raised a child in the Gospel, why would they ever leave it? – but as I struggle with my own faith and my own weaknesses, I understand it far more.  Even being raised in this Church and the Gospel, the path of discipleship is hard.  Maintaining the level of faith required for salvation is hard.  Surrendering yourself to the Lord is hard.  I have only just begun the process, and I have been alive and had a testimony for a very long period of time.  But I allowed the mists to blind me, just as much as Laman and Lemuel did.

So I can understand it happening, now, but I still hope and pray that it doesn’t happen to any of my wonderful children.  But if it does, Lehi has set the example.  We don’t passively accept their life choices, but neither do we cut them out of our lives.  We demonstrate our love for them and continue to encourage them to return home to the Gospel that we know can bring them joy.  I am no expert on the subject (and I hope I never have cause to become one), but I do deal with mistakes of a lesser kind in myself, my family, and those around me.  These same lessons would seem applicable there, as well.  We don’t condone the faults of others, but neither do we condemn them for their mistakes.  Instead we demonstrate our love for those around us and encourage them where appropriate to repent and improve their lives.  This is something that I can integrate now into my life.