What Every Child Must Know part 2

I had great hopes for this series of thoughts.  Most of them were to be funny, witty and just have a good time while getting to know a little bit better then kind of people that David and I are.  But truth is, when I think of the things that I want my children to know the most, there really isn't much humor in it.  Can there be too much humor in the things that matter most? 

So here goes the beginning of a list of things that we both hope to be able to teach our future children while they are in our home and haven't yet hit the ever changing philosophies of the world. 

1.  They are children of God. 

I know this sounds a bit trite to some, quite profound to others.  But a must know for survival in this world.  I want them to not only know it, but to feel it too.  That's the tricky part.  How many Sunday school questions can be answered with "the Big Five":

   1.  Go to church
   2.  Read your scriptures
   3.  Fast
   4.  Pray
   5.  Attend the temple

Some of us have heard them all of our lives.  We've memorized the answers to get us back to Heavenly Father and we go along with child-like faith and never doubt that it is true, but also never quite know what that really means.  Then we hit teenage-hood, which my mom lovingly refers to as "stupid-hood" because our brains magically fall out of our head and stay on our pillows while our bodies do what they want.  During teenage-hood we're suddenly lost again.  Trying to figure out who we are and what makes us tick.  The "Big Five" seem childish and we try to find our own way to happiness.

Most of the time we've received enough instruction in Primary and in the home to snap out of it at some point, retrieve our brains from the pillow, dust them off, and put them safely back in our heads where they can actually be used.  The "Big Five" suddenly don't seem quie so trivial anymore.  In fact when used they actually help you feel better about a whole bunch of life, bring you closer to God, and gain perspective about things that really matter.

But sometimes we don't.  We never remember what we've been taught, or at least choose not to believe it anymore.  Contrary to what some might believe, one can actually have some semblance of peace this way, but at the same time it's never quite as deep as those who really know, who really feel that connection to diety and can in fact call Him friend.

I'm not certain how we're going to teach this principle exactly.  Each child is different, each with his/her strengths and weaknesses.  And each a child of God.  Perhaps those "Big Five" will come in handy huh!  But I do know that we are going to try our best to teach our children who they are.  The Lord loves us no matter what we've done, and despite our glaring weaknesses.  We are his children and nothing can change that.  But knowing can certainly change us.