Lessons from the Doctrine and Covenants 2021
Lesson No. Twenty-Six
Parents, Teach Your Children the Plan of Salvation
“I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth” (D&C 93:40) – In 1833 the Lord gave this commandment to the First Presidency and Presiding Bishop of His Church, and they were specifically commanded to set their families in order (see D&C 93: Headnote and verses 40-50). This commandment certainly applies to every parent, especial those who know and understand the gospel.
Parents are to teach their children the plan of salvation – The Lord has specifically identified the following gospel truths that parents must teach their children: (1) the doctrine of repentance, (2) faith in Christ the Son of the living God, (3) baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, (4) to pray, (5) to walk uprightly before the Lord, (6) to observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, (7) to labor and not be an idler. If parents do not teach these things, the sin will be on their heads. (See D&C 68:25-31) The Lord further instructed Adam that our children should be taught the plan of salvation including faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost. (See Moses 6:57-62)
The divine pattern for teaching our children – “Therefore God gave unto [Adam and Eve] commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption….” (Alma 12:32). This divine pattern starts when our children are young when we begin to teach them the plan of salvation. We teach them that they are children of heavenly Parents, and that they came to earth to be part of their very own family. As they start to understand the basics of the plan of salvation we also start to teach them to keep commandments such as not telling lies, etc. This divine pattern continues, and the more our children know about the plan of salvation, the greater will be their desire and motivation to keep the commandments. Missionaries follow this divine pattern as they teach their investigators the plan of salvation and then invite them to keep commandments. This pattern is exemplified in the temple where we learn more about the plan of salvation than anywhere else, and at the same time we are put under covenant to keep commandments.
The Book of Mormon and modern Apostles and Prophets have also detailed the responsibility parents have to teach their children: King Benjamin declared: “And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin….But ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another” (Mosiah 4:14-15). The Family – A Proclamation to the World also emphasizes: “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children… Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives – mothers and fathers – will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”
Parents Can Tell But Never Teach; Until They Practice What They Preach – “Behavior that a person has learned by example during early formative years has a powerful influence on his behavior the rest of his life. Parents have the power to set children on a course that is likely to influence them through each succeeding stage of their development. Through personal agency, children may later modify the consequences of a good or bad example, but they will respond most often according to the example they observed in their homes” (Parents Guide, Chapter 2: Principles of Teaching Children by Example). A wonderful memory I have while serving a president of the Kentucky Louisville Mission is of our daughter Sarah and three of her friends singing at sacrament meetings and zone conferences “How Will They Know” (Children’s Song Book, p 182). The words of this song beautifully describe parents responsibility to teach their children.
The good name and example of parents blesses their posterity for generations – A good family name is a continual reminder to our children and one of the greatest legacies we can leave to our posterity. Helaman understood this when he counseled his sons Nephi and Lehi: “Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when you remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good. Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them” (Helaman 5:6-7).