A Thought on Parenthood

I have contemplated the wisdom of a loving Heavenly Father. His wisdom far surpasses my minute, finite understanding, but sometimes I find that if I listen ever so carefully, He will teach me - Parent to parent - little tidbits that help me better understand my place as mortal mother, earthly keeper of His Spirit Sons and Daughter.

One concept I have pondered is the knowledge Nephi received about his people. He was able to foresee, through the power of the Lord – the destruction of his people (See 2 Nephi 26). Yet, this knowledge, which was obviously passed on to other righteous men, did not diminish Nephi’s desire or his intense labor in preaching repentance and testifying of the truth. What if Nephi had known his people would all turn out okay? Would he still have put forth as much energy in preaching repentance? As I contemplated this idea for a long time, I had this Parent to parent tutoring session (thanks to the Spirit):

If, as a parent, I foresaw my children choosing wicked over righteousness I may have a mortal tendency to give up hope in the present and/or find myself in the depths of personal guilt and private blame for all the things I could have done, should have done, or didn’t do. Perhaps I would forget who the real Parent is and my role as an earthly keeper of God's children to have faith in Christ and his redeeming and enabling Atonement for me and “my” children.

However, if I foresaw my children always choosing righteousness over evil, always recognizing sin and repenting immediately, perhaps I would have the mortal tendency to puff myself up with pride and adulation. And in so doing, I would disregard heaven, forget God, and poison my soul with the idea that I should receive the glory for the good choices my children have made.

Either way, those sentiments do not represent how the Lord would want to feel about Him, about myself or about His/my children.

I have concluded that to very few does the Lord show the future. Perhaps, in the case of prophets, the future is shown because of the keys they hold and the responsibility that is theirs to warn the wicked and save the saints. Perhaps to the few men and women the future is shown because of the intricate trust the Lord has in their ability to keep things in sacred perspective.

And for me, I have happily decided that as I walk by faith as an earthly parent of Heavenly Father's children, He will show me just enough to help His children get back home.