Ether 10

Maybe today's insight is coincidence or it could be what Elder Bednar described as a “tender mercy of the Lord.” (David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Liahona, May 2005, 99–102) I am grateful for this online scripture journal because it has helped me study the scriptures better and with a better purpose. I am constantly trying to find ways the scriptures can relate to my life because I know I am going to have to write a blog post about it. It is no wonder that Elder Scott always says study with a journal close by. It is true. I have had more insights and more spiritual scripture studies as of recent because I know I am going to be writing about it.

Sorry for that little tangent, but now back to my tender mercy of the Lord today. Ether chapter 10 is a chapter I would normally skim over, but since I knew I was going to have to write about what I learned today, I decided to really pay attention and see if I could get something out of it. Thankfully, I was able to with Heavenly Father’s help. This chapter is about how the kingdom is passed from one person to the other either by succession or by bloodshed. Although this situation occurs multiple times in the Book of Mormon, what hit me today was the role the father plays in the succeeding generation. If the father did not follow the ways of the Lord, the son most likely wouldn’t either. If the father was righteous, the next generation was most likely going to be righteous.

This hit me today because of my dad’s recent health problems. Although my dad’s health problems aren’t absolutely horrible, they are bad enough to give me a cause to reflect on how grateful I am for a loving father that raised me up in righteousness. Like I said above, if a father is righteous the next generation is most likely to be righteous. Of course, this isn’t always the case, because there are righteous fathers that have arrant children and wicked fathers who have righteous children. With that said, and like Ether 10 teaches us, it is more likely to have the second generation follow the traditions of the first. I am grateful to have such a great example in my life and I don’t why I am so blessed to have been taught righteousness by word and by deed by both my mother and my father. Not only that, I know that Christy would say she feels the same way about her family.

Aren’t families great? Aren’t we blessed to have righteous parents that teach us? I am grateful to my parents.