What could help you remember the great things God has done for you? What are you inspired to do so that the word of the Lord will daily “be in thine heart”?
"4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the Lord shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us." (Deuteronomy 6:4–12, 20–25)
"One of our most sacred responsibilities is to help our children come to know deeply and specifically that Jesus is the Christ.
One of the most touching moments in the Book of Mormon is the resurrected Savior’s visit to the people at the temple in the land Bountiful. After a day of teaching, healing, and building faith, Jesus directed the people’s attention to the rising generation: “He commanded that their little children should be brought.” He prayed for them and blessed them one by one. The experience was so moving that the Savior Himself wept multiple times.
Then, speaking to the multitude, Jesus said:
“Behold your little ones.
“And as they looked … they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven,” ministering to their children.
I have often thought about this experience. It must have melted every person’s heart! They saw the Savior. They felt Him. They knew Him. He taught them. He blessed them. And He loved them. It’s no wonder that after this sacred event, these children grew up to help establish a society of peace, prosperity, and Christlike love that lasted for generations.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our children could have experiences like that with Jesus Christ—something that would bind their hearts to Him! He invites us, as He invited those parents in the Book of Mormon, to bring our little ones to Him. We can help them know their Savior and Redeemer the way these children did. We can show them how to find the Savior in the scriptures and build their foundations on Him.
Recently, a good friend taught me something I hadn’t noticed before about the parable of the wise man who built his house upon a rock. According to the account in Luke, as the wise man laid the foundation for his house, he “digged deep.” It wasn’t a casual or simple endeavor—it took effort!
To build our lives on the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, we need to dig deep. We remove anything that is sandy or superfluous in our lives. We keep digging until we find Him. And we teach our children to bind themselves to Him through sacred ordinances and covenants so that when the oppositional storms and floods come, as they surely will, they will have little effect upon them “because of the rock upon which [they] are built.”
This kind of strength doesn’t just happen. It is not passed on to the next generation like a spiritual inheritance. Each person must dig deep to find the rock.
We learn this lesson from another account in the Book of Mormon. When King Benjamin gave his final address to his people, they gathered as families to hear his words. King Benjamin bore powerful witness of Jesus Christ, and the people were deeply moved by his testimony. They declared:
“The Spirit … has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts. …
“And we are willing to enter into a covenant with our God to do his will … all the remainder of our days.”
One might expect that little children with such deeply converted parents would eventually become converted and make covenants themselves. And yet, for some reason not mentioned in the record, the covenant made by the parents did not get traction with some of their children. Several years later “there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers.
“They did not believe what had been said concerning the resurrection of the dead, neither did they believe concerning the coming of Christ. …
“And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith.”
What a sobering thought! For the rising generation, it’s not enough for faith in Jesus Christ to be “the tradition of their fathers.” They need to own faith in Christ for themselves. As the covenant people of God, how can we instill within the hearts of our children a desire to make and keep covenants with Him?
We can start by following the example of Nephi: “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” Nephi’s words imply a constant, ongoing effort to teach our children about Christ. We can ensure that the voice of the covenant people is not silent in the ears of the rising generation and that Jesus is not a Sunday-only topic.
The voice of the covenant people is found in our own words of testimony. It is found in the words of living prophets. And it is preserved powerfully in the scriptures. It is there that our children will come to know Jesus and find answers to their questions. It is there they will learn for themselves the doctrine of Christ. It is there they will find hope. This will prepare them for a lifetime of seeking truth and living on the covenant path.
I love this counsel from President Russell M. Nelson:
“Where can we go to hear Him?
“We can go to the scriptures. They teach us about Jesus Christ and His gospel, the magnitude of His Atonement, and our Father’s great plan of happiness and redemption. Daily immersion in the word of God is crucial for spiritual survival, especially in these days of increasing upheaval. As we feast on the words of Christ daily, the words of Christ will tell us how to respond to difficulties we never thought we would face.”
So what does it look like to feast on the words of Christ and hear Him? Well, it looks like whatever works best for you! It might be gathering with your family to talk about the things the Holy Ghost taught you in your scripture study using Come, Follow Me. It might be gathering each day with your children to read a few verses from the scriptures and then looking for opportunities to discuss what you learned as you spend time together. Just find what works for you and your family; then try to do a little better each day.
Consider this insight from Teaching in the Savior’s Way: “Taken individually, a single home evening, scripture study session, or gospel conversation may not seem like it is accomplishing much. But the accumulation of small, simple efforts, repeated consistently over time, can be more powerful and strengthening than an occasional monumental moment or landmark lesson. … So don’t give up, and don’t worry about accomplishing something grand every time. Just be consistent in your efforts.”
One of our most sacred responsibilities is to help our children come to know deeply and specifically that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, their personal Savior and Redeemer, who stands at the head of His Church! We cannot allow our covenant voice to become muted or silent when it comes to Him.
You may feel a bit inadequate in this role, but you should never feel alone. For example, ward councils are authorized to organize teacher council meetings for parents. In these quarterly meetings, parents can gather to learn from each other’s experiences, discuss how they are strengthening their families, and learn key principles of Christlike teaching. This meeting should be held in the second hour of church. It is led by a ward member selected by the bishop and follows the format of regular teacher council meetings, using Teaching in the Savior’s Way as the primary resource. Bishops, if your ward is not currently holding teacher council meetings for parents, work with your Sunday School president and ward council to organize yourselves.
My dear friends in Christ, you are doing much better than you think. Just keep working at it. Your children are watching, listening, and learning. As you teach them, you will come to know their true nature as beloved sons and daughters of God. They may forget the Savior for a season, but I promise you He will never forget them! Those moments when the Holy Ghost speaks to them will persist in their hearts and minds. And one day your children will echo the testimony of Enos: I know my parents are just, “for [they] taught me … in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it.”
Let us accept the Savior’s invitation and bring our children to Him. As we do so, they will see Him. They will feel Him. They will know Him. He will teach them. He will bless them. And, oh, how He will love them. And, oh, how I love Him. In His holy name, Jesus Christ, amen." (Preserving the Voice of the Covenant People in the Rising Generation By Brother Jan E. Newman Second Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency)
"18 ¶ Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth." (Deuteronomy 11:18–21)
And here's the commentary entitled: “Beware lest thou forget the Lord.” :
"Most of the Israelites who would enter the promised land had not seen the plagues in Egypt or crossed the Red Sea. Moses knew that they—and future generations—would need to remember God’s miracles and God’s laws to remain God’s people.
What counsel do you find in Deuteronomy 6:4–12, 20–25 that could help you remember the great things God has done for you? What are you inspired to do so that the word of the Lord will daily “be in thine heart”? (verse 6).
You might also study Brother Jan E. Newman’s message “Preserving the Voice of the Covenant People in the Rising Generation” (Liahona, Nov. 2023, 36–38) and consider how you will pass your faith in Christ to future generations.
See also Deuteronomy 11:18–21; Dale G. Renlund, “Consider the Goodness and Greatness of God,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2020, 41–44; Bible Dictionary, “Frontlets or phylacteries.”"
What could help you remember the great things God has done for you?
A record of the great things God has done for me could truly help me remember the great things God has done for me. I would like to remember not just the great things but even the small things God has done for me. The more I remember and express my gratitude to the Lord for them, the more He will bless me with things to remember, great or small.
What are you inspired to do so that the word of the Lord will daily “be in thine heart”?
I am inspired to keep studying His words through the Come, Follow Me program, and to keep writing what I'm learning here in my blog, and keep sharing my blog daily so that the word of the Lord will daily "be in my heart". I am also inspired to write my journal about how I'm seeing the Lord's hand in my life daily. It's a challenge to be able to do this and yet I'm doing what I can.
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