All the Feeling of a Tender Parent

In the Book of Mormon, Nephi wrote about his father talking to his rather rebellious brothers Laman and Lemuel in this manner:

"And he did exhort them then with all the feeling of a tender parent, that they would hearken to his words, that perhaps the Lord would be merciful to them, and not cast them off; yea, my father did preach unto them.

And after he had preached unto them, and also prophesied unto them of many things, he bade them to keep the commandments of the Lord; and he did cease speaking unto them."
(Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8:37 - 38)

There are times when I think I know how Lehi must have felt. I am also a father that does a fair amount of preaching and exhorting my children to do the right thing. Sometimes the preaching comes out like yelling. I wonder if Lehi did his share of yelling at his sons. It was probably not because he was angry, but because he desperately wanted them to be obedient. I love my children very much. It pains me when I see them arguing with each other, or bending the rules, or stretching the truth, or when there is any hint they might stray from the strait and narrow.

Do you remember in The Little Mermaid when King Triton reprimanded his daughter, Ariel, for disobeying him? He later questioned if he was too harsh. Parents do wonder if they overdo it sometimes. We're not perfect. On the other hand, if I didn't love my children I would just leave them to their own devices.


There are plenty of dangerous things in the world and we as parents have quite a heavy responsibility to keep our children safe from those things:

"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents....

And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord."
(Doctrine and Covenants, Section 68:25 - 28)

I want my children to know that I love them. Even when I raise my voice and give them an angry, mean-looking scowl, this is my way of exhorting them with all the feeling of a tender parent. Please stay away from the "hooks", stay true, and stay close to the Lord, especially when we're not there to watch you. You'll be blessed for it. I really believe that.