Family Scripture Reading

Family scripture reading has always been a "fun" time.  I'm not sure where the gospel art pictures of happy families, intently studying holy writ come from.  In our home the words, "time for scriptures," are immediately followed by wrestling matches, Power Ranger demonstrations, special musical numbers, and noisy chaos in general.  There have been many times my wife and I have looked at each other and wondered what exactly it was we were trying to accomplish.  Nevertheless, the kids seem to learn, despite their apparent inattentiveness.  Out of the blue they'll make a comment relative to the reading.  It may be days later, but I'm often surprised at the connections they make on their own.

That being said, there are some adjustments we have made to improve the quality of our study together.  This year we decided to read with the older boys in the morning before school.  It has quieted things down a lot.  The fact that the real little ones are still asleep reduces many of the previously mentioned distractions.  We're still working on an age appropriate strategy for the younger kids.

Our most recent adjustment has been to slow the pace and discuss what we have read.  The kids initially resisted.  They like marking progress and seeing the chapters go by.  However, I felt something was missing. We weren't teaching them how to intellectually engage the subjects we were reading about.  Now we focus on developing an understanding of the context and meaning of each verse.  Though we may only get through a few verses a day, we have already had much more meaningful conversations regarding gospel principles with our kids.  Overall it has been a rewarding experience.

My Foundational Beliefs

    Agency, an individual’s ability to choose for him or herself, is the first law of Heaven and the right of every person who has lived, is living, or will live upon this earth.  This is the conclusion I've come to as I have studied and pondered the purpose of life.  To deny a person his or her right to choose is a serious offense.  This is a guiding principle by which I attempt to live.

     I also believe there is objective truth by which the universe is governed.  God is the Supreme Being because He adheres perfectly to all truth.  This is where His authority comes from.  If He were to violate truth, He would cease to be God.

     We are literally God’s spiritual children, He is our Heavenly Father.  He created and taught us before our physical creation.  His desire is to help us progress and become like Him.  Part of this process requires us to learn truth through our own experiences.  For this purpose, the earth was created.

     Birth is the means whereby we are introduced into this world.  To bring order to the process, God instituted marriage.  Within this framework parents commit themselves to each other and to the raising and teaching of any children resulting from the marriage.

     Once we arrive on earth, the process of exercising our agency and learning truth continues.  I say continues, rather than begins, because God does not send us to mortality without our consent.  In our pre-mortal existence we comprehended the opportunities for learning and growth to be had here.  As we go about our lives, we practice using our agency according to our understanding.  The true purpose of our time here is to experience opposites and make decisions as best we can.

     God gives us commandments to steer us toward truth.  Living according to commandments allows us to discover truth.  However, simply living according to a commandment does not necessarily bring us closer to God.  We must also apply ourselves to understanding why we do so.  That is when truth is revealed.

     As we all know, life is not simple and requires that we interact with others.  God has given us commandments regarding these interactions.  The essence of these commandments is love.  The two greatest commandments are to love God and love your neighbor.  When we seek to force others to behave in certain ways, we have violated both these commandments.