The Impact of Fathers on
Families and the Church
As I thought about the topic the bishopric gave me
to speak on, which is… “The Impact of
Fathers on Families and the Church”… it reminded me of the great men in my life
as well as those in the scriptures who have impacted me in my decision to live
righteously and to serve a mission.
These men have been examples of Christ-like attributes of which I would
like to develop.
I have been blessed to
have kind and good YM leaders, Bishop’s, Home teachers and Uncles who have
taken time to teach, lead and strengthen me. The scripture that came to mind when I thought about these
righteous men is in Alma 53:20.
It says, “And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant
for courage and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not
all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were
entrusted.”
Just as the Stripling
Warriors, these leaders have been an example of courage and have taken their
callings with a sense of responsibility and a desire to serve. These men are all fathers of their own
children. They have all sacrificed
time with them to lift and strengthen me.
I am so thankful and hope to have that same sense of courage and
responsibility as I serve my mission and throughout my life.
Another righteous father that came to mind is Alma from the Book of
Mormon. Alma the father prayed
with much faith that his son would come to the knowledge of the truth. His prayer was answered in a special
way.
“There are two words in golf more dreaded to
hear than any, and even worse to witness. Yips and Shanks. I have
definitely experienced the Shanks. Almost any golfer would admit that
nothing scares them more in golf than the Shanks. Let me explain.
The Shank is the result of a miscue of the swing, but only by 1/2 inch or
less, in which the golfer hits the ball with the part of the club where the
face of the club meets the shaft. The result of a Shank is usually a 45
degree shot, or worse, to the right for a right handed golfer. Not a
wanted shot. It is terribly ugly to feel and even more horrific to see,
almost dangerous. The problem with the Shank is that it not only produces
such an errant and abismal result, one usually has no idea how it happened.
The swing feels correct. It just comes out of nowhere. The
fear that comes next is the paralyzing aspect of the Shank and why it is
considered the scariest event in a golf round, or golf life!!! Once a Shank
happens, it is now firmly implanted in your mind. First you wonder how it
happened, then you wonder if it will happen again. This throws off the entire
game, the mental, the physical, and quite literally the enjoyment. It
plagues a golfers mind and game. Remember though, it is such a small
miscue. One famous golfer, whose name I can't remember, stated that a
Shank is the closest thing to a perfect shot WITHOUT hitting a perfect shot.
For a golfer, that's little comfort.
One golf season, a few years back, I suffered
drastically from the Shanks. I suffered on each hole from worrying about
if or when or what will cause me to Shank it. It became frustrating.
My mind and game were completely distracted on the error of the Shank and
how to correct it. The more I tried to correct it on the course during play,
the worse it got. It seemed like I went months with this curse. But
it never caused me to want to quit, only to fix it. The problem was,
after a time I began to fulfill my own prophecy. I thought about the Shank.
I told myself not to Shank it. I couldn't get my mind off the worry
of Shanking into the woods, the next hole over, or even into the clubhouse.
I almost took off the head of a promoter during a tournament on the tee
of the 16th hole. After that the guy sat about 20 yards right of the tee
for every golfer that followed.
So, you may ask yourself, how did I get rid of
the Shanks, IF I did indeed get rid of them? Well, the answer is that I
did get rid of the Shanks. It took time on the range, recommitting to my
swing and instilling confidence in the same swing I had before, but believing I
was going to hit the ball how I intended to hit it, not how I may miss hit it.
This is important. While living in Wisconsin, from a good friend of
mine, I learned a lifelong lesson that will never get lost from my mind. That
is to make yourself DO something. One day while working with me on my
swing, he told me to always tell myself to DO. DO NOT doesn't work.
DO hit the ball with a high draw. Works!!!! DO NOT hit into
the water on the right.....DOESN'T WORK!!!! It actually does work in
part; one actually hits it the way you intend NOT TO if you dwell on that
thought. So it's much better to instill in your mental game of golf, TO
DO!!
What does this have to do with life?
Plenty. We all have numerous Shanks, or mistakes, in life. Some
more than others. Myself, more than I can count. But we also have
the opportunity to tell ourselves to move forward. DO. We have the
choice to let go, try again, start over. We all can determine what our
circumstances may turn out to be by DOING. DO NOT, will not work.
For some, I think the toughest thing we can encounter in our own life's
circumstances may be to forgive ourselves from the Shanks. This Shank, in
and of itself, stays in our minds and may consume our thoughts. It is a
process, not a singular event that will cure this Shank. It takes time
and diligence and perseverance to correct such a Shank, and that's okay.
It just needs to be corrected by DOING. This doesn't mean we will
not make future Shanks, but we will be progressing, moving forward and we will
know how to overcome any new Shanks that may plague us.
“An now it came to pass
that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, … the angel of the
Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake
as it were with a voice of thunder…
“And so great was their
astonishment, that they fell to the earth, and understood not the words which
he spake unto them.
“Nevertheless he cried
again, saying: Alma, arise and
stand forth, for why persecutest thou the church of God? For the Lord hath said: This is my church, and I will establish
it; and nothing shall overthrow it, save it is the transgression of my
people.
“And again, the angel
said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers
of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith
concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth;
therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and
authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according
to their faith.”
Because of Alma’s PRAYERS
OF FAITH, many generations were blessed through the service of his son. I hope to gain this type of faith as I
pray for opportunities to teach His gospel to people in Washington.
I have two wonderful
grandpas who have taught me by example.
My Grandpa Northrup is an example of quiet humility. I know by the way he lives that he
loves the Savior and that he will go about doing his work without the need to
be noticed by others. In Mosiah
4:11, “And again I say unto you…”
I had the opportunity to
work with my Grandpa Thayne for a couple weeks on his ranch, working on wheel
lines. He is a righteous example
of self-reliance and hard work. He
does not idly waste his time, but always anxiously engaged in hard work and in
serving others. The scripture I
found that reminds me of my Grandpa Thayne is in D&C 88:124-126,
“Cease to be idle… cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed
early that ye may not be weary; arise early that your bodies and your minds may
be invigorated. And above all
things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is
the bond of perfectness and peace.
Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come. Behold, and lo, I will come quickly,
and receive you unto myself.
Amen.”
From these two great men,
I hope to learn to work hard, serve others and humbly recognize the Lord’s hand
in all things.
One of the greatest
examples of Fatherhood is the relationship between Heavenly Father and his own
Son, Jesus Christ. In the New
Testament, one of the most vivid examples is in the garden just before His
betrayal: It says,
“Jesus kneeled down, and
prayed, “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
“And there appeared an
angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
Father in Heaven is just
as aware of our needs and lives as he was of our Savior. I know He will strengthen and guide me
as I pray for his help and direction.
As it is Father’s Day, I
would like to share with you something I have learned from my own dad. As most of you know, he is a guy who
loves everything about golf. He
takes as much time as he is able to enjoy this sport. Because he has done this, he has been able to find life
lessons and analogies that go along with his favorite game. Recently he shared one that I would
like to share with you…
So, here is some golf
wisdom from my dad…
This is such a great lesson to me about the
atonement and forgiveness. What I
learn from this is DO forgive yourself when you make a mistake and DO Choose
the Right. I love my dad and am
grateful he is such an important part of my life.
In a talk given by Elder L. Tom Perry titled
Fatherhood, an Eternal Calling he states, “Satan, in his carefully devised plan
to destroy the family, seeks to diminish the role of fathers.”
However the power of Satan is insignificant
next to the power of Heavenly Father.
Yes, Satan has power, but his power can be beaten back if we follow the
guidance of our Heavenly Father and look to the example of Fathers and fatherly
figures.
