We live in a very strange world, in a very challenging time. The world, and the values of society, seem to be closing in on us -- the internet, and technology, help to make that possible. There is information streaming-in from every direction. The tentacles of technology reach far beyond anything I could have imagined. There is access to endless information (which can be a beautiful thing), but it can also make deciphering what is true, and what is false, very difficult -- especially for young minds.
I send three of my little "babies" out into the world, to learn from someone else. They spend most of their day at public school learning "facts" and ideas, and interacting with other children who are happy to teach them new games, and new tricks. Though elementary school has its challenges, I just sent my oldest off to junior high, and she is now taught from a variety of teachers, with a broader range of views, opinions, and concepts -- perhaps not all views and ideas that I, as a parent, agree with.
While at school, teachers might place things in front of the children that are not congruent with our basic core beliefs. (That has already happened.) Children may come home upset, or concerned about things they are taught at school, things that don't seem quite right, things that make them feel uncomfortable -- because of a warning in their heart.
The things being taught now are not the same things we learned in school. As parents, we need to be ever watchful, and careful -- now, more than ever before. Keep your eyes open. Be aware. Ask questions.
As some of these issues arise, I become increasingly more grateful to have a solid foundation based on the teachings of the gospel found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have taught my children of Jesus and His teachings from the time they were little babies. I have taught the children who they are, as children of God. They are forming their own testimonies of the gospel, and will one day have to discover what they know to be true for themselves. But for now, in our home, they have a foundation. A solid foundation. We read, study, pray, discuss, teach, and live the gospel in our home. It is the foundation my children walk on when they step out the front door each morning, and face the world.
As a result, my children are not blank slates to be written upon. They already have the gospel of Christ written in their little hearts, as they go out and face difficult challenges. They are not empty and left without a knowledge of the truth. They do not wander, and wonder, aimlessly -- soaking in information at school without thinking twice about it. They view the world through the filter of having the companionship of the Spirit of God. They have a filter for light, and darkness. They can determine between right, and wrong.
They are not left alone. They have God on their side. And if they are worthy, they can have the Holy Ghost as their constant companion.
Having the Spirit to guide you is like wearing spiritual glasses, providing clearer vision, and the prescription which includes the power of discernment. Do you know how grateful I am for that? Do you know what comfort that gives me, as a mother, to know my children are not left in the darkness? Even when walking through the darkness, they can see the light.
There are many people who desire to write ideas, and values, upon the hearts of our sweet, impressionable, children. Society would like to shape, and train, our children into something other than what we might want them to become. We live in a strange world. But this is their world. They have to learn to live in it. They have to learn to not only survive in it, but to thrive in it.
Sometimes I wish I could scoop up my family, and run for the hills -- to live in peace and safety. But that is not possible. We live here, in the world. This is our world, this is the world our children need to know how to face. This is the world -- perhaps the darkness -- in which we need to teach our children how to shine.
Lately, I have felt a strong desire to pull my children closer. I am far less concerned about extra activities, and things that take my children out of the home, all the time. I want to make sure that they have enough "home time" so they can receive the education -- the Spiritual education -- that is the most important thing they will ever learn in their lifetime. And I want to be the one to teach them the things I know to be true.
If I do not take, and make, the time to teach them -- someone else surely will.
