Sabbathought : Father's Day

It is a safe bet that we have rarely, if ever, considered Father's Day in the following context. And yet it is the most meaningful and relevant way to view this special day.

"Few doctrines are better known by members of the true church than the doctrine of preexistence. We are well aware that all men are the children of God, the offspring of the Father, his sons and his daughters. We know that we were all born in his courts as spirit beings, long before the foundations of this earth were laid, and that the Lord Jehovah [Jesus] was in fact the Firstborn Son. What is not so well known is that nearly all the passages of scripture, both ancient and modern, which speak of God as our Father and of men on earth being the sons of God, have no reference to our birth in preexistence as the children of Elohim, but teach rather that Jehovah is our Father and we are his children" (Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah, pp. 351-2).

Yea, but rather . . . .

A couple of weeks ago during a break in a Primary rehearsal for Father's Day singing, the music leader asked the children who, besides our own dads, could we call "Father." One young child said simply, "Jesus." A Primary teacher tried to correct the child by saying with some firmness, "Jesus is not our Father, Jesus is our Older Brother."

It is common for us these days to think of and refer to Jesus as our older brother. It is true that He is, as implied in passing in Elder McConkie's statement above. While it is true that Jesus is our older brother in the context of premortality, it is irrelevant in the context of the plan of redemption.

Jesus is the Father of our new birth, made necessary by our fallen and natural birth into the family of Adam and Eve. Thus we see again the clear context of Fall --- Atonement at the center of the gospel plan.

Just as each of us is born into this world of a mother whose water and blood enabled us to be born, and thus each premortal spirit is given a mortal body, so we must be born again into the kingdom of heaven by water and blood and Spirit (Moses 6:59). This great truth we are commanded by the Lord "to teach freely unto your children" (verse 58). Surely we can see water baptism, the blood of Christ, and the Holy Spirit in this crucial doctrine.

I know the child who gave the answer, "Jesus" in that Primary setting. And I know that her parents have taught her and her siblings in accord with this doctrine and commandment. Her one-word comment was no accident, but the result of good parental teaching.

"And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have words given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned" (Alma 32:23).

Every year at Christmas we hear sung or read these words from Isaiah, all seven elements of which speak clearly of the birth of Jesus:

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given . . . and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (2 Nephi 19:6).

Jesus is the Father of our necessary and vital new birth, whereby we are adopted back into the family of God and become His sons and daughters, having been orphaned from that family by the Fall of our father Adam (see Mosiah 5:7). This is one of "the very points of his doctrine" whereby we "may know how to come unto him and be saved" (1 Nephi 15:14). It is not deep doctrine, mysterious and strange. Children can understand it, if we let them. And then, "Out of the mouths of babes . . . ."

Father's Day is for all fathers everywhere, it is a special, even a holy day.

Father's Day is His day in a very special way, just as Christmas Day should be His day, and each and every Sabbath Day.

Elder Boyd K. Packer once taught, "I used to think I understood the word 'father', but recently I have come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of that holy word. . . . It is in the scriptures," he said.

Happy Father's Day everybody!

Steve (I would love to hear your comments. . . .)