It's Super Bowl Sunday and wouldn't you believe it? We didn't watch the Super Bowl! Not a surprise I suppose since I have never seen a Super Bowl game in my entire life... We played games with the kids, watched a few Mormon messages and a few Kid History videos on YouTube and I wouldn't have traded it for anything!
Amber stayed home from church with the three youngest kids today since they were sick. It was weird sitting in church and not having all of the noise and commotion of five kids...the two oldest are pretty reverent nowadays...some peoples talk about and wish for the day when they won't have to wrestle their young kids during church and just be able to listen...that's not my wish! Although I freely admit that I sometimes get frustrated with my kids, I don't want this time of my life to end. My kids are excited to see me every day when I get home and want to spend time with me and think that I am cool...May not always be this way so I will enjoy it while I can thank you very much!
So we have tried chopping up a little doctrine as we sit at the dinner table the last few days. The kids seem to be getting something from it. Taft has asked about the atonement of Jesus Christ multiple times and exactly what Jesus felt for us...the response is of course that he felt everything and can help us with anything.
This morning we did a little doctrinal discussion at breakfast and I told them the story that President Hinckley tells in this talk http://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/12/the-wondrous-and-true-story-of-christmas?lang=eng about Big Tom and Little Jim. Here is the account as he told it:
"I have a simple story I would like to recount. It is something of a parable. I do not have the name of the author. Perhaps it will have special interest for our children. I hope it will be a reminder for all.
“Years ago there was a little one-room schoolhouse in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough that no teacher had been able to handle them.
“A young, inexperienced teacher applied, and the old director scanned him and asked: ‘Young fellow, do you know that you are asking for an awful beating? Every teacher that we have had here for years has had to take one.’
“‘I will risk it,’ he replied.
“The first day of school came, and the teacher appeared for duty. One big fellow named Tom whispered: ‘I won’t need any help with this one. I can lick him myself.’
“The teacher said, ‘Good morning, boys, we have come to conduct school.’ They yelled and made fun at the top of their voices. ‘Now, I want a good school, but I confess that I do not know how unless you help me. Suppose we have a few rules. You tell me, and I will write them on the blackboard.’
“One fellow yelled, ‘No stealing!’ Another yelled, ‘On time.’ Finally, ten rules appeared on the blackboard.
“‘Now,’ said the teacher, ‘a law is not good unless there is a penalty attached. What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’
“‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response from the class.
“‘That is pretty severe, boys. Are you sure that you are ready to stand by it?’ Another yelled, ‘I second the motion,’ and the teacher said, ‘All right, we will live by them! Class, come to order!’
“In a day or so, ‘Big Tom’ found that his lunch had been stolen. The thief was located--a little hungry fellow, about ten years old. ‘We have found the thief and he must be punished according to your rule--ten stripes across the back. Jim, come up here!’ the teacher said.
“The little fellow, trembling, came up slowly with a big coat fastened up to his neck and pleaded, ‘Teacher, you can lick me as hard as you like, but please, don’t take my coat off!’
“‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’
“‘Oh, teacher, don’t make me!’ He began to unbutton, and what did the teacher see? The boy had no shirt on, and revealed a bony little crippled body.
“‘How can I whip this child?’ he thought. ‘But I must, I must do something if I am to keep this school.’ Everything was quiet as death.
“‘How come you aren’t wearing a shirt, Jim?’
“He replied, ‘My father died and my mother is very poor. I have only one shirt and she is washing it today, and I wore my brother’s big coat to keep me warm.’
“The teacher, with rod in hand, hesitated. Just then ‘Big Tom’ jumped to his feet and said, ‘Teacher, if you don’t object, I will take Jim’s licking for him.’
“‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’
“Off came Tom’s coat, and after five strokes the rod broke! The teacher bowed his head in his hands and thought, ‘How can I finish this awful task?’ Then he heard the class sobbing, and what did he see? Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. ‘Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!’”
To lift a phrase from this simple story, Jesus, my Redeemer, has taken “my licking for me” and yours for you.
Declared the prophet Isaiah:
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: …
“… He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4–5)."
The Holy Ghost bore witness to all of us of the truthfulness of Jesus' sacrifice. Taft was in tears at the end of the story and you could see that it impacted all of them. We talked about what we could do in order to show our gratitude to the Savior for His sacrifice and it was really a wonderful experience...something I will never forget...and we should never forget that He took our licking for us and that we should show our gratitude in word and deed! Praise our Heavenly Father for the divine gift of his son! "For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son...that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
No comments:
Post a Comment