Fathers, Mothers and Ordinances:
Thoughts for Father’s Day
Marcus
H. Martins, Ph.D.
Edited version of informal remarks made on a live webcast
on August 8, 2021 (Father’s Day in Brazil)
I
remember a Father’s Day in Rio de Janeiro, in 1965 or 1966, in which my
father recorded the wise words of a neighbor of my grandfather
Francisco Assis, Mr. Oscar Veiga, about fatherhood. Sadly, the tape
containing the recording was lost many years ago, and I just remember
that my father and uncles were very impressed by what Mr. Veiga said, I
believe inspired by the Light of Christ (Alma 29:8; Doctrine and Covenants 84:46).
I
suppose that today I may be about the age Mr. Veiga was at that time,
almost 60 years ago. And I possess two things far more precious than
his wisdom—I have the knowledge of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ,
and I have the understanding and conviction of it that come to me by
God’s mercy through the power of the Holy Ghost.
With that, what
can I say at 62 years of age and nearly 50 years of discipleship in
Christ about fathers—and consequently about their companions, the
mothers, without whom they would not enjoy the honor of fatherhood?
As
you well know, of all the titles Almighty God could have chosen for
continual use, He determined that we would address Him using the title
“Father”. As instructed by the Savior Jesus Christ himself, we address
the Father in personal prayer using the term “Father” (Matthew 6:9; 3 Nephi 13:9; 17:14; 18:19-21; 19:7-8, 20- 23, 27-29)
or “Heavenly Father”, or some variant of these terms. And by revelation
and divine instruction given two thousand years ago, we use “God,
Eternal Father” in the ordinance of the sacrament (3 Nephi 18:1-14; Moroni 4-5).
Just like Mary, mother of Jesus, mothers are “chosen vessels” of the Lord (Alma 7:10).
Vessels or vases are clay containers, sometimes adorned, in which we
cultivate ornamental plants. Vessels are also made of glass or fine
crystal in which we keep flowers. Mothers choose their companions—we
hope freely—with whom they will become “vessels” through which will
flow the divine priesthood power necessary for the generation of new
human life “in the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:26-27; Moses 6:8-10; Ether 3:14-16). Mothers consecrate their bodies, in angelic language “tabernacles of clay” (Mosiah 3:5), and with the care given to a precious crystal, they generate a new life that we hope will become an ornament to the world.
If all goes well, sometime after the birth, by divine command (D&C 20:70)
Melchizedek Priesthood-holding fathers are privileged to exercise their
authority as elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
and bless that little child in the name of Jesus Christ.
Let me open a long parenthesis at this point, and emphasize something I’ve been talking about since 2018.
Please
do not change the names of the divine ordinances. Do not use man-made
terms to describe ordinances revealed by God. The Prophet Joseph Smith
taught that “ordinances instituted in the heavens ... are not to be
altered or changed” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church—Joseph Smith, p.417),
and since I am in my home and not in an official church meeting, let me
expand on this teaching and suggest that not even the names of the
ordinances should be changed, except by divine revelation to those
chosen and ordained to serve as prophets, seers, and revelators (D&C 21:1-5; 28:1-7).
I
see a growing number of people calling the blessing of little children
a “presentation” and the sacrament “communion.” No doubt they do this
with good intentions, as they wish to use language familiar to their
relatives and friends who belong to other churches. However, I say that
by doing so, we lose a precious missionary opportunity. By using the
language from other churches, we induce our relatives and friends to
wrongly conclude that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
is “more or less equal” to their churches.
On the other hand,
when we use official language, which is based on scriptures and divine
revelations, we generate curiosity. We lead our relatives and friends
to ask, “What is this? What is this ‘blessing’ of a little child?” And
then the Holy Spirit can begin to work on those people’s minds until it
convinces them to ask us about it. And if we have good sense, we will
simply respond, “God exists, and he is a perfectly loving Father. So,
just as in Biblical times, he called prophets in our day and sent
messengers from heaven to bring back to earth the power that Jesus
Christ used to bless little children 2000 years ago. And God commanded
us to use that power today to continue blessing little children.”
If that person is one of the Lord’s “elect” (D&C 29:7) she may ask, like King Lamoni in the Book of Mormon, “What is this power?” (Alma 18:20)
or else similarly to King Lamoni’s father, “What is a prophet? And how
and when did God give this command regarding little children?” (Alma 22:5-6).
And again, if we have common sense, we’ll simply respond, “Look, I
really want to share with you everything I know about this. And I will
be honored if you accept my invitation to meet with missionaries of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These are young men and
women who have received the divine call to officially teach about these
things you are asking me.”
I
close my parenthesis here, although I could talk more about how
unofficially changing the names of ordinances may open a "crack in the
door" of apostasy.
Returning to fathers and mothers, we can assume that the blessing given by priesthood authority to a little child (D&C 20:70)
would be the earthly and mortal version of a heavenly and eternal
blessing that we surely would have received before departing from the
safety and fullness of divine light of our premortal home, a departure
that made us forget perhaps millions of years of glorious experiences
and memories obtained in the presence of our Heavenly Father and Mother.
Now,
here on mortal earth, we need to gain precious experiences and memories
in the presence of our earthly fathers and mothers. Sadly, millions of
children do not have this opportunity, and even among latter-day saints
we see situations where fathers and mothers, due to inexperience or
past trauma, do not exercise this divine calling in the ideal way
decreed by God.
With his atonement, Jesus Christ paid for the
mistakes of these fathers and mothers, and will one day make up for all
the losses of these children (Teachings of Presidents of the Church—Joseph Smith, p.51).
For
those fathers and mothers who strive to do the best they can according
to the revelations of prophets, inspired teachings from Church leaders,
and words of wisdom obtained in the best books (D&C 88:118),
their mission is to prepare their children to one day become fathers
and mothers themselves, carrying forward the great divine plan of
salvation and extending to another generation the blessings of
mortality and eventual resurrection prepared and guaranteed by Jesus
Christ (Ether 3:14-16).
This preparation is made
in the home and supplemented by the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints. Following the example of Adam and Eve, fathers and
mothers teach the words of eternal life to their children (John 6:68;
Moses 6:57-59) and inform them of God’s commandments and expectations
regarding prayer, obedience, righteousness, baptism, laying on of
hands, weekly worship, and work (D&C 68:25-30; Moses 5:12; 6:57-59).
Eventually,
fathers and mothers will prepare their children to receive the
ordinances that compose the endowment in the House of the Lord. We
receive the ordinances of the endowment in preparation for eternal life
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church—Joseph Smith, p. 417),
not merely to serve a full-time mission or for a matrimonial sealing in
the temple. The endowment is essential, and its blessings are effective
in our lives, regardless of a full-time missionary service or a
matrimonial sealing (D&C 105:10-12; 124:39).
With
the endowment, fathers and mothers complete the major requirements
under their charge for their children to qualify for eternal life. I
say “requirements under the parents’ charge” because the most complete
preparation for eternal life will only take place in the future, over
many, many years, under the influence of a “help meet”, a good spouse (Genesis 2:18; Moses 3:18),
united to each son and daughter by priesthood authority in the House of
the Lord. But that’s another subject that I’ve covered on other
occasions.
If 60 years ago Mr. Veiga had known the restored
gospel of Jesus Christ, he might have uttered words like these. But
today you heard the words of Brother Martins. Who knows if these words
of mine may be repeated by some of you, still young today, in a much
more refined and powerful way around the year 2081?
Dr.
Marcus H. Martins is a professor of religion and leadership and former
dean at Brigham Young University-Hawaii, and has served as a
translator, temple officiator, high councilor, bishop, and mission
president.
These informal remarks do not constitute an official statement of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Copyright -
Marcus H. Martins, 2021