Dear Gramps,
I am at my wit’s end. I have been a faithful member of the church for the past 21+ years. I take the Gospel in my life very seriously. My husband and I have raised three sons, the oldest of which is now serving a mission. My parents have been investigating the church since my son left and have now committed to baptism. While this should be one of the happiest moments in my life, I am ashamed to say that they do not share my reverence for the Gospel. My father is very irreverent and lightminded when discussing the Gospel. I have reason to believe he has no intention of living the Word of Wisdom. I have discussed this with his missionaries and they disagree. My heart is breaking. Can you provide me with any words of wisdom?
Amy
Dear Amy,
Too often people are baptized for the wrong reasons, i.e. they feel pressured, they like the missionaries, they like the associations within the Church and they never gain a testimony of the Gospel. If this is the case with your parents, I would suggest you help them gain a stronger testimony of the Gospel through the study of the Book of Mormon.
One way to do this would be to challenge your family, including your parents, to read the Book of Mormon by a certain date as President Hinckley did the entire Church a few years back. Then at least once a month invite them to your Family Home Evening and have a lesson on what you have read in the Book of Mormon that month. Have your son that is serving a mission included in the challenge and have him and each family member testify to them of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
Consider having you first Family Home Evening centered on Moroni’s challenge found in Moroni 10: 4″ And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.”
Once they gain a stronger testimony of the Gospel and feeling the power of the Holy Ghost in their lives, the irreverence and lightmindedness should disappear.
Gramps
