FHE: Fathers

For more information on this topic read "Fathers and Sons: A Remarkable Relationship," by M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, Nov 2009, 47-50.

Fathers, you are the primary model of manhood for your sons. You are their most meaningful mentor, and believe it or not, you are their hero in countless ways.

(M. Russell Ballard, "Fathers and Sons: A Remarkable Relationship," Ensign, Nov 2009, 47-50.)

"Father," Children's Songbook, p. 209.

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father (1 Nephi 1:1).

Ask your family members to list something they have learned from their father. Also ask them to tell of one additional thing they would love their father to teach them.

Ask your family to read D&C 68:25-28 and find what the Lord expects parents to teach. Why do you think the Lord expects that of parents? Read Mosiah 1:1-8 and ask:

• What were the names of Benjamin's sons?
• What are several of the things he taught them?
• What verse best shows him sharing his testimony with his children?
• Why would it be important to hear the testimony of your parents?
• What do these verses teach you about King Benjamin as a father?

Read the following statement from the First Presidency and share your testimony with your family: "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. . . . Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, [and] to observe the commandments of God." ("The Family: A Proclamation to the World," Ensign, November 1995, p. 102.)

(Dennis H. Leavitt and Richard O. Christensen, Scripture Study for Latter-day Saint Families: The Book of Mormon, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], p. 113.)

Harmon Killebrew

I seldom think of my father without also remembering his bay window. We call it dad's bay window because he seemed always to be putting a new window pane in it. The window was a large one on the south side of our house in Payette, Idaho, and it overlooked a good-sized lawn which was just right for an athletic field for small boys.

I was the first to break dad's window, when I was four years old, in 1921. And from then on it really took a beating. All types of balls went through that window in the next 35 years, footballs, baseballs, snowballs, golf balls, and numerous rocks of assorted sizes.

Each time the window was broken, dad quietly went to town and got another pane and put it in. He never once told us kids that we couldn't play ball in the yard. Lots of times when there was a game in progress and dad came home from work, he joined in, and several times he broke the window himself by batting a baseball or kicking a football through it.

Dad always took the breaking of the window as a matter of course and showed no reaction except to replace it. But with mother, it was different. She always urged dad to do something about the situation each time the window was broken, but she never got very far. One winter, things concerning the constant breakage of the window reached a crucial point. The temperature was near the zero mark when a frozen snowball blasted through the window. Dad went to town to get a new pane, but it turned out that a piece of glass that size wasn't to be found in town. I guess dad had used them all up in previous mishaps. Anyway, one had to be ordered, and in the meantime, a canvas was tacked over the empty window to keep out the cold. Mother had what is known in polite terms as a fit. It took dad several days to get her calmed down, but things were all right again as soon as the new window arrived and was installed.

I recall one time when Harmon crashed a baseball through the window and mother told dad that he just had to do something to stop the needless window breakage. Dad said, "Now Katie, don't get excited, we can always get another window, but where are we going to get another boy like that?"

At one time, things got so bad with brothers Harmon and Bob growing up that the bay window was just about out as much as it was in. So dad finally worked out a new plan. He had the large window replaced with a French type window made up of a lot of small panes. Then he purchased some extra small panes for the new window and sat back to wait. It wasn't long before a ball came sailing through the window right into the lap of grandfather, who was sitting in a chair by the window. But this time, it was only a few minutes' work and a lot less expensive to replace a small square of glass in the window.

Dad is gone now, and all the Killebrew kids are grown. Our widowed sister, Eula, is living with mother in the old house. She has two small boys who are just beginning to throw balls around. I predict that the destruction of dad's old bay window will continue for several years to come. I'm sure that dad would be happy if he knew that his grandchildren were carrying on the Killebrew tradition of window breaking.

(Leon R. Hartshorn, Powerful Stories from the Lives of Latter-day Saint Men, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1974].)

Fill in the blanks. Below are clues to ten words that can be made from the letters in the word "GENEALOGY." Use each letter only once per puzzle.

1. _ _ _ (Not an arm.) 2. _ _ _ _ _ (Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith as an . . . ) 3. _ _ _ _ _ (A templed city in Utah.) 4. _ _ _ _ (A Christmas greeting.) 5. _ _ _ (Did it or the chicken come first?) 6. _ _ _ (Last name of a modern prophet.) 7. _ _ _ (The shepherd leaves the ninety and nine to seek the . . . ) 8. _ _ _ _ (Not short.) 9. _ _ _ _ _ (The symbol for the United States.) 10. _ _ (Not yes.)

Answers: 1. leg, 2. angel, 3. Logan, 4. Noel, 5. egg, 6. Lee, 7. one, 8. long, 9. eagle, 10. no.

(Rick Walton and Shauna Kawasaki, The Bit Book of Scripture Activities, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1996], p. 113.)

Cherry Almond Squares

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 eggs
• 1 box sour cream cake mix
• 1 can cherry pie filling
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 15 1/2 x 10 1/2-inch jelly roll pan. Mix sour cream, water, and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in dry cake mix until moistened. Batter will be slightly lumpy. Spread into prepared pan. Drop pie filling by generous spoonfuls onto batter. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly. Cool. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and milk, stirring until a smooth glaze forms. Drizzle glaze over top. Sprinkle with almonds. Cut into bars.
Makes 3 dozen bars.

(Lion House Bakery, [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2009], p. 86.)

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