Lehi Utah Stake Relief Society

March 2015 Presidency Message

In the Saturday night session of Stake Conference on 21 February 2015, Sister Tammy Runia gave her best parenting advice. She told us that when Lehi went to the tree of life in his dream (1 Nephi 8), he stayed there. And he stayed there as a happy person. He called out to his children and wife to follow but he was stayed there and waited for them to come to taste the happiness for themselves. He was filled with joy and wanted them also to partake of that fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit. The fruit, of course, represents the love of our Heavenly Father. Lehi did not go wandering off and leave that fruit. He stuck with it and waited. And he did not look miserable, overworked, tired, suffering, or merely enduring. He was thrilled to be there and never wanted to leave.

I really appreciated hearing that advice from Sister Runia, who has seven children. She confided in me after the Sunday session of conference that she has a child whom she worries about. This child has tasted of that fruit but left the tree and wandered off. I mentioned that we have three of our five children like this. Then she said that today in the church there are numerous families who are in the same situation. So what do we do? Hence, her great advice—stay strong ourselves and stay happy. Feast on this great love our Father in Heaven has for us all. Call out to our loved ones. Beckon to them. And let them see how joyful life is when we remember who we are, why we are here, and where we are going. Stay at the tree, and continuously feast on this great fruit—this great love.

Our Father in Heaven has a plan for each of us—not just one plan of happiness (another stake conference quote) and He loves us more than we can comprehend. The closest we come to understanding this love is examining how we feel about our own children. We love them completely even when their choices are destructive. We listen to them even when they learn a different language than the one we taught. We embrace them in the midst of both their successes and their failures. We see their potential even when they are blind to who they are and what they can become. We just love them, scraped knees, broken bones, rashes, fevers, and all.

Sisters, let us stay at the tree! And stay thrilled to be there! Others will notice and partake.

With great love from,

The Stake Relief Society Presidency

Sister Patricia Young
Sister Leilani Parker
Sister Sandy Garrard
Sister Betsy McCreary