Reading, Shaving, Parenting, but, um...

I've recently been reading the Book of Mormon in the bathtub. Yeah, you read that right. I just grab the book and read a few pages while my tub fills up with water.

This used to be the time I dedicated to shaving my legs. But it's winter, and something's gotta give.

Right now I'm reading from Mosiah. "Mosiah?!" I hear you thinking. "Either she's a speed reader, she takes a LOT of baths, or she used to dedicate an inordinate amount of time to shaving her legs!"

But lest I mislead you, I will confess that I did not start from the beginning. Too many ill-fated attempts to start a scripture study habit have ended somewhere mid-Mosiah, so I opted to give myself a headstart and just jump in right there. I'm certain the first section of the Book of Mormon still has many lessons to teach me, but it's been so long since I've read the back half that I'm starting to forget the basic stories.

Also, I just recently finished a fictional book called Alma and I wanted to compare the fiction to the actual story.

But, um... (did anybody get that little reference there?)

So I've been reading the teachings of Abinidi, specifically about who gets saved and who doesn't, and it got me thinking about the literal role of our Father in Heaven and how it parallels parenthood on earth.

Here in our house, rules are rules, and the rules we have are pretty straightforward. For example, the boys aren't allowed to play in their rooms. All their toys are in a playroom, so there is no reason for them to be in their bedrooms during the day. The consequence is straightforward, too. If they are caught in their bedrooms, they have to come upstairs and sit against the wall for 15 minutes. (The idea is that if they don't appreciate what they have downstairs, they get to sit in utter boredom until they do...)

Simple rule, often broken. But as kind and just parents, we might offer a few warnings.

"I sure hope I don't hear any boys back in those bedrooms..."

--or--

"You remember what the consequence is for being in the bedroom, right?"

If the kids refuse the subtle hints, they end up terribly bored with their backs against the wall.

I think our Heavenly Father, being even more just and kind, offers us similar warnings.

A talk in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday about how we need to be doing the little things.

A ton of passages in Mosiah that praise obedience.

Trials to bring us back to humility (and make us appreciate what we have) when we choose to ignore the warnings.

Oh how I wish I had a clever way to wrap this up.

But, um...