I know and am in close contact with my own father. He shares many great qualities with probably many of your fathers or father-figures. For those of you who know the attributes of a scout, he is all of those. For those of you who don't, he has the greater portion of Christlike attributes. While I could also say what he lacks, I'm not going to post that as it is the mote in my eye if I do.
Ok, sorry I just really love my dad. And we all should love the man we call "Dad." The are a mortal man trying to emulate an immortal, perfect father. The world would have them appear as a bumbling, unintelligent digbat only fueled by passion and fear of getting caught. I know this by the ever shrinking number of appropriate Father's Day cards and the garbage shows I see on TV. But those fathers are not actual fathers. They are all the world's idea of a marital placeholder or parental obligate. We in this church know they are the Presider, Provider, and Protector of our homes. We know they hold sacred keys to our lives. They are very intelligent and close to the spirit. I was reminded of this in today's message from a 12 year old.
This young man said he knows his mother and his biological father are no longer together. He knows it is difficult to talk about because he has a step-dad now who has to somehow fill a role that his biological father is not able to. One thing he said that really struck me and made me ponder my own relationship with my father was this: He said his step father works really had to be a spiritual leader and a provider. His work is often in the heat and difficult. So when his step-dad is short with him or not as "fun," sometimes he has to stop and think about what his step-dad has been through before he decides to judge his step-dad as less than the father he is.
Isn't this really what we all should be striving for? Understanding a father who is doing all he can to make our lives into the best possible. Our Father in Heaven may be perfect, but he is bestowing the sacred duty of his authority in a mortal man. Mistakes happen. Sometimes we have to rely on other figures. But the role of fathers remains. Some of us will be fathers in this life. Some of us may be a father-figure for someone. All of us need to uphold and encourage the sacred role of fathers. Want to see the fastest way to make our work turn more into PR and less into military? Encourage and support families. Become the father figure (or encourage someone to be one).
Happy Father's Day to all you imperfect people out there! Courage LEOs!
Godspeed LEOs.
-LDS Sheepdog
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