How Does The LDS Faith View Parenting?

Parenting is a vital and significant job. And for the LDS faith, parenting has eternal significance. We believe we lived before this Earthly existence. We lived with God in a family unit encompassing all of us- one giant family.

God is the father of our spirits. And His example is one we try to follow as parents. God organized us into family units to help strengthen and support us on our earthly and eternal journeys.

Parenting is a natural progression in life. We start out learning how to manage life for ourselves. And then ideally, once we get good enough at it, we get to teach another person how to do it.

Watching a baby or child learn something new is magical. Their eyes light up as they make connections and gain new skills. But the best parents I have known have continued learning to improve their skills.

Keep Learning

I remember babysitting for a family in my teens. I admired the family’s mother so much because she had a great head on her shoulders. She was kind and seemed to really have a special relationship with her children.

Then one weekend I discovered the secret to her great parenting. She had many MANY parenting books, and she read them. There were notes in the margins and bookmarks, and I decided then and there that when I got to be a mother I would do as she did and seek expert advice.

Expert advice

My husband and I have followed through with that promise. Not only have I done a lot of reading, but we see a parenting coach for our son. I’ve never been a boy, and neither of us have autism.

So it only made sense that we needed to seek support so our son could have the best parents possible.

The LDS church supports parents and even has classes on parenting periodically. It is up to the discretion of each Bishop what the congregation may need.

But I’ve taken classes during Sunday School about family relationships and so appreciate all I learned in the process.

Parenting is a privilege

I’ve mentioned before how I struggled to get to be a Mom. But I haven’t discussed much about why I feel like God wanted me to truly want motherhood. When my husband and I were sealed (married) in the temple, our Sealer told us to cherish our children. And my first thought was “Yeah right”.

I’d been babysitting since I was a child myself. And I had a jaded image of family life at that point. I saw children as a burden, which I know now was not how God wanted me to enter motherhood.

So, in His infinite goodness, He designed an educational experience to help me cherish parenthood when it came. I have written about it here.

Prepare yourself

Long story short, God was sending a special soul to our family. Our son is on the Autism spectrum, but is also brilliant, and a gentle and sensitive soul.

If I had gone into parenting this young man with the same attitude I started my marriage, I would have ruined him. He wouldn’t have felt loved and wouldn’t have gotten the attention and support he deserved.

Many people grow up in difficult circumstances. That doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us, and it doesn’t mean that there aren’t surrogates to help with parenting.

I had many youth leaders and teachers who loved and supported me like they were my own parents. And I know there are many in the world who get their first taste of what a parent should be like in similar circumstances. But for those of us who know better, it is a privilege to help those under our care to learn and grow.

Help where you can

With the value the LDS church places on home and family, parenting is clearly an important job. I often felt overwhelmed and in awe of God’s trust in me as a new mother. I had no idea what I was doing when we brought our son home from the hospital. But with God’s help and support, parenting has been a wonderful adventure.

God has given us the scriptures, and I start out each day reading them. It makes the rest of the day go better when I do. I feel more peaceful and patient. And I feel like the Lord is closer to me as I remember the fundamentals of parenting.

Consistency, routine, and kindness are the hallmarks of good parenting in my opinion. And I am so glad that I’ve been blessed to be a mom. I’m grateful for a church that focuses on the family and supports families in any way they can.