From the Prophet's Mouth...

"There should [not] be any of us so unwisely indulgent, so thoughtless and so shallow in our affection for our children that we dare not check them in a wayward course, in wrong–doing and in their foolish love for the things of the world more than for the things of righteousness, for fear of offending them." - Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed., (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1939), 286.

Shouldn't there be some kind of parenting class that teaches this?!?   This is still a hard thing for me to understand--as a parent you do you child a disservice if you don't check them when they mess up.  I don't mean to humiliate them or become verbally (or physically, for that matter, EVER) abusive.  But your job as a parent is not the same as a job of their friend!

I've seen so many young women at the high school, especially, who seem to have an unnatural friendship with their moms.  It seems weird to me--especially when the moms justify bad behavior from their daughters.  These girls hvae plenty of friends their own age.  Be their parent.

When we truly love our kids we will discipline them.  They will learn what is expected of them, what is right, and what will make them happy.  Then as adults themselves--likely with their own children--THEN they can find ways to be friends with parents.  But while they are growing up, they need us to be their PARENT and not their friend.

Just my two cents...backed by a prophet's voice.

Presidential Wisdom

Since today is President's Day--the federally recognized combination birthday commemoration of two of our favorite presidents of the past [George Washington (Feb. 22, 1732) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12, 1809)] I thought we could look at some of their words of wisdom.

George Washington Quotes

• "I cannot tell a lie, father, you know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it with my little hatchet."
• "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence—it is force."
• "I conceive that a knowledge of books is the basis on which all other knowledge rests."
• "Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience."
• "Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
• "Doctor, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go."
• "Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth."
• "Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for 'tis better to be alone than in bad company."
• "I am just going. Have me decently buried and do not let my body be into a vault in less than two days after I am dead. Do you understand me? . . . 'Tis well." (Washington's last words)

Abraham Lincoln Quotes

• "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
• "God must love the common man, he made so many of them."
• "Everybody likes a compliment."
• "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
• "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy."
• "Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?"
• "Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties."
• "I desire so to conduct the affairs of this administration that if at the end... I have lost every other friend on earth, I shall at least have one friend left, and that friend shall be down inside of me."'

Happy 4th!

I could talk 'til the cows come home about America, and still never be as eloquent or accurate as the folks quoted below. So, I'm checking in briefly, prior to a day at the course with Genius Golfer this afternoon, and leaving you Dear Readers in good hands. Happy 4th of July! Enjoy the day with family and friends, safely.


America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. --Abraham Lincoln

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. --John Adams

Hold fast to the Bible. To the influence of this Book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look as our guide in the future. --Ulysses S. Grant

The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government. --George Washington

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we've ever known. --Ronald Reagan

It is in our lives and not our words that our religion must be read. --Thomas Jefferson