Trish+OJ=Tyson

Earlier this month I had an opportunity to spend quality time with my sister and her family. She was visiting from Bountiful, Utah. Her time here in the bay area was short but it rejuvenated our families in a way that we will always remember. My sister has a unique story to tell. As we visited throughout the week we laughed and we talked about life. One thing I noticed during a visit was how happy her baby was. Tyson just turned one and he was such a blessing to have in our home. To hear him laugh made me think about my own kids. You see, part of Trisha's unique story includes Tyson. For a long time my sister tried to have kids. And for a long time the result was always the same. But something changed a couple years ago. Something that she calls a miracle. She was able to bare her first son. Before she was pregnant with Tyson I remember long nights talking about why God wasn't blessing her with a child. Why was all her friends and family having no problems getting pregnant? Why the suffering? At the time I could not answer her questions. Only reassuring her that the Lord knows all and is aware of her struggles. As time went on she continued to press forward and as a result of her faith, she was blessed with Tyson. In recent study of a talk given by Elder Robert D. Hales, an apostle of the Lord, it made me think of my sister and her little family. Elder Hales says, "Any of us may experience a spouse, a child, a parent, or a member of our extended family suffering in one way or another—mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually—and we may experience these tribulations ourselves at times. In short, mortality is not easy. Each family has its own special circumstances. But the gospel of Jesus Christ addresses every challenge—which is why we must teach it to our children." That should of been my answer in the first place. The Gospel of Jesus Christ addresses every challenge. But then he also says, "which is why we must teach it to our children." As I sat there thinking about Tyson I thought about what my sister and her husband had to do. What I must do with my own kids. I must teach them about the Gospel. In the "The Family: A proclamation to the World" it says: “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held ACCOUNTABLE before God for the discharge of these obligations.” This is how I can continue to see my kids laughing and being happy all the time. This is the way. We must teach our children. We must teach them to love God and to serve others. We must do all we can to make our homes a place of learning and a refuge from the outside world. This is the formula for happiness. We do not fear the wrath of darkness because we have been taught by goodly parents. That is my message for you, for my sister, and for myself. That we continue to teach our young ones truth and righteousness. For in it there is eternal happiness.