Sacred Steady Support

With the birth of my new baby boy, my mind is drawn out to the duty which I have toward all my children in the Lord. The Family Proclamation (http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,161-1-11-1,00.html) states that, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families."

I know this may sound strange, as I work, and my wife stays at home caring for our children, but I have always struggled with my role as a provider. And I've found that whenever I have struggled with any gospel concept, I seek to understand it better. I don't know if this is so that I can "find an out" or some way around my duties, or if I just need a stronger witness or faith in the matter, but whatever the case when I ran across the following scripture from brave Captain Moroni... it struck me as profound, for I'd never noticed the wording...

Alma 44 verse 5...

5 And now, Zerahemnah, I command you, in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children, by that liberty which binds us to our lands and our country; yea, and also by the maintenance of the sacred word of God, to which we owe all our happiness; and by all that is most dear unto us—

I thought it was fascinating that even in Moroni's time, they regarded the protection of their children as their responsibility. I have to wonder what it was like to be under the constant threat of bloodshed and harsh brutality, for our own country is so safe and peaceful by comparison. Our great challenge is different, and yet the same.

I thought the word "sacred" was particularly poignant. It stuck out to me that it was a sacred thing that a man lay down his life in the defense of his wife and children. It is a sacred thing that a man work and toil and even be bored in a life-sucking, unfulfilling, dead-end job, if it will provide for the "support" of his wife and children.

That's what it means to be a true hero in our day, and what a deceptive day it is. In a day when we are fed story after story of adventure, bold knights, magic, lords and enchantments, of men sacrificing their lives in noble acts of pure violence, we live in the most sedate (at least in terms of violence) culture ever to have been fixed upon the earth. We feed upon stories involving martial arts, epic battles, blurring lasers and faster than light speed chases, and yet the common man then gets into his car, sits in traffic for an hour both ways to and from a job in which he sits in his seat and stares at a computer screen every day...

...and we wonder why so many men, who thrive upon action, adrenaline, adventure, and a desire to be a hero, fall short of their families. Is it any wonder that things like pornography, or chemical dependence are so prevalent in our society, when they provide a little hormonal variety for what may otherwise be a rather sedentary existence?

Yet has the duty men owe to their children changed?

In recent ponderings, I've come to realize that what God wants of me, is not to be some amazing hero saving the day, pulling people from burning buildings, or swinging across the city skyline by my mutant web slinging skills... (which I try to keep a secret). He wants me to be steadfast.

Sure Christ is known as a Savior, but he is also known as a "Rock".

Helaman 5:12 beautifully states that it is upon the Rock of Christ we should build our lives, and in the same way our children may build a strong foundation if they are free first to build their little dwellings on our backs, by our support, if I am steady like a rock. What would the world be like if more men were strong and steady like a rock, rather than "on the prowl" for a perceived adventure that leads to misery and misfortune in the end?

So while I continue to dream of great adventures, that someday I may do the work of my Savior, it occurs to me that I must be planted firmly on a foundation that doesn't waver in all aspects of my life. And that steadiness may very well be sufficient for all the rest of the miracles that are to follow.

And did you ever think that such things? Such a thing as being a provider, being there day in and day out--though it's not a thrilling sword fight, was "sacred"?

I see it now more than I used to... just how rare and sacred it is, the man who stays the course, and is unshaken in his devotion to his wife and children, and everyday is a sacred steady support.

Anyhow... those are my thoughts... new babies make you think of these things.

--Ray