I have heard it said that every answer that we ever need is contained in the scriptures. Sometimes we have to search and search to find our answers. Sometimes, they come quickly. There are times when one can pray then randomly flip through the scriptures. The answer is there before our eyes practically jumping off the page at us. I love when that happens. It makes me realize that the Lord loves little old me. He has all of his children to watch over, but he actually cares about me!
Along with the scriptures, our youth have a pamphlet entitled “For the Strength of Youth: Fulfilling Our Duty to God”. They are given this at 12 years of age when they enter the young people’s group. It contains many things, which relate both to them and to the adults as well. The titles for the different sections are Message from the First Presidency, Agency and Accountability, Gratitude, Education, Family, Friends, Dress and appearance, Entertainment and the Media, Music and Dancing, Language, Dating, Sexual Purity, Repentance, Honesty, Sabbath Day Observance, Tithes and Offerings, Physical Health, Service to Others, Go Forward with Faith, The Living Christ, and The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
The section on Gratitude says in part, “The Lord wants you to have a spirit of gratitude in all you do and say. Live with a spirit of thanksgiving and you will have greater happiness and satisfaction in life. Even in your most difficult times, you can find much to be grateful for. Doing so will strengthen and bless you.”
The teenage years are a tough time of life. Many youth go astray because Satan works so powerfully on them. Their hormones are surging, and ties to Mom and Dad are slowly dissolving.
I am so thankful for these tools that the Lord has bestowed upon us. What a world it would be if we have to go it alone.
Challenging youth to wait until they are an adult before having sexual activity is one thing. Scaring the heck out of them, and telling them a condom is a provision for sin is irresponsible. Did you know the Lovers in the Song of Solomon have sex in Chapter 2, but don't get married until Chapter 3? The kind of ignorance Church leaders have about this sort of in-your-face premarital sex in the Bible has gone on too long. If you want to know more, go to my website. It's cheaper than a Purity Ring and a lot more fun than abstinence.
ReplyDelete-The Scott
http://www.NotAnotherGeneration.com