To Be a Man: Father's Day scriptural thoughts

There are many father-son relationships in the scriptures. Some good, some not-so-good, some vague, some a little more specific. Probably the most significant is that between Jesus Christ and His Father. That of course, is the supreme example of a perfectly supportive, loving, and unified relationship. Something we mortals are a LONG way from attaining.

A father's duties include preparing his children for life, materially, mentally, and spiritually. Most fathers, I would dare to guess, do not want their children to be exactly like them, as fathers know too well their own flaws, failings, and unfulfilled dreams. But they do try to impart what experience and wisdom they can, with hopes that some of it will prove to the ultimate benefit of their child.

Today there were two examples that came to mind of a father teaching a son what it means to be a man. Most frequently in the scriptures we have records of a father instructing his children immediately prior to his passing on from mortality, and these are indeed that case.

"Show Thyself a Man"

Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,

I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man;

And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

(1 Kings 2: 1-4)

David was a well-known and successful man, but he also made some serious mistakes (most notably with Bathsheba and Uriah) and knew his share of heartache. It makes sense that he would exhort his son to obey the Lord's commandments with "all [his] heart and with all [his] soul" that he might avoid similar traps. I do find it interesting that the exhortation to keep the Lord's "statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and his testimonies" is the first item after the injunction to "show thyself a man."

True men are those who follow their Creator, with courage to keep their integrity at all times, to be 100% in the Lord's paths, never making excuses or rationalizing deviations from the path.

"Arise from the dust, and be men"

Lehi, in the Western Hemisphere approximately 580-570 BC, had suffered a lot because of the rebelliousness of his two oldest sons. He exhorted them:

O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

And I desire that ye should remember to observe the statutes and the judgments of the Lord; behold, this hath been the anxiety of my soul from the beginning.

My heart hath been weighed down with sorrow from time to time, for I have feared, lest for the hardness of your hearts the Lord your God should come out in the fulness of his wrath upon you, that ye be cut off and destroyed forever;

And now that my soul might have joy in you, and that my heart might leave this world with gladness because of you, that I might not be brought down with grief and sorrow to the grave, arise from the dust, my sons, and be men, and be determined in one mind and in one heart, united in all things, that ye may not come down into captivity;

Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

(2 Nephi 1:13, 16-17, 21, 23)

Not only did Lehi's sons need to remember to keep the commandments, but they needed to "wake up" and realize they were following the fast road to misery. They needed to "arise from the dust," as they were living well below their potential.

One of their problems was their "hardness of heart" which prevented them from changing their ways. Real men must be humble enough to receive correction and to admit their mistakes. Real men must acknowledge they are not perfect and do not have all the answers. To do otherwise is to limit one's potential for growth and improvement. To have a soft heart is to be open to change and improvement.

Another problem was they were too divisive. Lehi exhorted them to be "united in all things." Certainly, he didn't mean them to be identical or without individuality, but achieving a common goal, especially as a family, takes working together, takes being determined to pursue mutual goals, looking out for one another, and not causing contention and division, which much of the time hinders progress.

True men are those who are free of chains that bind them to lesser paths, not being lost to obscurity, but progressing moving forward in unity with those they love.

Closing thoughts

As we know from scripture, these sons did not rise to their full potential as men to the end of their mortal lives. May we learn from them by taking self-inventory and heeding the counsel of their wise fathers!