Andersen - Children - October 2011

Elder Andersen speaks lovingly to saints who take the Lord's commandment to multiply and replenish the earth seriously.  He says:

• It is a crowning privilege of a husband and wife who are able to bear children to provide mortal bodies for these spirit children of God. We believe in families, and we believe in children.
  

He shares several examples of people that have sacrificed their time, money, and life to the raising of families.  He encourages people to live the gospel even when the path is not clear ahead and reminds us that the Lord would not give us commandments and leave us to figure them out on our own.  He is there to support us all the way through.

Elder Andersen is mindful of those that don't have the ability to have families in this life.  He shares these words of comfort:

• The bearing of children is a sensitive subject that can be very painful for righteous women who do not have the opportunity to marry and have a family. To you noble women, our Heavenly Father knows your prayers and desires. How grateful we are for your remarkable influence, including reaching out with loving arms to children who need your faith and strength.
  
• The bearing of children can also be a heartbreaking subject for righteous couples who marry and find that they are unable to have the children they so anxiously anticipated or for a husband and wife who plan on having a large family but are blessed with a smaller family.
• We cannot always explain the difficulties of our mortality. Sometimes life seems very unfair—especially when our greatest desire is to do exactly what the Lord has commanded. As the Lord’s servant, I assure you that this promise is certain: “Faithful members whose circumstances do not allow them to receive the blessings of eternal marriage and parenthood in this life will receive all promised blessings in the eternities, [as] they keep the covenants they have made with God.”

Elder Andersen concludes with these words of encouragement:

• What a wonderful blessing we have to receive sons and daughters of God into our home. Let us humbly and prayerfully seek to understand and accept God’s commandments, reverently listening for the voice of His Holy Spirit.
  

I am a father of four great kids.  I can't imagine the heartbreak of wanting to have a family and not being able to have children in this life.  Elder Andersen speaks to those that are frustrated, lonely, and don't understand why this is their challenge in life.  His words provide knowledge that we have a loving Father in Heaven who is mindful of our situation and will help us through the pain.  The Atonement is not only for our sins, it is also for our pains, struggles, and needs.  If you know someone who is struggling with these issues in their lives, I would encourage you to share this talk with them.