Baby Miss.SingSong at Church

I loved listening to the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last weekend.  I love hearing the inspired words that comfort my soul and lead me to feel that I really can do better as I learn to rely on the Savior.  What I really listen for, though, is when we are counseled about how we can teach and protect our families in this world.

Giving specific direction as to how we can receive promised blessings from the gospel for our family, Elder Cook taught,

For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, honoring the Sabbath is a form of righteousness that will bless and strengthen families, connect us with our Creator, and increase happiness. The Sabbath can help separate us from that which is frivolous, inappropriate, or immoral. It allows us to be in the world but not of the world.

In the last six months, a most remarkable change has occurred in the Church. This has been in the response of the members to renewed emphasis on the Sabbath by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve and to President Russell M. Nelson’s challenge to make the Sabbath a delight.  

Many members understand that truly keeping the Sabbath day holy is a refuge from the storms of this life. It is also a sign of our devotion to our Father in Heaven and an increased understanding of the sacredness of sacrament meeting. Still, we have a long way to go, but we have a wonderful beginning. I challenge all of us to continue to embrace this counsel and improve our Sabbath worship.

That sounds great, but sometimes it's easy to exclaim, I have a baby!  And she's just at the right age for fussing and crying and not understanding any of this!  But I know how important it is for her to learn these patterns of worship.  And I want nothing more for her than that she will embrace the gospel.  So I'm willing to do what it takes.  Some of my ideas come from my most brilliant mother.  Some of my ideas come from my most brilliant sisters.  But the best ideas come as I ponder and pray over the commandment to keep the sabbath day holy, the counsel that we hear in general conferences and other church meetings, and the needs of Miss.SingSong.

My own mom taught me years ago that when the emblems of the sacrament are covered with a white cloth, they represent the covered mortal body of our Savior.  We are reverent in Sacrament meeting because we are truly worshiping Him and truly partaking of His sacrifice and Atonement.  I personally have experienced miracles in my life as I have communed with God during the priesthood ordinance of the sacrament.  I want Miss.SingSong to understand how important this is.

Preparing to worthily partake of the sacrament is a week-long process for me.  I make a point of each day in a prayer pondering the thoughts and ideas I had during the sacrament the past Sunday, and thinking about how I want to be ready for the next Sunday.  I have started this past week to work with Miss.SingSong in a similar fashion.  To follow Elder Costa's advice I have started taking one or two minutes each day to hold Miss.SingSong on my lap and tell her a story of Jesus.  Each day when I do this I remind her that we take the sacrament at church each week, and I again tell her what the symbols mean and how we have a hope that we can improve and be better.  Hopefully this practice will help her be used to sitting on my lap and talking about Jesus.

Since she was old enough to not sleep through all of church, I have taken her onto my lap during the sacrament and whispered to her stories about Jesus and how much He loves her and how He can help her.  I whisper that she can think about ways she has been blessed, and ways that she can seek the blessings of the Atonement as she tries to be better each day.  She doesn't understand any of this yet, but the pattern is being set.

She is learning that Jesus is the topic for her thoughts during that time.  And she is learning that she is required to sit still and quiet during that time.  Only after the sacrament can she get down or eat or get quiet, appropriate toys.  It's usually only 20 minutes from the time church starts to when the sacrament is over, and that is not too long for most children to sit still and quiet.

During the rest of that meeting I don't mind if she is sitting quietly near me with her toys.  And where there is space, I don't mind her crawling around in the back of my other meetings, as long as she can be quiet.  Otherwise I carry her around the hallways, stopping to look at the paintings while I tell her the stories and reiterate that Jesus loves her.

I feel that my Sunday worship has improved as I've sought the Spirit to help me know how to teach Miss.SingSong.  I know, as I have often said, that this work of parenting is important to God, and He helps us if we only ask.  There truly is joy in doing this work with the Lord.