"...fight the good fight..." (1 Timothy 6:12)

As a parent I sometimes wonder if I am doing enough, if I have taught my children well enough, have I protected them and given them the tools they need to "fight the good fight" (1 Tim. 6:12)? How do I help my child when they are in "crisis" (see Alma 34:34)? I needed answers. And this is what I received. I hope it is of some help for you.

"...king Mosiah having gone the way of all the earth, having warred a good warfare, walking uprightly before God, leaving none to reign in his stead; nevertheless he had established laws, and they were acknowledged by the people; therefore they were obliged to abide by the laws which he had made." (Alma 1:1).

I love the phrase, "having warred a good warfare". As a parent, I think we are warring a good warfare. Warfare is the activity of fighting a war or strongly competing, especially with reference to the type of weapons used or to the way the fighting is done" (warfare). Spiritual warfare is real and incredibly difficult to fight. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12). That's the description of the enemy wherein we are warring against. This is no kitten, but rather "the dragon" (see JST, Revelations 12:6-7) in which we are battling.

As parents, I believe we keep fighting for our children, no matter how old they get. I have noticed that I tend to parent out of fear and not love, which is not the best way to war a good warfare, when things get stressful. I must remember, "God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7). Rather than let fear lead us, we can don the "whole armour of God", which includes: "having our loins girt about with truth", "the breastplate of righteousness", shodding our feet "with the preparation of the gospel of peace", "the shield of faith", "the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:13-17). That is some awesome armor! I would even venture to say it is more powerful and protective than anything Ironman would claim he owned if he actually existed.

King Mosiah also lived what he preached. He "[walked] uprightly before God" (Alma 1:1). To be "upright" is to be "strictly honorable or honest" (upright). Our children need to know where they can turn to understand and learn truth. "We believe in being honest" (Article of Faith 1:13). There is no fear in living an honest life. But I know there is great fear that comes when we lie, cheat, or live beneath any truth we know ourselves.

One more thing I learned from Mosiah about being a good parent is to not be afraid of setting limits or making rules: ..."he had established laws, and they were acknowledged by the people; therefore they were obliged to abide by the laws which he had made" (Alma 1:1). When our children know what our expectations are then they can abide by them. It's when there are no clear rules or "laws" in our homes that can cause friction and contention. Be confident in living that which is right, "for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16). God is on our side!

Parenting is one of the greatest challenges that we will ever experience, if not the greatest, even beyond epic. I know that the teenagers of this time are truly exceptional. They are "glorious sons and daughters of almighty God" (Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf), just like their parents. You and I can "fight the good fight" because our children are worth every single battle. This I testify.

"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 20:7)

Who am I really? I am called a lot of different names, Jennifer, Mom, Sister, Aunt. I am a mother. I am a wife, a daughter. Someone said something in church one Sunday that has made me pause and think a great deal about another "title". It goes with the church I belong to, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (underline added. You can read more about what we believe here). I am also a saint. Whoa! That is heavy...me a saint?! In all seriousness though, I have had to ask myself what exactly does being a saint mean for me?

Saints "in the New Testament...are all those who by baptism have entered into the Christian covenant" (Bible Dictionary). Interestingly enough, in our day, "Saints means that its members follow [Christ] and strive to do His will, keep His commandments, and prepare once again to live with Him and our Heavenly Father in the future. Saint simply refers to those who seek to make their lives holy by covenanting to follow Christ" (Elder M. Russell Ballard). In both times, now, meaning the Latter-day, and in the time of Christ, Saint is referring to those who have made covenants and are doing their best to keep those covenants. A Saint shows their willingness to follow Christ by being baptized. As I learned this, I realized that when we are baptized and make a covenant to follow Christ and we are willing to follow Him, we are saints. This doesn't mean we are perfect, but we are willing and doing our best to follow Christ.

As covenant making and keeping followers of Christ we are trying to make our lives more holy by following the Savior every day. We follow Him by loving our neighbor whether or not they love us, by serving those who are in need (this would include the neighbor who doesn't love us), turning our hearts and minds to Him in all things. The point is, we are not only trying to "do good" (Moroni 7:13), but we are trying to do as the Savior taught: "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 20:7). The foot note for "holy" says, "OR saints". Therefore, it can be read as: "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye saints". We are becoming holy or saints, sanctified, and clean as we exercise faith in Christ (see D&C 88:74). Through  this sanctification process we are becoming saints, we are becoming holy.

This sanctification, making holy, making saintly process can sometimes be very difficult to "endure all things" (Article of Faith #13) especially when we don't know why we have to endure somethings, such as the death of a child or the loss of a spouse, or unmitigated pain, financial problems, marital problems, just to name a couple. Enduring can be a real "Refiner's fire" because "Christ is the great Refiner" (Bible Dictionary) and has said, "Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10). When we have chosen to "seek to make [our] lives holy by covenanting to follow Christ" (Elder M. Russell Ballard) we are choosing to follow Him through all things, not just the good things, or the easy things, or "when I fall in love" things. But through all things.

Christ said, "And I ...will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God" (Zechariah 13:9). He is making us holy through this refining process. We are Saints, purified and holy when we are faithful to Jesus Christ as we make and keep our baptismal covenants to follow Him and "endure to the end" every day (D&C 18:22). This I testify.