Therefore God gave unto them commandments...

after having made known unto them the plan of redemption (Alma 32:12). I've always found this passage interesting because it is so different from how we generally teach the gospel and the commandments to our children. If God allowed us to know the plan of redemption before giving us commandments, hasn't He then established a pattern for us to follow with our own children? If a child is old enough to understand that he should do or not do certain things, then is he not also old enough to be given a reason? When a person understands the why, it is so much easier for him to accept the thing being taught. Yet, often, we teach the rules and the commandments long before we teach the why, which is the joy that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we teach our children by constantly keeping the things we are teaching in the context of the plan of salvation, then the commandments we teach them to live will not seem arbitrary, but as Joseph Smith taught, "God has designed our happiness. He never will institute an ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its nature to promote that happiness which He has designed” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith). If we truly believe this statement, we will teach our children to find the ways that each commandment can bring them happiness. This will allow them to gain their own testimony of the commandments. It is not enough to just have a testimony of the Church, that is too vague and broad. We each need to discover for ourselves a firm belief or knowledge in each of the things we espouse to believe starting with the existence and love of God the Father, continuing to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and its impact on our lives personally all the way through an understanding of each and every commandment. I believe that the full measure of happiness offered in conjunction with each commandment cannot be attained without an understanding and assurance of the divinity of that commandment. God has designed our happiness, and yet we often find ourselves unhappy. Interestingly, that unhappiness is rarely a reaction to the external hardships we face, but rather the internal conflicts that come from not understanding our place in God's plan or the place for God's plan in our lives.

I'd like to bear my testimony...

Have you ever been to a fast and testimony meeting and listened to it as if you had never been to our church before?  The first thing that strikes me, when I do this, is the phrase that almost all children say. They could be anywhere from 2-20 years old and most of the time their testimony begins with, "i'd like to bear my testimony, i know the church is true".  Now, i've noticed that you rarely hear adults begin their testimonies this way.  Why do we continue to insist that our children utter these magic testimony words?  How can they, at 3, "know the church is true"? Many people at 30 are still trying to figure that out for sure.  I understand the faith of a child and that they have an innocence and understanding that many of us lose as we work our way into adulthood.  At the same time, when said by every single child and prompted by every parent, it sounds very rote and almost ritualistic.  A testimony is still a testimony without these words as its precursor.  I love to see and hear children bear their testimonies and share their feelings and experiences.  I feel like the repetition of this phrase cheapens it and makes it feel like something that you just say, without feeling and without thought. Unfortunately, it feels much like the close of a testimony, "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." When we invoke the name of the Savior at the end of our testimonies, we are inviting His stamp of approval on the things we've said.  However, often times we rush through "inthenameaJesusChristamen". It feels like we sometimes put the same amount of thought and feeling into the beginning and the end of our testimonies...that is- very little or no thought and feeling.  I think as parents, we can do more for our children by talking about how Christ is influencing their lives than teaching them to repeat the words "i'd like to bear my testimony, i know this church is true".  They need to understand what a testimony is and that it centers around Christ and the truly important aspects of the gospel.  Also, teaching them to respect the name of the Savior when they close their testimonies and their prayers, and to think about Him as they say His name.  I think when the church sends out letters about children's participation in testimony meeting, it is simply to eliminate rote, memorized words that everyone repeats, without thought or feeling.  When children stand and share their feelings, the things that are happening to them, it brings the influence of the Spirit in a powerful way.

The Law of Moses vs. The Two Great Commandments

What's easier to live? I have no idea how most people would answer that question. It would depend a lot on the type of person you are. Are you a list-maker? Do you like to quantify success? We in the church, by nature of all of the things we can/can't or should/shouldn't do can easily begin to look at life in the context of the law of moses. We talk about the 613 mitzvot (commandments that are binding on Jews) and sometimes I believe we look at life with a similar quantification about right and wrong. Why do we need all of the rules we have? Christ gave us two: to love God and to love one's neighbor. It seems so much easier to follow that dogma than the law of Moses, and yet, is it easier? Well, for a lot of people that would depend on how you define neighbor. If by neighbor you mean just the people that make you comfortable, then yes that might be easier. But...if by that you use Christ's broader definition as laid out in the parable of the Good Samaritan, then it might be a little tougher. For many people, the checklist brings more comfort and satisfaction than loving people that make us uncomfortable. If I can go through my week doing all of the things that I should, at the same time avoiding all the things i'm supposed to avoid, i can look at that week, breathe a sigh of relief, disregard the atonement (because i've done everything "right") and go on to the next week. What's the problem with that? Well, it depends on our "why". Christ condemned the pharisees and sadducees for following the law of moses hypocritically, "only to be seen". In today's lingo we would call it doing it for the sake of one's image. If our image is our reason, then we "have our reward". We walk a sad road when our true meaning in life comes in following a checklist of guidelines, because of what it would look like to others if we didn't. The gospel of Jesus Christ was designed to bring joy, and if we live it by following the two great commandments, then we will find that joy.