Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Fathers and Sons



For they remembered the words which their father . . . spake unto them. Hel. 5:5

Elders love their moms; they appreciate the letters, the packages. But they quote their dads.
For instance:

Elder V. (SLC)
"When I was coming on my mission my Dad told me, 'I don't know much about religion, but I do know people. If you're trying to convince a man to buy a bigger and better house, you don't do it by tearing down his old one.' "(His dad is in real estate.)

Elder S. (NJ)
"After I got transferred to the Office my Dad emailed: 'When your mom and I joined the Church 20 years ago we made an unspoken agreement to accept any calling and to do it the best we can.' " (Working in the Office is not every missionary's first choice.)

Elder T. (Provo)
"My Dad says, 'Don't do things that are stupid.'  He said if a person does the same behavior over and over again and expects a different result, then that's stupid."

Elder R. (TX)
"Since I'm going home in a week, my mom and my sisters emailed, 'Oh, we can't wait! We're making plans!' But my Dad, whose not a member, wrote, 'You only have a week left, but if you concentrate and keep working you might still touch someone's life.' "

Elder B. (Provo)
"When I told him I was feeling overwhelmed--I was still pretty new and Branch President and trying to learn the language and had a near-greenie companion--he said look up Jeremiah 12:5 'If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?' "

(Photo, USA Today.)

4 comments:

Hermana Whitehead said...

Those are some awesome quotes!

Our son wrote home and said almost the same thing as Elder T's dad from Provo. His uncle read it and wrote to him and said, you mean, "If you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you've always got." I framed it.

I love the quote about not tearing down someone's house. I'm sending all these quotes to our son. Thanks so much.

Anonymous said...

Hi dad! This is salli writing from a friends house! THANKS SO MUCH for the package!! The kids loved the doll and i loved the chocolates! Us McEvoys cant resist that!! I just want to tell you thanks and that i love you!! I have a good bball story for you when you get a chance to call or something! Thanks Again!! Love Salli!

Mom/Grandma Smith said...

This is a friend of the family (not the grandma!) of Elder S. from New Jersey. This blog is so interesting - especially seeing the missionaries and the Lord's work in action with the wonderful people in Russia. I also like the features about life in the towns, etc. Thank you!
Please give our best to Elder S. and tell him that we are proud of the work he is doing. Taking care of those details in the office make it possible for the rest of the work to go smoothly - so important.
Louise and George Smith

Anonymous said...

I agree so much! This is Carrie and we love our moms and sisters, but we tell others what our dads say. Our house loves you. Thanks for the great blog. I love to look and learn.
Carrie Godfrey