Fathers Day

1 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?

22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.

23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:

24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.

Joshua 4

This is a great day for reflection- a Memorial Day of sorts for me, my dad passed away in 1999 of a massive heart attack- his birthday in June. Reflection today is only fitting for him.

He was a great athlete in his day. His kill shot, and many roll-outs in racquetball were defenseless. He is the only person I know who could demonstrate the techniques of race-walking, the triple-jump, the long jump and the straddle high jump.

To catch his various pitches was difficult, i.e. the slider, a forkball, the curve- perfectly placed in any mitt. He could place any batted ball to wherever a player was positioned on the field. He rarely missed a jump-shot. These things he could do athletically I marveled- like a caped super-hero.

One of the greatest things my Father did for me was to get me a piano and put it in our family living quarters at the mission home in Dallas, Texas in 1972. I was a young boy and started taking a disciplined approach to music. I’m sure it drove him crazy as I practiced hour after hour on it, above his mission office while he met with the missionaries. It proved to be more inspired as my Mom and I entered the Dallas Symphonic Festival in the dual piano concerto competition. We had the grand one downstairs in the large mission home meeting area, of which my Mom practiced on and I had my upright upstairs. We eventually were finalists in my age category in that piano festival. This event began my love of music, especially the piano. Thanks Pops!

An exercise that we could do today is reflect upon the influence that Father’s have had in our lives. Give your Dad a hug, and thank him!

One thing my Dad taught me was to how to polish shoes. He had a sacred shoe polishing box under his bed. On Saturdays I’d watch him polish all his shoes with precision. He eventually taught and coached me. I even got a military story from him. His shoe shine was epic, a marvel! He would show me which waxes to apply, the best brushes to wisp, and the most important part- the spit- to give it that “spit shine” finished, sparkle!! One particular Father’s Day, as a gift, I made him a wooden, deluxe shoe shine box to put all his shining materials in, a racing stripe was painted down the middle of it. He loved it.

I remember going with him to the bus depot in Ft. Worth, to pick up or transfer missionaries there. He loved to stop by the shoe shine man and get a real shoeshine there, and give him a quarter tip. I just watched, my sneakers didn’t need a shine.

Someone important said this, I believe Thomas S. Monson-

“Fatherhood is much more than a social construct or the product of evolution- It is from heaven.”

Elder Dale Renlund had this great thought, which apples in this case.

“The consistency of pleas from prophets to reflect on the goodness of God is striking. Our Heavenly Father wants us to recall His and His Beloved Son’s goodness, not for Their own gratification but for the influence such remembrance has on us. By considering Their kindness, our perspective and understanding are enlarged. By reflecting on Their compassion, we become more humble, prayerful, and steadfast.”

Well just some thoughts for you alll today. Happy Fathers Day!