Elder Brent H. Nielson, Second Counselor in the Area Presidency - September 2010

"Who are the teachers of our rising generation? It is you, the parents of these precious children whom God has sent to your families. The prophets and apostles have made it abundantly clear that we must teach them... to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ."

King Benjamin's address found in Mosiah 2–4 in the Book of Mormon was so powerful that it changed the lives of all who listened.

In fact, in Mosiah 6:1–2 we learn that every person who was there to hear his address, except the little children, entered into a covenant that they would take upon them the name of Christ.

Within just a few years, something very interesting happened. In Mosiah 26:1 we read, "Now it came to pass that there were many of the rising generation that could not understand the words of king Benjamin, being little children at the time he spake unto his people; and they did not believe the tradition of their fathers."

What happened? Every soul who heard King Benjamin's words had made a covenant that they would follow Christ. However, the parents neglected to teach their own children the wonderful things that they knew and understood about the Savior. We then see in verse 4, in writing about the rising generation, that "they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after."

From the very beginning of time the Lord has instructed parents to teach their children the gospel. In Deuteronomy 6:7, in the Old Testament, we read the Lord's commandment to parents to teach the words of the Lord: "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

In the Book of Mormon, Nephi teaches this important doctrine in 2 Nephi 25:26: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

In the April 2010 general conference, nine of the speakers taught about the importance of parents teaching their children the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do we see a pattern? Could it be possible that the experience of the people present during King Benjamin's address might repeat itself? Could our children be like their children? ("They would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after" [Mosiah 26:4].) Who will teach our children?

A number of years ago when our children were small, my wife, Marcia, and I sat in a meeting with Elder Neal A. Maxwell, then a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He asked a question that changed our parenting dramatically. This was the question: "If all your children knew about the gospel of Jesus Christ is what you personally taught them, how much would they know?" Think about that! There is no Primary, no Sunday School, no seminary, no sacrament meeting; only your words. How much would they know? His question changed how we parented. We began to teach our children about the Atonement, the Creation, the Crucifixion, the Fall, justice, mercy, the Apostasy and the Restoration. We realized that if they did not hear the gospel from our own lips, they would not really understand it. Marcia and I are so grateful to have learned this lesson from Elder Maxwell.

Who are the teachers of our rising generation? It is you, the parents of these precious children whom God has sent to your families. The prophets and apostles have made it abundantly clear that we must teach them in family home evening, during family scripture study, during family prayer and at every other opportunity to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. They must hear it from you. They need to know that you know. We learn in Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." I pray that we will understand our great responsibility to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to our rising generation.