Fathers Day!

This post is dedicated to my wonderful dad. Here is my talk I gave in sacrament meeting today about him! :)

Hi, my name is Megan Tietjen. I would like to give you a little introduction about myself. I’m from Mapleton, Utah, which is a little town about 10 minutes south of Provo. I’m the second oldest of 5 kids, and I have one adorable little niece. I’m a sophomore, and I’m in the nursing program. I’m the first counselor in Relief Society “C” and I love it.

Today, I’m talking about Fathers, and their qualities and responsibilities. To start off, Elder L. Tom Perry gave a talk on Fatherhood in April 2004 General Conference. This is what he said about the roles of fathers.

“1. The father is the head in his family.

“Fatherhood is leadership, the most important kind of leadership. It has always been so; it always will be so. Father, with the assistance and counsel and encouragement of your eternal companion, you preside in the home. It is not a matter of whether you are most worthy or best qualified, but it is a matter of [divine] appointment.” 7

Your leadership in the home must include leading in family worship.

“You preside at the meal table, at family prayer. You preside at family home evening; and as guided by the Spirit of the Lord, you see that your children are taught correct principles. It is your place to give direction relating to all of family life.

“You give father’s blessings. You take an active part in establishing family rules and discipline. As a leader in your home you plan and sacrifice to achieve the blessing of a unified and happy family. To do all of this requires that you live a family-centered life.” 8

As President Joseph F. Smith counseled: “Brethren, there is too little religious devotion, love, and fear of God, in the home; too much worldliness, selfishness, indifference, and lack of reverence in the family, or it never would exist so abundantly on the outside. Then, the home is what needs reforming. Try today, and tomorrow, to make a change in your home.” 9

Remember, brethren, that in your role as leader in the family, your wife is your companion. As President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: “In this Church the man neither walks ahead of his wife nor behind his wife but at her side. They are coequals.” 10 Since the beginning, God has instructed mankind that marriage should unite husband and wife together in unity. 11 Therefore, there is not a president or a vice president in a family. The couple works together eternally for the good of the family. They are united together in word, in deed, and in action as they lead, guide, and direct their family unit. They are on equal footing. They plan and organize the affairs of the family jointly and unanimously as they move forward.

2. The father is a teacher.

President Joseph F. Smith’s counsel applies today: “Do not let your children out to specialists … , but teach them by your own precept and example, by your own fireside. Be a specialist yourself in the truth.” 12

“When you recognize the importance of teaching your children, you become humble, because at once you realize that this is accomplished by precept and example. You cannot be one thing and effectively teach another. You must live and study and pray for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. You must purify and organize your life so that your example and leadership reflect the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“You must plan your day as guided by the Spirit of the Lord, earnestly seeking your own welfare and the welfare of your family before other cares blind you to these first responsibilities. As we have been taught by living prophets, ‘No other success in life can compensate for failure in the home’ (David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Apr. 1964, 5; quoted from J. E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization [1924], 42).” 13

3. The father is the temporal provider.

President Ezra Taft Benson expressed it clearly: “The Lord has charged men with the responsibility to provide for their families in such a way that the wife is allowed to fulfill her role as mother in the home. … Sometimes the mother works outside of the home at the encouragement, or even insistence, of her husband … [for the] convenience[s] that the extra income can buy. Not only will the family suffer in such instances, brethren, but your own spiritual growth and progression will be hampered.” 14

Fathers, by divine decree, you are to preside over your family units. This is a sobering responsibility and the most important one you will ever assume, for it is an eternal responsibility. You place the family in its proper priority. It’s the part of your life that will endure beyond the grave. I testify that the following statement is true:

“The position which men occupy in the family, and especially those who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, is one of first importance and should be clearly recognized and maintained in the order and with the authority which God conferred upon man in placing him at the head of his household.

“… There is no higher authority in matters relating to the family organization, and especially when that organization is presided over by one holding the higher priesthood, than that of the father. … The patriarchal order is of divine origin and will continue throughout time and eternity. There is then a particular reason why men, women, and children should understand this order and this authority in the households of the people of God, and seek to make it what God intended it to be, a qualification and preparation for the highest exaltation of His children. In the home the presiding authority is always vested in the father, and in all home affairs and family matters there is no other authority paramount.” 15”

Now, I’d like to tell you a little about my dad. He grew up on a ranch in Homer, Alaska and is the oldest of 9 kids. When he was 19 he came out to school here, served a mission in Argentina and then went to school at BYU. He met and married my mom while going there. One of my earliest memories of my dad is him reading “The Hobbit” to me and my older sister at night. I was probably about 4 at this time, and I remember always falling asleep, and him still reading aloud, even when my sister and I were both asleep.

I grew up being able to do a lot of activities with my dad, I didn’t have any brothers then, so I got to be his activity buddy. I remember going on many four-wheeling and motorcycle trips, we’d go shooting at a shooting range (I’m still a better shot than my brothers!) and we’d go boating together. I’m glad I was able to spend so much time with my dad when I was younger, because it’s given me many unique and special memories of my dad.

To prepare for this talk, I thought of some qualities that I’ve seen in my dad, and in other dads and priesthood holders in my life.

Dads are teachers. Growing up, my dad was our stand-in math teacher. When any of us kids had a bad math teacher, or didn’t quite understand a concept, he was who we’d all go to. I remember there were times when we’d come to him with a complicated problem, and he’d spend however long it took him to figure it out and then would explain it to us (and sometimes I remember being the only student in the class who understood the problem the next day). My dad also teaches by example. He had always stressed how important education was in life, and a couple years ago, while working a very stressful fulltime job, and being busy raising five kids, my dad went back to school and got his MBA.

Dads have a sense of humor. In my house, we joke that my dad is just our big older brother. He loves to joke and play around, and still says he doesn’t know what he wants to do when he grows up. Over Christmas break when I was home, I was getting out of my friends car, and my dad and my brothers were outside shoveling snow. The moment I stepped out of the car, I was pelted with snowballs, my dad and my little brothers just laughing and laughing.

Dads are hard workers. A couple years ago, my family decided to build a cabin. My dad wanted to do all the work he could himself, or have us as a family do it. Every weekend, we’d all get in the suburban and go live in our RV that was next to our cabin lot. Us kids would spend a couple hours helping, but my dad would usually spend all Friday afternoon, and the entire day Saturday working. Then during the week, he’d take off work whenever he could or just head down after he got off and head down to the cabin to do whatever job was needed.

Another example of this, I was working with a young father who was going to school here, along with working three other jobs, so his wife could stay home with their young infant son. This mans first job started at 3 AM, then he’d attend classes, go to his next two jobs, and then come home and do homework.

Dads are supportive and involved. When I was in high school, I played the viola in the orchestra. This was something I loved to do. One of my best memories of it though, was one of our last performances. My dad hadn’t been able to attend one of my concerts for a while, but he came to this one. He was absolutely blown away, he talked about it for days. It motivated me to practice that much more knowing how supportive my dad was.

He tries to be very involved in all of my sibling’s lives. He coaches one of my brothers wrestling teams, he attends my little brother’s soccer games, watches my sister run in her track and cross country meets. When my little brother wanted to go through Hunters Safety, my dad signed him up and went to the classes with him. He helped my older sister and her husband when they were building their home.

Dads are compassionate and loving. When I was preparing for this talk, I asked my mom for some help and she said that one of the best things a father can do for his children is love their mother. And it’s so true. Fathers show their love in many ways, some might not be very vocal about it, some might be very open about it.

The best example of loving father, is of course, our Heavenly Father. He has a perfect love for each of us and is always there for us. We can always go to him for help, and if we are righteous he will bless us. He has given us earthly fathers to provide and protect us, and we should respect them, and sustain them in their duties.

Today, I want all of us to think about our father, or a father figure in our lives and be grateful for them and tell them. They need our love and support just as much as we need theirs. I’m so grateful for my father and I love him so much, and I’ve learned to appreciate him so much more since I’ve been up at school.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.