A few days ago, I wrote the following questions in one of my notebooks:
What hope is there for this generation to find the peace that the Lord gives?
How do you help someone find this peace when the world is so enticing?
The next day, I re-wrote the same questions and then continued with this:
“…This is what has been on my mind yesterday and again this morning. I’ve felt unsettled and a little alarmed that we haven’t been doing more to teach our kids. Yesterday, I read through a recent talk that ___ gave to parents in our stake. Even though I don’t agree with the church-centric solutions that he proposes (because I think the completely church-centric focus is part of why our kids are leaving religion), I agree with him that this generation needs to turn its eyes back toward God and that the world is far too captivating.”
The day after that, I wrote:
“The kids all need the hope and reassurance of the Light which enlightens all people. ___ is his own person now, following his own path. And all I can do at this point is pray that he will not have to try to traverse this world without the comfort and reassurance of the Light. I pray that he will turn to this Light, recognizing that he can’t traverse this existence without the help, comfort, reassurance, and guidance of the Light.
“It has become lodged in my mind that I want to read scriptures regularly with __ and __. And I want to watch The Chosen with them.
“My chance has not passed with ___. We started tonight. And I’m more motivated than ever to stay with this. And I think ___ will continue to be agreeable to doing it. I’m so grateful for this, that I’m not too late with him.
“…None of them can do this alone. They need the comfort and guidance of the Light. I pray for them to desire this Light, to find it, and to hold fast to it.
“I feel like the mournful child of my dream on ___ was ___ at that time, or shortly after when he had his personal crisis. We’re coming up on the 10-year anniversary of that dream, and I’m persuaded that the teenage boy later in that dream is likewise ___, but the present-day ___.
“These are the bookends of that dream. They correspond to actual time periods of our life. The timing of the dream in real life corresponds to the moment in my dream where I encountered the mournful boy. And now, the present moment in real life corresponds to the later moment in my dream when I encountered the same boy, but as a teenager.
“There was only one person I saw in that dream that was clearly someone I know in real life and that is ___. And I’ve always thought that was strange. There was no one else in the dream that I recognized from real life. But, the ___ have been on my mind a lot lately, because of struggles that ___ is having.
“I pray that it’s not too late for these boys, ___ and ___, and others to discover the peace and love of the Light. I pray for them, that they’ll pray to God and feel his comfort and love. And I pray that this will become their sustaining life force. Not us, not the church. I don’t want them to embrace the church. I want the Lord to come to them, visit them, comfort them, and be with and accompany them.
“They need the Light, not the priestcrafts and false traditions of the LDS church. Our kids are in jeopardy, and it is the Lord they need, not the church. The church has been part of the problem. And I’m afraid that ___’s sermons and so-called ‘messages from the Lord’ are driving our kids further and further away. And yes, many have decided to embrace the world. And I don’t want ___ and others to despair and to ultimately follow ___.
“They would have loved the Light, which is the Lord, if we had not driven them away with the church and with priestcrafts and false traditions. Brigham Young and his priests and their church have wreaked havoc on the souls of our children.
“I pray now for them to be able to find the real Light who loves them and would have comforted them and gathered them under his wing.”
...it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ...that ye must build your foundation... 