Anger often feels irresistible. A child breaks a glass or hits a sibling, and we erupt. Can that automatic reaction be interrupted? Can volcanic anger be replaced by calm helpfulness? In the moment, changing course can seem … Read more
Soft-Spoken Parenting
Our culture often models anger as if it were righteous indignation. But the Lord and His servants consistently condemn anger. It is the enemy of righteousness, holiness, godliness. Consider carefully a few words of counsel … Read more
Soft-Spoken Parenting
The counsel of Church leaders has consistently encouraged us to avoid anger. Consider their words.
Joseph Smith
All the religious world is boasting of righteousness: It is the doctrine of the devil to retard the … Read more
We all get angry. Sometimes our anger is nothing more than simmering irritation. We chafe. Other times it is fire in our soul. Our ears burn and every cell tenses. Yet even as we ready for the … Read more
When our daughter Sara was about 4-years-old she observed one of our teenage foster children dusting items on the mantel. Sara was intrigued by the vase that was among those things. She asked her foster sister if … Read more
When I was a high school teacher, one of my students came to me after class and told me how he loved to go up to a nearby reservoir, crawl through the marsh, and watch the ducks. … Read more
Terry was a kindergartener. He showed up at school one day with a note pinned to his jacket. He worked his way around the classroom proudly displaying his note to classmates. Eventually the teacher spotted the note … Read more
Flora, age six, complained that “lately” she had been receiving fewer presents than her brother. Her mother did not deny the complaint. Neither did she explain to Flora that her brother was older and so deserved more. … Read more
Sara is the youngest of our three children. She was always more cautious than Emily or Andy. I don’t know why. We never deliberately tricked or deceived her. She was just more cautious. In fact, she was … Read more
Our own spiritual well-being—our relationship with God—forms the footings on which all our parenting structure rests. God is the rock on Whom we build.
The next step in building our structure is the foundation which supports the … Read more