THE RISING GENERATION

 

 

It took just three years for the Nephites to begin to forget the signs and wonders which they witnessed heralding Christ’s birth (3 Nephi 1:4; 2:1). Positively chilling, isn’t it???

It is true that following revelation, opposition will always rear its ugly head. No sooner had the night appeared without darkness and a new star given, that Satan increased his influence in spreading lies to ‘harden the hearts of the people that they might not believe in the signs and wonders which they had seen’ (3 Nephi 1:19-22).

The more part of the people did believe and were converted unto baptism, except they had one problem. The Gadiantons who infested the land were so strong that people could not overpower them (3 Nephi 2:27).

By the second year following the signs, they had grown incredibly large in number because of the Nephite dissenters who fled to them in their mountain retreats, and among them…..the rising generation (v 28, 29). And this is the saddest part: the faithful, staunch Lamanites decreased in faith and righteousness ‘because of the wickedness of the rising generation’ (v 30). Such a contrast to the 2,000 stripling warriors….makes you want to weep….

Consider the seriousness of this: “The young people of the Church….hold the future in their hands. The Church has always been one generation away from extinction. If a whole generation were lost, which will not happen, we would lose the Church. But even a single individual lost to the gospel of Jesus Christ closes doors for generations of descendants, unless the Lord reaches out to bring some of them back.” (We Must Raise Our Sights, (Church Educational System conference on the Book of Mormon, Aug 14, 2001; see CES addresses on the Church website).

I know so many young people in the Church who have gone inactive, my daughter included. I have another daughter who is an active member of the Church and a mother of three and I can see her legacy of faith in her children. I have great hopes for them and pray for them daily that they will grow up to bless and honour God’s name. That hope is very much fostered by the faithfulness of their parents.

I also know many adults who have gone inactive and shattered their childrens’ belief in the reality of eternal family. It is difficult to stay the course when your parents negate all the testimonies they have born at the Church pulpit. It is difficult to still believe and keep going when your parents are negative about the Church. I know one such boy who lasted a few years past his parents’ inactivity but in the end abandoned the Gospel himself despite having been a highly successful missionary.

We cannot make our children’s choices for them once they reach the adult years but we can hold up the light of Christ that it may shine unto the world’ and most importantly unto our children and we can be a ‘light on a hill that cannot be hid’ and so many of us today are becoming ‘hid’ (3 Nephi 18:24; Matthew 5:14-16).

So it is up to us, the older generation, to be exemplary in living the gospel we proclaim to be true. It is no guarantee that our children will remain in the gospel but it is our contribution to the future. The plant is strongest when it has strong roots. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art by Jeffrey Hein [1974]