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| Henry "reading" scriptures |
Our grandson Henry is spending the week with us. A true and oft-repeated story came to mind tonight as we were having scriptures. Many might wonder if a one year old can really get anything out of the scriptures. All I know is that once upon a time ago this happened with his dad . . .
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| Abe about the time of the following story. |
Abe was about two years old. We were having a difficult time weaning him from the crib to the bottom bunk bed. No matter how much we scolded, bribed, or spanked, he would get out of bed and wander every night. One evening for scripture study, I happened to tell the story of Samuel, the Old Testament prophet. I told the story like this:
“Many, many years ago there was an old woman named Hannah. She wanted a child very badly and prayed and prayed that she might have one. She promised the Lord that if He would bless her with a baby boy she would raise him and then take him to the temple to be a helper to Heavenly Father’s prophets.
“The Lord answered her prayer with a little baby boy. She named him Samuel. After Samuel grew up to be a big boy, Hannah did just as she promised and took him to the temple so he could help Heavenly Father’s prophet.
“One night Samuel was in bed at the temple and he heard someone call, ‘Samuel . . . Samuel’
“He got up and went into the prophet and said, ‘Here am I, what do you want?’
“The prophet said, ‘I didn’t call you, go back to bed.’
“So Samuel went back to bed, but pretty soon he heard someone call his name again, so he got up again and went into the prophet and asked, ‘Here am I, what did you want?’
“The prophet answered again, ‘I didn’t call you, go back to bed.’
“So Samuel went back to bed again, but pretty soon he heard someone call his name again, ‘Samuel . . . Samuel . . . Samuel. . .’
“For the third time, he went in to ask the prophet what he wanted. The prophet told Samuel that it was the Lord calling his name and he should ask the Lord what he wanted next time he called. Then, the prophet told Samuel to go back to bed.’
“So Samuel did and waited for the Lord to call him.”
After I finished the story I asked Cali, who was four, what we could learn from the story and she said, “We should always listen, ‘cause we don’t know when Heavenly Father will call us and we should always be ready for whenever He needs us.”
I was so impressed with her answer so then I turned to Abe and asked, “What did you learn from this story?”
He answered, “That boy, naughty boy. Three times prophet told him, ‘Go to bed.’ Three times that little boy got out of bed. Naughty boy needs spanking.”
There it was. Plain as day. The scriptures applied and were even understood by a two year old. (Incidentally, we never had much trouble with Abe going to bed after that night. All I had to do was put my hands on my hips and say, “Abe, what did the prophet say?” and he would scamper back to bed.)
This is the story that we “read” tonight. It was perfect reading for a little fourteen month old boy.
“Many, many years ago there was an old woman named Hannah. She wanted a child very badly and prayed and prayed that she might have one. She promised the Lord that if He would bless her with a baby boy she would raise him and then take him to the temple to be a helper to Heavenly Father’s prophets.
“The Lord answered her prayer with a little baby boy. She named him Samuel. After Samuel grew up to be a big boy, Hannah did just as she promised and took him to the temple so he could help Heavenly Father’s prophet.
“One night Samuel was in bed at the temple and he heard someone call, ‘Samuel . . . Samuel’
“He got up and went into the prophet and said, ‘Here am I, what do you want?’
“The prophet said, ‘I didn’t call you, go back to bed.’
“So Samuel went back to bed, but pretty soon he heard someone call his name again, so he got up again and went into the prophet and asked, ‘Here am I, what did you want?’
“The prophet answered again, ‘I didn’t call you, go back to bed.’
“So Samuel went back to bed again, but pretty soon he heard someone call his name again, ‘Samuel . . . Samuel . . . Samuel. . .’
“For the third time, he went in to ask the prophet what he wanted. The prophet told Samuel that it was the Lord calling his name and he should ask the Lord what he wanted next time he called. Then, the prophet told Samuel to go back to bed.’
“So Samuel did and waited for the Lord to call him.”
After I finished the story I asked Cali, who was four, what we could learn from the story and she said, “We should always listen, ‘cause we don’t know when Heavenly Father will call us and we should always be ready for whenever He needs us.”
I was so impressed with her answer so then I turned to Abe and asked, “What did you learn from this story?”
He answered, “That boy, naughty boy. Three times prophet told him, ‘Go to bed.’ Three times that little boy got out of bed. Naughty boy needs spanking.”
There it was. Plain as day. The scriptures applied and were even understood by a two year old. (Incidentally, we never had much trouble with Abe going to bed after that night. All I had to do was put my hands on my hips and say, “Abe, what did the prophet say?” and he would scamper back to bed.)
This is the story that we “read” tonight. It was perfect reading for a little fourteen month old boy.
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