I love children! I love their innocence, honesty and willingness to quickly forgive and forget. They exhibit remarkable faith, are uninhibited, love learning, and have big dreams and great imaginations. Through the years of raising my own sons and teaching little ones, I became increasingly more concerned with the amount of time that the boys, in particular, spent focusing on super heroes. At times I wondered if they could make the distinction between fantasy and reality. I therefore decided, when I was teaching preschool, that it was important enough to include a unit on heroes in my curriculum.
On the first day of our "Heroes" unit, the children were encouraged to dress up as their favorite hero. They were so excited! I allowed time for each one to share what they liked best about Luke Skywalker, Spiderman, or Pocahontas. They loved it!
The next day, we discussed the difference between "super heroes" and "real heroes". I was amazed at how attentive the young children were during our discussion. I asked if they could think of any real heroes. They shared many labels from Prophet, to police officer and firefighter. Then I added, "Your Bishop could be your hero, or maybe your father".
Little three year old Jackson quickly corrected me, "Oh, Sisto Monahr! My fathor can't be a heewoh. He doesn't have any powors." With eyes tearing up, I replied, "Oh Jackson! Your father has one of the greatest powers. He has the power of the Priesthood."
In general priesthood meeting, April 1976, President Spencer W. Kimball quoted Walter MacPeek: “Boys need lots of heroes like Lincoln and Washington. But they also need to have some heroes close by. They need to know some man of towering strength and basic integrity, personally. They need to meet them on the street, to hike and camp with them, to see them in close-to-home, everyday, down-to-earth situations; to feel close enough to them to ask questions and to talk things over man-to-man with them.”
President Boyd K. Packer shared the following: President Monson spoke of Gideon, a hero in the Old Testament. Gideon was chosen to lead the armies of Israel, thousands strong. But of them all, he chose only 300 men.
Gideon had an interesting way of selecting his recruits. When the men drank water at a stream, most “bowed down…to drink.” Those he passed over. A few scooped up water in their hands and drank, remaining completely alert. They were the ones chosen.
We live in a day of “wars [and] rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.” As prophesied, “the whole earth [is] in commotion” and “Satan is abroad in the land.” He seeks to destroy all that is good and righteous. He is Lucifer, who was cast out of the presence of God. Against all of that, we have very positive feelings about what lies ahead.
Gideon’s small force succeeded because, as the record states, “they stood every man in his place.”
Elder Glen L. Rudd of the Second Quorum of the Seventy said, “I think heroes are everywhere in our Church. They stand out in a world of sin and unrighteousness. May God bless us to recognize them and follow their fine examples. Even more than that, may he help us to become heroes to others as we serve him.”
Like many of you, I was overcome with emotion with the announcement that we would soon be experiencing the "changing of the guard". How blessed we have been to have had at the helm of our ward, such wonderful examples of heroes and righteous men who honor their priesthood. To me, the organization of the Church is a testimony that we are in the hollow of His hands. As we tearfully say goodbye to our Bishop and his counselors, and the friendships that we have developed with each one of them, we cheerfully look forward to a fresh new trio of equally great “Priesthood Heroes”. We sustain you as those chosen by the Lord to carry on with his work. To you, we offer our love and support, adding prayers in your behalf to you and your families.
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