For Fathers of Young Children
5 Things Every New Dad Should Know
It isn’t easy to be a dad. But Heavenly Father has given us many tools to help with the transition.
I felt a lot of emotions when preparing to become a father.
I was uncertain, scared, and more than a little curious about how everything would turn out. When our son was finally born, I was shocked and amazed at how much love I felt for this new little guy.
Being a father hasn’t been easy. Parenthood is hard. But we know that through Jesus Christ, all our burdens can be made lighter. With that in mind, whether you’re a new dad or a seasoned one, here are five gospel principles to help you on the road of fatherhood.
1. God is your Heavenly Father, and He is your child’s Father too.
You’ll likely want to do everything you can to protect and love your child. It’s a wonderful (and slightly stressful) feeling! But you can rest assured that Heavenly Father also wants what’s best for your child and will help you as you turn to Him.
What a wonderful feeling it is to be so aligned with our Heavenly Father!
2. As you sacrifice, you will find joy.
Fatherhood is the path to some of the greatest joy we will experience in this life. It also requires sacrifice.
“For men, fatherhood exposes us to our own weaknesses and our need to improve,” taught President D. Todd Christofferson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. “Fatherhood requires sacrifice, but it is a source of incomparable satisfaction, even joy. … Jesus said, ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’ [John 15:13]. Fathers manifest that love as they lay down their lives day by day, laboring in the service and support of their families.”
3. Fathers function in equal partnership with their wives.
Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught: “Nurturing and presiding are interrelated and overlapping responsibilities, which means that mothers and fathers ‘are obligated to help one another as equal partners’ and share a balanced leadership in their home.”
We need to be united with our wives in all that we do, especially in the care and nurture of our families. Neither member of the partnership is lesser or greater than the other; we are supposed to be equal. In other words, you’re not alone!
4. The priesthood can bless your family.
President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) taught: “Never is the power of the priesthood, which you hold, more wonderful than when there is a crisis in your home, a serious illness, or some great decision that has to be made. … Vested in the power of the priesthood, which is the power of Almighty God, is the power to perform miracles if the Lord wills it so, but in order for us to use that priesthood, we must be worthy to exercise it. A failure to understand this principle is a failure to receive the blessings of holding that great priesthood.”
The priesthood of God has been given to us to benefit those around us, especially our own families. Do your best to be worthy of that priesthood authority. Use it to bless the lives of your wife and children.
5. Heavenly Father will magnify your efforts.
It can be easy to feel like you aren’t doing enough for your family. President Christofferson spoke to fathers, saying: “I know you wish you were a more perfect father. I know I wish I were. Even so, despite our limitations, let us press on. Let us lay aside the exaggerated notions of individualism and autonomy in today’s culture and think first of the happiness and well-being of others. Surely, despite our inadequacies, our Heavenly Father will magnify us and cause our simple efforts to bear fruit.”
Trust that God will make more of you than you can make of yourself.
Fellow dads, God loves you. He loves your family. He will care for you as you seek His help, make Jesus Christ the foundation of your home, and do your best to lead your family in love and righteousness.