Fathers are Forever!

Today I talked in Church about the Blessing of Father's In Our Lives. In our society today, it's a travesty that "child poverty is an ongoing national concern, but few are aware that its principal cause is the absence of married fathers in the home." -The Heritage Foundation, "Father's Day and the Importance of Marriage" 6-17-2011.
So in my talk I celebrated those fathers who are providing righteous leadership to their families. And I talked about the things my children have learned from their father. Of course, I pointed out all of the good things he has done over the years like supporting his kids' activities, teaching them how to work through numerous projects particularly on Labor Day, taking them to church regularly, giving them father's blessings, teaching them about money management and honesty, and keeping a calm voice without yelling or swearing at times which could produce anger.
Last, but not least, his sense of humor set the tone for our family. He tells a mighty good story and we have spawned an additional 6 great story tellers. What we do best in our family is eat and laugh so my job is to cook. Everyone else is funny.
Everyone was so impressed with Steve. He told them that he had written the talk and that we are going to save it for his eulogy.
I also mentioned the great gospel legacy given to me by my father. Today I'm so thankful for good fathers everywhere. And I am especially thankful for Heavenly Father's plan which provides for fathers and mothers to raise families in love and provides a way for us to return to our Heavenly Father's presence and be united with our families forever. Our fathers lovingly show us what our loving Heavenly Father is like. How blessed we are to have righteous fathers all around us.
I am also especially grateful to my sons and sons-in-law who are doing a great job of loving and teaching their children and providing for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Here is a photo of Steve on his mission. Do you see any similarities? He can hardly believe how much hair he had at 20 years old.
Here is the most recent photo our us with our kids taken the day before my father's funeral. He has lost a lot of his hair but gained so much in other ways. Our family is awesome. Thanks, Steve for being such a great dad and granddad! I love you!