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Fathers and Sons in the Book of Mormon
President Ezra Taft Benson has said, "Consider from the Book of Mormon the responsibility fathers have to teach their sons, and the responsibility sons have to take direction from their fathers. This counsel also applies to all parents and their children." Responding to this challenge, E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark discuss the principles of family teaching and learning found in the Book of Mormon, such as setting a righteous example, praying for children, praising obedient children, and, especially, teaching children - with the scriptures, with tenderness, with repetition, and with personal experience and testimony. Following the example of righteous parents in the Book of Mormon, parents today can provide their children with a heritage of faith that will last for eternities.
334 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 26, 2008
The Clark brothers insightfully demonstrate the powerful of influence of fathers on their sons and the importance of sons learning from both their immediate and distant generations. The authors look in detail at the father-son relationships found in the Book of Mormon. The last father-son relationship studied is God the Father and Jesus Christ, the Son. They convincingly argue that one of the main themes of the Book of Mormon is that we need to learn from our fathers and come to know the covenants and promises made to our fathers. In following our righteous fathers, we emulate Jesus Christ's submission to his father and become children of Christ.
I did find the book rather repetitive, and I wouldn't classify the book as an easy, quick read. However, the repetition, served to make even more apparent the themes relating to father-son relationships.
The biggest drawback of the book is that there are no figures depicting the lineal descent of important Book of Mormon characters. Other charts would have been illustrative also. For example, a chart with one axis listing prominent fathers and sons and another axis listing characteristics displayed in the Book of Mormon. Such a chart I think would provide a helpful and informative visual aid to the influence of ancestors to their descendants.
Overall, I would recommend the book to any Latter-day Saint who is rather familiar with the Book of Mormon characters and is interested in looking more closely at the familial character of the Book of Mormon.
I did find the book rather repetitive, and I wouldn't classify the book as an easy, quick read. However, the repetition, served to make even more apparent the themes relating to father-son relationships.
The biggest drawback of the book is that there are no figures depicting the lineal descent of important Book of Mormon characters. Other charts would have been illustrative also. For example, a chart with one axis listing prominent fathers and sons and another axis listing characteristics displayed in the Book of Mormon. Such a chart I think would provide a helpful and informative visual aid to the influence of ancestors to their descendants.
Overall, I would recommend the book to any Latter-day Saint who is rather familiar with the Book of Mormon characters and is interested in looking more closely at the familial character of the Book of Mormon.
August 7, 2023
The book got my attention right in the preface by stating that "It may be, then, that fathers ... need more encouragement in fulfilling their divinely ordained parental role (than mothers). (Page XVIII)
Still, it took me several chapters before I began to get into this book. Then in the last few chapters the authors begin to pull it together showing that this same theme - the father son relationship - is in the Old Testament, and is intimately tied with the plan of Salvation. Those last few chapters brought this book to 5 stars and made me decide that this book is worth more than one reading.
This book is full of meat. In other words, it is quite dense. Just how dense is hinted at by the footnote numbers starting over on every page. This is no novel that the authors dashed off in a few months. Looking at the annotations and references, it must have taken a long time to write. Hurrah for E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark for persisting in putting this together.
Still, it took me several chapters before I began to get into this book. Then in the last few chapters the authors begin to pull it together showing that this same theme - the father son relationship - is in the Old Testament, and is intimately tied with the plan of Salvation. Those last few chapters brought this book to 5 stars and made me decide that this book is worth more than one reading.
This book is full of meat. In other words, it is quite dense. Just how dense is hinted at by the footnote numbers starting over on every page. This is no novel that the authors dashed off in a few months. Looking at the annotations and references, it must have taken a long time to write. Hurrah for E. Douglas Clark and Robert S. Clark for persisting in putting this together.
June 22, 2010
This book is not as interesting as the author's Blessings of Abraham. It does come together very nicely at the end and leaves you with some powerful things to ponder.
June 27, 2009
A MUST read for any father, to help enhance his ability to be a father. Wonderful, wonderful book.
October 9, 2012
I really liked this book. I don't have any children and I still found the relationships a very interesting find in the Book of Mormon. I think that the authors did a great job with this book.
October 28, 2013
Had some good information on the relationships of fathers and sons. It also helped me to look at the Book of Mormon prophets and other individuals in the Book of Mormon in new ways.
May 5, 2016
Long book, but very interesting. Makes me want to start sharing stories of my ancestors with my children.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews