Father's Day

Great Quotes and Stories on Fathers!

A Father's Role in the Family
A Goodbye Kiss
About Father's by Gordon B. Hinckley
"Cat's in the Cradle,"
(From the Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
Father's by Spencer W Kimball
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"Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released. Callings in the Church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place. But a father’s calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity." -Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Nov 1987, 48

A Father's Role in the Family

A Father's Role in the Family

"Fathers perform priesthood ordinances and give priesthood blessings, including father's blessings to their children. They pray for and with family members, collectively and individually. They set an example of respect and love for their eternal companion and mother of their children. In all things they follow the example of the Savior and strive to be worthy of His name and His blessing. Fathers should seek constantly for guidance from the Holy Ghost so they will know what to do, what to say, and also know what not to do and what not to say. They serve the family and the Church in the spirit of love and enthusiasm, by example preparing family members to serve--especially preparing sons to serve as worthy missionaries."

(M. Russell Ballard, "The Sacred Responsibilities of Parenthood," Ensign, Mar. 2006, 30)

A father is a guy who has snapshots in his wallet where his money used to be

The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering galleries, they are clearly heard at the end, and by posterity.

Jean Paul Richter

"Fathers, what is your report concerning your family?

Will you be able to report that you created an environment

in your home to build faith in a living God, to encourage

learning, to teach order, obedience, and sacrifice? That you often shared your testimony

of thereality of your Father in heaven, of the truthfulness of the restored gospel

with your wife and children? Will you be able to report that you

followed the living prophets? That your home was where your tender children could feel protected and safe, and where they felt the love and acceptance and warmth of you and their mother?"

Spencer W Kimball

Fathers

by Gordon B. Hinckley

(From the Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley

I repeat that plea to all fathers. Yours is the basic and inescapable responsibility to stand as the head of the family. That does not carry with it any implication of dictatorship or unrighteous dominion. It carries with it a mandate that fathers provide for the needs of their families. Those needs are more than food, clothing and shelter. Those needs include righteous direction and the teaching, by example as well as precept, of basic principles of honesty, integrity, service, respect for the rights of others, and an understanding that we are accountable for that which we do in this life, not only to one another but also to the God of heaven, who is our Eternal Father....

With the obligation to beget goes the responsibility to nurture, to protect, to teach, to guide in righteousness and truth. Yours is the power and the responsibility to preside in a home where there is peace and security, love and harmony.

Cat's in the cradle

Harry and Sandy Chapin.

My child arrived just the other day

He came to the world in the usual way.

But there were planes to catch and bills to pay,

He learned to walk while I was away;

And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it,

And as he grew he'd say, "I'm gonna be like you, Dad,

You know I'm gonna be like you."

Chorus:

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon

Little boy blue and the man in the moon.

"When ya comin' home, Dad?" "I don't know when,

But we'll get together then,

You know we'll have a good time then."

My son turned ten just the other day,

He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play.

Can you teach me to throw? "I said, "Not today, I got a lot to do."

He said, "That s okay." And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed,

It said. "I'm gonna be like him, yeah, You know I'm gonna be like him."

Well, he came from college just the other day,

So much like a man, l just had to say, "

Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for awhile?"

He shook his head and he said with a smile.

"What I'd really like Dad, is to borrow the car keys.

See you later, can I have them please?"

I've long since retired, my sons moved away.

I called him up just the other day. I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind.

"He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if can find the time.

You see, my new jobs a hassle and the kids have the flu,

But it's sure nice talkin' to you, Dad, It's been sure nice talkin' to you."

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me,

He'd grown up just like me, my boy was just like me.

Chorus: And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon,

Little boy blue and the man in the moon. "When you comin' home, Son?"

"I don't know when, But we'll get together then, Dad, We're gonna have a good time then.

" Don't allow this to happen in your lives. These precious moments

--each experience and stage of life--can only be lived once.

A Goodbye Kiss

The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing. I am getting so clumsy in my old age."

Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment."

Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still at home."

He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and of fish."

Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he would drive toward the school,I would shrink down into the seat hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the old truck would belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here, I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me goodbye!"

He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said, 'No, Dad.'

It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised look on his face.

I said, 'Dad, I'm too old for a goodbye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.'

My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the windshield. 'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy....a man. I won't kiss you anymore.'"

Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a gale and was trying to save the nets and the floats."

I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek....to feel his rough old face....to smell the ocean on him....to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss."

-Bishop Thomas Charles Clary

I TRUST YOU'LL TREAT HER WELL

by Victor Buono

Dear World;

I bequeath to you today one little girl... in a crisp dress... with two blue eyes... and a happy laugh that ripples all day long... and a flash of light blond hair that bounces in the sun when she runs. I trust you'll treat her well.

She's slipping out of the backyard of my heart this morning... and skipping off down the street to her first day of school. And never again will she be completely mine. Prim and proud she'll wave her young and independent hand this morning and say "Goodbye" and walk with little lady steps to the schoolhouse.

Now she'll learn to stand in lines... and wait by the alphabet for her name to be called. She'll learn to tune her ears for the sounds of school-bells... and deadlines... and she'll learn to giggle... and gossip... and look at the ceiling in a disinterested way when the little boy 'cross the aisle sticks out his tongue at her. And, now she'll learn to be jealous. And now she'll learn how it is to feel hurt inside. And now she'll learn how not to cry.

No longer will she have time to sit on the front porch steps on a summer day and watch an ant scurry across the crack in the sidewalk. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn and kiss lilac blooms in the morning dew. No, now she'll worry about those important things... like grades and which dress to wear and whose best friend is whose. And the magic of books and learning will replace the magic of her blocks and dolls. And now she'll find new heroes.

For five full years now I've been her sage and Santa Claus and pal and playmate and father and friend. Now she'll learn to share her worship with her teachers... which is only right. But, no longer will I be the smartest, greatest man in the whole world. Today when that school bell rings for the first time... she'll learn what it means to be a member of the group...with all its privileges and its disadvantages too.

She'll learn in time that proper young ladies do not laugh out loud... or kiss dogs... or keep frogs in pickle jars in bedrooms... or even watch ants scurry across cracks in sidewalks in the summer.

Today she'll learn for the first time that all who smile at her are not her friends. And I'll stand on the front porch and watch her start out on the long, lonely journey to becoming a woman.

So, world, I bequeath to you today one little girl... in a crisp dress... with two blue eyes... and a flash of light blond hair that bounces in the sunlight when she runs.

I trust you'll treat her well.

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As my father sees me, so shall I.

As a daughter, all my self-worth comes from how much my father values me.

The amount of affection he pays me as a child is what I will expect from a mate.

The respect he shows my mother, will be what I will tolerate from a husband.

The time invested in me as a child, will equal the amount of time I invest in him during his "golden" years.

How he sees me in his eyes, is how I will see myself. A little girl becomes exactly what her father says she is. In short, I will be the product of what you do and say around me, to me, and to others .

No compliment or blessing is any higher than that of my Daddy's. In short, how you see me, is how I will be.

The least little comment, especially negative, I will take to heart.

You think the sun will rise and set with me, but without you I have no world.

You are my daddy and little girls NEED their Daddies.