Sharing Time:

Showing Respect, Honor, and Love for Parents

By Virginia Pearce

I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents (1 Ne. 1:1).

When we respect, honor, and love Heavenly Father, we are showing reverence for Him. And Heavenly Father is pleased when we respect, honor, and love our parents. One of the Ten Commandments tells us to honor our parents (see Ex. 20:12). Nephi begins the Book of Mormon by telling us that he was “born of goodly parents” (1 Ne. 1:1). They were “goodly” because they taught him to love the Lord and obey His commandments.

Chieko Nishimura Okazaki had goodly parents too. Her grandparents moved from Japan to Hawaii. Her parents worked hard on a plantation. They were Buddhists, Buddhism being the main religion in Japan. They did not know about Jesus Christ. But they knew about goodness. What did they teach Chieko?

She said, “They taught me to be kigatsuku (key-got-sue-koo). That means to do good without being asked. When my mother was sweeping the floor, she would say, ‘Chieko, what would a kigatsuku girl do now?’ I would think for a minute, then run to get the dust pan and hold it for her. Or when she was washing dishes, I would pick up the dishtowel and begin to dry them. She would smile and say, ‘You are a kigatsuku girl.’

“My parents taught me other things. They taught me to work hard and to always do my best. That’s why I could work hard in school, go to the university, and become a school teacher and even a principal. They taught me to always love the truth. That is why, when I found the Church, I loved it and was baptized a Latter-day Saint.”

Chieko respected, honored, and loved her parents by helping without being asked and by following the righteous principles that they taught her. Now she is the first counselor in the General Presidency of the Relief Society. Her father is dead; her mother is still a Buddhist. Sister Okazaki says, “I know that she is proud of me because I still try to be kigatsuku, and I love her very much for teaching me good things.”

Do your parents want you to be kigatsuku too? Do your parents teach you good things? Do they teach you true principles? When you follow the righteous principles that your parents teach you, you are showing respect, honor, and love for them. This is showing reverence for your parents, and it pleases Heavenly Father.

Instructions

To identify some of the principles you have learned from your parents and family members, fill in the chart.

represents a female family member.

represents a male family member.

= means a marriage.

| is a line showing who is a child of whom.

Below the long line at the bottom of the diagram, draw pictures of yourself (in the middle) and your brothers and sisters. Draw the correct symbol ( or ) by the picture. Under each picture on the page, write that person’s name and something good you have learned from him or her. Ask your parents what important principles they learned from their parents and have tried to pass on to you.

Illustrated by Taia Morley

Sharing Time Ideas

1. Divide the children into small groups. Give each group one of the following scripture references: (1) 1 Nephi 3:heading, 1–9; 4:6–14 [1 Ne. 3:1–9; 1 Ne. 4:6–14]. (2) Jacob 7:27; Enos 1:1–5. (3) Mosiah 27:14, Mosiah 32. (4) Alma 36:heading; Alma 37:1–2, 14; preface to 45–62; Alma 62:45. (5) Alma 38:1–4, 10:preface, heading; Alma 63:1–2. Instruct them to answer the following questions: (1) Who is speaking, or whom is being spoken of? (2) Who are the parents? (3) What is one thing the parents taught? (4) Did the child respect, honor, and love the parents by following their teachings? (5) What happened when this person followed the teachings of the parents? Have one member of each group report the answers to the questions.

2. Have the children role-play parent/child/sibling situations, such as when a ten-year-old boy wants to play with his friends at the same time his father has asked him to mow the lawn. (See Primary Sharing Time Resource Manual, pages 23–24, and How Book for Teaching Children, page 21.) Help the children understand that they have many opportunities to show respect, honor, and love for their parents and other family members.

3. Give each child a worksheet to help him learn more about his parents and grandparents. Questions might include: What are your mother’s and father’s full names? Where did they live when they were your age? What are the names of your grandparents? What do (or did) they do when grown? What is one thing your father, mother, grandfather, grandmother has taught you? Have the children answer the questions they can during Sharing Time, then complete them at home.

4. Have the younger children draw a picture of their parents and/or grandparents. Ask several children to show their pictures to the group and tell something they like about the person they have drawn.

5. Have the younger children draw a picture, and the older children write a few sentences, about something specific they can do during the week to show respect, honor, and love for their parents and families.