why my dad is a great father

It's been a great Sunday. One of those Sundays where you come away edified after each part of church and instilled with a greater desire to make a difference during the course of the next week.

I think a big part of that was the fact that it's Father's Day. During the course of the day I was able to sit back and listen to stories about fathers from people in my ward and ponder the example my dad has been to me. I want to write a fitting tribute to him that captures just how much he means to me, just how much he is a part of who I am, and just how much I love him, but I honestly don't know how to put into words the effect his 23 years of time, effort, love, concern, and involvement have had on me. But I think that President Ezra Taft Benson was able to capture, to some extent, how I feel about my dad.

"Brethren, we are to teach the fundamental doctrines of the Church in such a way that our children may understand. Some fathers teach, but their children do not understand. This places responsibility on fathers to study and learn the gospel.

With a few exceptions, righteous sons and daughters who have attained eternal blessings are not just physically begotten by their fathers. They are spiritually regenerated by the examples and teachings of their fathers.

Great fathers lead their children to Christ."

(“Great Things Required of Their Fathers,” Ensign, May 1981, 36).

Papa, thank you for being a great father.