A young boy approached Ada Duhigg after the meeting. His big brown eyes stared pleadingly into hers, “Ma’am, if I’m really, really good will god be happy with me and turn my black skin white?” Ada’s heart burst. She wrapped the boy in her arms and assured him that the only true God loved him just as he was. His black skin was as beautiful to God as white skin.
How did this dear child of God come to believe that his skin color was a punishment? He had been hoodwinked by the Mormon church. The Latter Day Saints (Mormons) believe that the ‘god’ of this planet has spirit babies with his wives in heaven. Those spirit babies live in “heaven” until they are born to a woman on earth. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, wrote that god told him a person born with colored skin had angered god as a spirit baby. He called it the Curse of Cain.
In 1978 Mormon leaders received a new and improved revelation from god that blacks were not cursed and should have all the rights and privileges within the church as whites. In other words, what god told Joseph Smith was wrong. God was wrong. God changed his mind. God said “Oops!”
Ada spent her life traveling Utah sharing the good news of Jesus and dispelling the broken “truths” of the Mormon church. She introduced many to the loving, merciful, all-powerful, holy, unchanging, righteous God of the Bible. That precious black boy discovered who God really is and it changed him. I met Ida years later when she retired to Colorado. I was eight years old. What I learned from her about God changed my life as well.
Unlike the god of Mormonism, the Creator God, as revealed in the Bible, is NEVER wrong. He never says, “Oops!”
God is right one hundred percent of the time. Not ninety-eight or even ninety-nine. He is one hundred percent right, one hundred percent of the time. Do your kids know that? Do you?
Our children need to know that God is righteous. Talking about the reality that God is ALWAYS Right and completely trustworthy can give your kids (and you!) comfort and security in a tumultuous world. We cannot depend on people, the media or even our leaders to always be right, but we can depend on God and His Word. Think about this:
If God is not 100% Right, your child can't count on His Justice.
If God is not 100% Right, your child will never be able to trust completely in His Faithfulness, Love and Mercy.
If God is not 100% Right, your child will always wonder if God's Words are totally True.
Teach your children God is Right 100% of the time, and you will give them a tool that will help them stay on course for a lifetime.
The political and cultural climate we live in makes it difficult to know who’s right and who’s not. Who’s lying? Who’s manipulating the facts? If it’s confusing for adults, we can be sure it’s confusing for our children.
During the month of September, we will focus on helping you talk with the kids you love about the fact that God is Righteous (100% Right) and why it makes a difference in their life.
Each week we will include Table Talk questions you can use with your kids at mealtime. Some will be just fun conversation starters and others will help weave God’s righteousness into the discussion.
We will also include a fun family activity you can do with your kids that prompts conversations about God’s righteousness. This week’s family night includes the hilarious movie Hoodwinked! Sign up for the eNewsletter at BrightMedia.org to receive the Table Talk Questions and Family Activities.
By Kathy Bright
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