Sometimes it Sinks in . . . and Sometimes it Doesn't

This is Zach. Alana's taking a brief sabbatical in our bed.

Sometimes when I listen to our children I think, "Yes! Family Home Evening works!" For instance, two weeks ago, I was sitting on the porch with David and Gabe when the G-man noticed a plane high in the sky leaving a contrail behind:

Gabe, being the bright sort of doobie who listens when we read the Book of Mormon and who often tries to imitate its language, exclaimed, "Look, Dad! That plane is blazing a path to heaven!"

I said, "Oh, do you think a plane can fly all the way to heaven?"

He cocked his head to one side, as though trying to understand my objection and responded, "Well, yeah. I mean, all the bad guys will fall off and go to hell, though, 'cause they can't go to heaven."

Whatever faith I might have had in my ability to impart scriptural wisdom to my children was soon dashed, however. The next Monday night at Family Home Evening, we had an obstacle course through which each member of the family proceeded with a blindfold on and nothing but the voice of the "Holy Ghost"--another family member--to guide them. This seemed to be a successful object lesson right up until the end.

When I asked the boys, "So what did we learn about the Holy Ghost?" David quickly responded, "Holy Ghost bad."

Ooops. I guess there were a few too many stumbles on the obstacle course. Oh well. Sometimes it sinks in . . . and sometimes it doesn't.