Role of Fathers

Everyone has a role to fill on this earth; Mother, child, brother, sister but perhaps one of the most overlooked and underappreciated roles in our day is that of father. When we say the family is under attack, we know that one of the ways that Satan is using his efforts is by trying to eliminate fathers from the equation. However, when fathers fulfill their divine role they can strengthen and protect their family form evil influences. But what is that role? The Family, A Proclamation to the World is a remarkable document given to the world that explains these roles. It states, “By divine design father are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” When we hear the word preside, perhaps we think it has an authoritarian feel to it. President Gordon B. Hinkley shares his thoughts on this, “My own interpretation [of the word preside] is that the husband shall have a governing responsibility to provide for, to protect, to strengthen and shield the wife. Any man who belittles or abuses or terrorizes, or who rules in unrighteousness, will deserve and, I believe, receive the reprimand of a just God who is the Eternal Father of both His sons and daughters.” Additionally, in an interview with Mike Wallace from his appearance on 60 Minutes, President Hinkley supported the equality of women in the marriage relationship in this quote, "In this Church the man neither walks ahead of his wife nor behind his wife but at her side. They are co-equals in this life in a great enterprise.” (Perry, n.d.)

The roles established by our Heavenly Father are not meant to be restrictive or confining, rather they are for the eternal happiness and welfare of individuals and families. The question then becomes, how can we support and honor the role of father?

These days fathers are portrayed in movies and TV shows as crass, senseless male figures rarely involved in family matters. It’s no surprise that much of the problems in our society is due to the norm for fathers to be either uninvolved or absent altogether. 

Not only are we seeing this absenteeism on screens but we see the trend in real life today. In the book, Fatherless America, the author studied the alarming trend of absentee fathers and their impact on our nation. The author speaks of “fatherlessness” as “the most harmful demographic trend of this generation” (Blankenhorn, 1996). With this alarming trend in mind, how can we support and exalt a father’s role to be a noble leader in the home?

Interestingly, mothers and children support fathers best by fulfilling their own divine roles. Mothers care for children in the home, preparing things that are necessary for the comfort and convenience of an orderly home. She supports her husband as she honors his position as patriarch of the family and even helps him in his role as he helps her. Sometimes mom has the job of calling the family together for family prayer when dad is away and dad is supportive as he cares for rambunctious toddlers when mom is absorbed with caring for a newborn. Children have the responsibility too to honor their father as they would the Lord’s name and not to do anything that would diminish the father’s name they bear. 

It is clear that we need to strengthen our fathers in our homes. We can all lift them up and help them to rise to the responsibility in which they were destined to fulfill. As we do this, we can strengthen our family relationships and society as a whole. 

References:
Blankenhorn, D. (1996). Fatherless America: confronting our most urgent social problem. New York: HarperCollins.
Perry L. T. (n.d.). Fatherhood, an Eternal Calling. Retrieved from https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2004/04/fatherhood-an-eternal-calling?lang=eng