The Lord's Children

Here is another sample. Again, this is one that was taken out of the book before publication, so it isn't actually a part of the book. But it's a good example of what to expect.

Our children are not our own—they are the Lord’s.

I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. (Psalms 82:6)

Molech was one of the false gods worshipped by Israel’s neighbors, often by making a child “pass through the fire,” a rite which the Lord specifically warned against (Deuteronomy 18:10). Worship of Molech among the children of Israel was present at least in the days of Solomon (1 Kings 11:7) until the reign of Josiah (2 Kings 23:10). Jeremiah reminded the Israelites that worship of Molech by the perverse ceremony of passing through fire was forbidden (Jeremiah 7:31). His fellow-prophet, Ezekiel, also condemned it. But Ezekiel’s passage adds something that makes it more meaningful. In all other passages condemning Molech worship, God warned the people not to involve their children in the rite. But through His prophet Ezekiel, He said, “thou hast slain my children and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire” (Ezekiel 16:21, emphasis added). The Lord reminded the Israelites that the children really weren’t theirs—they were His. Elder H. Bryan Richards explained, “We are stewards of those sons [and daughters] held in reserve for this day. The Lord has entrusted them to us, and we will be held accountable for them” (H. Bryan Richards, “As For Me and My House, We Will Serve the Lord,” Ensign [Nov. 1998], 43).