A Sacred, Holy Calling – Sunday, June 19, 2022

Perhaps the best-known prayer ever uttered, the Lord’s Prayer, begins: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 6:9). To hallow is to make sacred or holy, to revere and respect, so the prayer opens in reverence for the name of God. There are many names and titles we can use to refer to God, all of them hallowed and worthy of reverence, but it’s significant that the name we’re invited to use in this prayer is “Father.”

Our kind and loving Heavenly Father is the perfect model for fathers. Just think of all the attributes and qualities of our Heavenly Father that are also ideal in earthly fathers: He never stops caring, never stops loving His children, even amid our shortcomings and weaknesses. He guides, protects, and watches over us. He provides for our needs. He sees our potential and helps us grow to achieve it. And He’s always available, through prayer, whenever we need to feel His love and support.

Of course, no mortal father comes close to that ideal. But there is something sacred, something heavenly, about good fathers, kind and caring fathers, who are doing their best to bless their children with a loving example. They strive to be good, if not perfect; they strive to put family first, not second; they strive to teach their children with compassion, not criticism. There’s a hint of heaven in every honest—if imperfect—attempt.

Just as our Heavenly Father is patient with His children’s failings, we must be patient with our own—and with those of the fathers in our lives. Like all of us, they are learning and growing along the way. In the case of fathers who are absent or even abusive, we can look to our Heavenly Father for the love, guidance, and example that we might have missed. We can do the same when death has, for a time, taken a father from the family circle.

Fatherhood is a sacred, holy calling—“[on] earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). In every generation, good fathers are always remembered, always valued, and always needed. We love and respect the hallowed name of Father.
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June 19, 2022
Broadcast Number 4,840

The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square

Conductors
Mack Wilberg
Ryan Murphy

Organist
Richard Elliott

Host
Lloyd Newell

On This Day of Joy and Gladness
Leroy J. Robertson; arr. Mack Wilberg

For the Beauty of the Earth
John Rutter

Sheep May Safely Graze
Johann Sebastian Bach; arr. Mack Wilberg

Sing Praise to Him
Bohemian Brethren’s Songbook; arr. Richard Elliott

Home Is a Special Kind of Feeling, from The Wind in the Willows
John Rutter

My Father’s Faith
Janice Kapp Perry; arr. Nathan Hofheins

Standing on the Promises
Russell K. Carter; arr. Ryan Murphy