Dear Mom and Dad,
We had a special visitor in our Sunbeam class today! A mother came and told us about her baby. We were able to ask her questions and she told us how excited her family was to have a new baby come into their home. Last week we talked about how all families are different. Some people have lots of brothers and sisters, and some people have only a few or none at all. No matter how many brothers or sisters we have, we should love them and be kind to them.
Our teacher told us that the Prophet Joseph Smith, the first President of the Church, had a brother named Hyrum whom he loved very much. Hyrum and Joseph were good friends and helped each other throughout their lives. When Joseph Smith was a young boy, he became seriously ill. He developed a very painful infection in his leg. His mother became sick from caring for him night and day and needed to rest. Joseph’s older brother Hyrum asked if he could take his mother’s place. Hyrum’s parents knew they could trust him to take good care of Joseph, so they agreed. Hyrum stayed by the side of his suffering brother almost continually for several days. He held Joseph’s leg between his hands, which was the only way he could relieve some of the terrible pain (see Lucy Mack Smith, History of Joseph Smith, ed. Preston Nibley [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954], p. 55).
I know that one way we can show love for our brothers and sisters is by helping them.
Sometimes it is hard when a new baby is born into a family because the baby takes a lot of the parents’ time and attention. Our parents may be busy with the new baby, they still love all their other children. A baby needs help with almost everything, while older children, like me, can do many things for themselves and for a baby brother or sister.
Moses had an older sister who loved him and helped him when he was a baby. Our teacher told us how Miriam watched over Moses when he was a baby. She hid in the reeds and rushes at the edge of the river but the hours were long. Miriam knew she must not lose sight of the basket floating among the rushes that grew in the shallow water, for in it was hidden her little baby brother.
When Miriam’s little brother was born just three months ago, her mother and her father kept the secret from the Egyptians. Such a beautiful baby, and so special! How could they let the Egyptians throw him into the river! So Mother had made the basket from bulrushes and lined it inside and out with sticky pitch so it would be waterproof. When it was dry, she placed a soft cloth inside so the baby would be comfortable. Then in the dark hours before dawn, she laid it in the rushes by the river’s edge. Miriam hid nearby so she could keep watch and know what happened to her little brother.
Suddenly she heard the sounds of laughter and talking. It was the princess, the daughter of the king, coming with her maids to bathe in the waters of the Nile. The princess came upon the strange floating basket and sent one of her maids to go and get it from the water. When the princess opened the basket and saw the beautiful baby Miriam came from her hiding place and asked the princess, “Shall I go and get a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?”
Miriam ran and brought her own mother. “Take care of him for me,” the princess said to Jochebed, “and I will pay you well.” So Miriam and her mother carried their baby home in the basket. They watched over him and loved him and taught him to worship the God of his people. And the baby grew. And when he was grown, Miriam’s mother took the child to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became the son of the princess. And the princess called him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.” Mary L. Lusk, “Miriam Tends Baby Moses,” Friend, Jan 1972, 20
I know that is it important to love one another. When we help our brothers and sisters we are showing our love for them. I am grateful to Heavenly Father for placing us in families.
Thank you for bringing me to church today!
Love,
Your Sunbeam