Most children go through at least one phase in their development where they ask, over and over, "Why?" Some grow out of it; some continue to ask the question their entire lives.
I am a questioner. I rarely take a "Because _____ said so" as an answer. I want to know the whos, whats, whens, wheres, whys, and hows. If I am obedient, I want to choose to be obedient, and I want it to be an informed choice. From a legitimate answer as to why I should learn to do algebra to honest, meaningful reasons for remaining sexually pure, I have shouted "Tell me why!" since I was a kid.
I recently stumbled upon a DVD (marked down right now to a great sale price at Seagull Book!) made from a book by BYU Assistant Professors John Hilton III and Anthony Sweat. It's called Why? Powerful Answers and Practical Reasons for Living LDS Standards. We're currently viewing it for our morning devotionals. In the introduction is a quote from LDS Apostle, Elder David A. Bednar:
"It concerns me as I see young people in our church who know all the correct things they should do and do not have a clue as to why...
"Do we understand why? If we do not understand why then the power available to us through the doctrine of Christ will not be evident in our lives."
It's certainly something to think about; we deny ourselves power when we do not know the "Why?"
So if your kids are asking, tell them! If you don't know, find out! We all need to know!
There is a book called WHY as well. And HOW by the same team. Both are wonderful! I was blessed enough to find them both for under $15 each. A Commonwealth School my daughter attended in Davis county used it in their regular studies for their youth. The Box Elder county one I lead also used it as part of our curriculum. We asked the students to choose a chapter and teach or do an object lesson from it. It's also super complimentary to FHE. Here is a link with the pic: http://www.anthonysweat.com/why/
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