Good Better Best: False Traditions and The Law of the Harvest
Good Better Best are three categories under which our daily activities might fall. It’s called the Good Better Best philosophy.
Many years ago, I sat in a large congregation where the speaker posed the question,
“What comes to mind when you think of false traditions?”
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Immediately, my mind went to the people of another country, a people I had grown to dearly love, but who, I felt, had strong ties to false tradition, ties I felt were holding them back in their lives.
Interrupting my (somewhat self-righteous) thoughts, the speaker posed a second question,
“Now, consider what false traditions you have in your life right now. “
I was so taken aback by his question, I nearly fell off my chair.
Good Better Best
“What false traditions could I possibly have?” I wondered, entirely perplexed. The question would not leave my mind, however, and sixteen years later, the question has become more like a treasured friend.
Over the years, as I have asked myself the question about false traditions, answers have come. I have always been a fan of the Good, Better, Best philosophy.
The moment I decided that I wanted to reap the consequences of the “Best” category, my decisions became easier, and false traditions started making their presence known in every area of my life: television, music, books, movies, recreational time, food, friends, holidays, and more.
My family members began eliminating from our lives these “false traditions”, or things we felt would not bring about the blessings we longed for, and we have never looked back. While ridding our lives of these things has not always been easy, for many were family habits and traditions that had been passed down for generations, it has been so worth it.
As the blessings began to flow, I lost my desire to try to justify things like “why we got rid of our television” and “why we choose not to read certain books”.
Instead, when people ask questions about our lifestyle choices, I simply explain what choices we’ve made and share some of the blessing that have come from making those choices.
I then allow them to decide for themselves how they would like to live their lives. No judgment. Period.
The tissue of the life to be
We weave with colors all our own,
And in the field of destiny
We reap as we have sown.
Whittier
The Law of The Harvest
You might think watching television is fine, and the books I have listed in my “good” section might be located in your “best” section. It matters not, for God will reward our individual decisions with perfectly matched consequences.
It’s the Law of the Harvest (Galatians 6:7-10)—we reap what we sow.
So decide which consequences you want to receive, and let your decisions follow.
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Family-Friendly Resources
Movies and Shows
Family-Friendly Movie Guide
Good, clean, family-friendly movies and shows are difficult to find these days. Thankfully, they do exist. Here is a growing list of favorites, including adventure, Christmas, classics, documentaries, drama, historical, romance, and more:
Image Credit: Canvas
Movie Quotes
“You cannot watch a bad movie and expect to feel good because you did not watch a very bad one.”
Jörg Kebingat, Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence, October 2004
“Parents should see to it that the music, films, and literature which are in our homes reflect a true Christian culture. Parents cannot count much on the media to uphold traditional standards. On the contrary, greed and lust are combining, reconstituting their ancient alliance, only now on an almost global scale!”
Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, April 1985
Booklists
Family-Friendly Reading Lists
A selection of recommended books for the entire family. Browse through the lists to find the perfect books for gifts and everyday use, including animal, art, historical, Christmas, music, nature, poetry, and more:
Image Credit: Lesendes Mädchen, Anton Ebert, {{PD-US}} Public Domain
Book Quotes
“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.”
“Today, in the age of television and video…, it is easy to spend a great deal of time watching and listening. Carefully selected, such experiences can add much to your learning. But, please do not neglect the privilege of reading. One can absorb many more words, ideas, and pages in a half hour of reading than are available in the usual television program.”
G. Homer Durham, “President Wilford Woodruff and Thoughts for Youth“, Speeches.byu.edu, 6 Feb 1983
“So, please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books.”
Roald Dahl, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory“
“…there are those who speak of stirring ideas, compelling books, and inspiring doctrine. These are the few who make their mark in this world.”
Douglas L. Callister, “Your Refined Heavenly Home“, Sept 2006, See also: Unplugging: How Literature Brings Us Closer To God
“None of us can be proof against influences that proceed from the person he associates with. Wherefore, in books and men, let us look out for the best society, that which yields a bracing and wholesome influence.”
Charlotte Mason, Ourselves Bk 2, p. 163
“I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom.”
Doctrine and Covenants 109:7
Family-Friendly Historical Booklist
Browse the Historical Booklist to find books for all ages
Family Traditions
Family Traditions
A selection of posts that can inspire new and improved family traditions. Have the courage to eliminate certain traditions, replacing them with traditions that will be more beneficial to your family for generations to come:
Image Credit: Christmas Eve Dinner, Karl Larsson, Public Domain
Tradition Quotes
“There are some family traditions I don’t want my children to carry on.”
Lorna Luft
“I make our family traditions a priority.”
“Each of us has traditions in our families. Some of them are material. Some of them have deep meaning. The most important traditions are connected with the way we live our lives and will last beyond us as our children’s lives are influenced and shaped…
What kinds of traditions do we have? Some of them may have come from our fathers, and now we are passing them along to our own children. Are they what we want them to be? Are they based on actions of righteousness and faith? [And] are they mostly material in nature, or are they eternal?
Are we consciously creating righteous traditions, or is life just happening to us? Are our traditions being created in response to the loud voices of the world, or are they influenced by the still, small voice of the Spirit?
Cheryl Lant, Righteous Traditions, April 2008
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Conclusion
Regardless of our current circumstances, let us choose family traditions using the Good Better Best philosophy. The blessings are sure to follow.
What are your favorite family traditions?
“It is plainly necessary that women, as well as men, cease not while life lasts to study diligently for the knowledge which is of greatest worth. To me the best step towards this is for us to throw off the curse of drudgery by learning to do our work so well that we will love to do it and have cause for rejoicing over the achievements of our hands. Let us learn of the handiwork of God by the study of nature, search out her flowers, her moods, her laws. Let us study to improve our thoughts, reaching up toward our Heavenly Father, praying for the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
[Yes], let us improve our language in our homes and among our children, that our words be not idle, complaining, nor vain, but, as nothing can be lost, cheerful, hopeful, intelligent, reflecting a charitable spirit. Let us open the books of life and salvation and study also the great authors, poets, and painters, that our minds may be clothed with intelligence and our hearts abound with human feeling…
Bathsheba W. Smith
Testimonial
My oldest child is now an adult. (Where has the time gone?) She was homeschooled Kindergarten through High School.
Was it smooth sailing?
Not always.
Did I sometimes worry that I might be “ruining” her in some way?
Of course!
However, long before I’d ever heard of the Good Better Best philosophy, I determined to bring only the very best in literature, music, and entertainment into our home and into the lives of my children, with the hopes that it would make a real difference in their lives.
For the past twenty years, I’ve read heart-warming books to my children during meal time. Personal reading time was filled with “mom-approved” books. Classical music was listened to in the car. Movie night was filled with productions that lift and inspire.
There have been piano lessons, community choir performances, theatrical plays, and countless research projects on individuals from the past who have made valuable contributions to society. Over the years, history has become the favorite subject in our home.
History, with its lifechanging stories;
music, the language of the heart;
movies, the modern version of story-telling.
Each of these has helped to mold my daughter into the person she is today.
If you were to ask her what she wants to be “when she grows up”, she would likely say, “A mother, a history teacher, and a Christian-film producer.
The Best Gift
Recently, while hosting guests for dinner, and during a discussion about avoiding negative worldly influences, my daughter shared the following thoughts. Her heartfelt words were one of the best gifts a child could give to a mother:
In essence, my daughter said,
“My mom has always encouraged us to partake of the best of the best—the best books, the best movies, the best music. I have really great people in my life, but sometimes I feel pressure even from them to watch or listen to things I don’t feel comfortable with. They’ll say something like, “What do you mean you have never seen that movie (or heard that song) before?”, which leads to an occasional awkward moment. But I just remember that it’s okay for them to watch what they want to watch while, at the same time, it’s okay for me to not want to watch what they’re watching. Being selective of what we view and listen to has really increased the Spirit in our home, and I’m so grateful for that.”
An Upward Direction
The challenging conditions we find in the world today should be no surprise to us. As we approach the time of the Savior’s return, wickedness will increase. There will be more temptations in our daily lives, and they will become more intense. It will become more acceptable in the world to break the laws of God or to disregard them altogether. The stigma attached to immoral, dishonest behavior will disappear.
In this difficult environment we will be expected to steer our own course in an upward direction. As President Kimball has warned us, it will neither be acceptable nor safe to remain on the plateaus where our present conduct has kept us. Abrupt downward forces, represented by increasing wickedness in the world, can only be offset by forces that move correspondingly upward. Our lives must be better than they have ever been before.
This simply means that we will become increasingly different from those around us whose lives follow the world’s way. It is not easy to be different. There are intense pressures that work against us. But we must clearly understand that it is not safe to move in the same direction the world is moving, even though we remain slightly behind the pace they set. Such a course will eventually lead us to the same problems and heartaches. It will not permit us to perform the work the Lord has chosen us to do. It would disqualify us from his blessing and his protecting care.
Dean L. Larsen, “A Royal generation”, April 1983
