very sharp instrument, for which his child continually asked.  Do you believe the father would give it if he loved the child?  Certainly not.  The child thinks, no doubt, it would be benefitted by the possession of the instrument, but the father sees the danger.  As God is our loving Father, He acts with us in the same manner. (3) Our prayers are not granted sometimes that we may learn to pray with proper dispositions, and God withholds what He intends finally to give, that we may persevere in prayer and have greater merit.  Have you ever observed a mother teaching her child to walk?  What does she do?  She goes at some distance from the child and holds out an object that she knows will be pleasing to it, and thus tempts it to walk to her.  When the child draws near she moves still farther away, and keeps it walking for some time before giving the object.  This she does, not through unwillingness to give the article, but in order to teach the child to walk, for she loves to see its efforts.  When it falls, she lifts it up and makes it try again.  So, too, God teaches us to pray; and though He loves us, He withholds His gifts, that we may pray the longer, and thereby afford Him greater pleasure.

308 Q. Which are the prayers most recommended to us?  A. The prayers most recommended to us are the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, the Confiteor, and the Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition.

309 Q. Are prayers said with distractions of any avail?  A. Prayers said with willful distractions are of no avail.

“Distraction”—­that is, when we willingly and knowingly think of something else while saying our prayers.  It would be better not to pray than to pray with disrespect.  If there is any time at which we cannot pray well, we should postpone our prayer:  for God does not require us to say our prayers just at a particular time; but when we do pray, He requires us to pray with reverence and respect.  We would pray well always if we reflected on the great privilege we enjoy in being allowed to pray.

Lesson 29 ON THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD

310 Q. Is it enough to belong to God’s Church in order to be saved?  A. It is not enough to belong to the Church in order to be saved, but we must also keep the Commandments of God and of the Church.

We call some commandments the Commandments of God and others the commandments of the Church.  We do so only to distinguish the Commandments that God gave to Moses from those that the Church made afterwards.  They are all the commandments of God, for whatever laws or commandments the Church makes, it makes them under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and by God’s authority.  It would be a mortal sin to break the commandments of the Church, just as it would be to break the Commandments of God.  You must remember that the Ten Commandments always existed from the time of Adam, but they were not written till God gave them to Moses.  You know that it was always a sin to worship false gods, to blaspheme, to disobey parents, to kill, etc.; for you know Cain was punished by God for the murder of his brother Abel (Gen. 5), and that took place while Adam was still alive.