The young father clutched the hand of his 14-month-old son, as the child wobbly took a few steps on the sidewalk in front of their small red brick suburban home. It was a warm day in mid-summer, and for the father it was a choice time to spend some precious moments with his son. Life was good, the father thought, as he steadied his infant son making his way in a world that was no bigger than the sidewalk in front of their home.

But all too soon, the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months and the months into years, and the young child grew into manhood. His world was no longer confined to the sidewalk in front of the family home - it soon would include far-off Europe where he was called to serve a mission.Another time and again a father-and-son walk. They had done it often through the years. But this time, in the cool of an evening, it would be their last for two years, and memories of days gone by flooded the father's mind.

Fatherhood, it is written, is a treasure chest of memories.

The father thought of the cup his son had once given him, still sitting on his desk, that read "World's Greatest Dad."

It was a much-appreciated expression. He had tried to be a good dad. Often he had worked two jobs so his son and the other children in the family could enjoy music and swimming lessons, Little League baseball and basketball, and summer outings and family vacations.

The father thought of many things, of croquet games in the backyard and picnics in the park, and of Pinewood Derby races. He smiled when he thought of once placing the Pinewood Derby car, freshly painted with some left-over green house paint, in the kitchen oven so it would be dry before the race started.

He thought of the opportunities he had had to spend time with his children, of opportunities taken and of opportunities lost.

He had tried to be a good father. Most of all, he had tried to live his life in such a way that his children would see his example and want to pattern their lives after the gospel principles that governed his.

F atherhood, as we know of it in the Church, is responsibility; it is exercising righteous priesthood influence in a home; it is teaching the gospel to our children; it is living the way we teach.

"Fathers," President Ezra Taft Benson said in the priesthood session of the April 1985 general conference, "your greatest influence with your sons will be your example. If you want your boys to see what the gospel will do for them, let them see what it has done for you."

President Benson's own father was that kind of example to him. Often, in general conference, he has talked about his father's unwavering faith and commitment to gospel principles, which influenced him throughout his life. His father was his hero, and there was no earthly person he wanted more to be like. (Ezra Taft Benson, A Biography, pp. 24, 113.)

The Prophet Joseph Smith's father also had a great influence on his son. "I love my father and his memory," the prophet wrote in 1842, "and the memory of his noble deeds rests with ponderous weight upon my mind, and many of his kind and parental words to me are written on the tablet of my heart." (History of the Church 5:126.)

A s Father's Day approaches, how very appropriate it is to give tribute and honor to our fathers. But it is also a time for fathers to reflect on what we are doing in the sacred role with which we are entrusted. The scriptures are not silent on this matter. They pertain to fathers - as well as mothers.

Some examples include: Train up a child in the way he should go (Prov. 22:6); All thy children shall be taught of the Lord (Isa. 54:13); Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4); Exhort . . . with the feeling of a tender parent (1 Ne. 8:37); Teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness (Mosiah 4:15); Prepare the minds of their children to hear the word. . . . (Alma 39:16); Pray in your families . . . that . . . your children may be blessed (3 Ne 18:21); Bring up your children in light and truth (D&C 93:40); Teach these things freely unto your children (Moses 6:58).

". . . Choose you this day whom ye will serve. . .," Joshua admonishes, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Josh. 24:15.)

Is there any question how the Lord feels about the responsibilities of parents in teaching their children, and being a righteous example for them?

Fathers need to lead out in this responsibility, and leave the kinds of tracks in the sands of life that our children can follow in seeking the path to exaltation. Nothing less is good enough!