Last night as I waited for my teenage son to get home from a work party, I had one of those moments I've come to think of as "One day you'll understand what you put me through." That would be my mom finally getting recognition for the worry I caused her as a teenager. As the time moved past when I thought my son would get home, I became annoyed, then mad, and then worried. He was supposed to get a ride home, but his dad went to get him because I had by then imagined horrid scenarios. It turns out that there was nothing to worry about. The party was just ending. He was having a good time with friends doing fun and appropriate activities. There was a lack of communication for when we thought he was coming home, when we expected him to be home, and what he should do if he was going to be later than we expected. I can now imagine what it must have been like for my mom waiting for me to come home, and why I lost the privilege of getting my driver's permit for a few months. So, here's some tips for teenagers that will earn them more privileges and their parents more peace of mind.

Before the activity, decide with your parents on the time you are expected home and the nature of the activity.

During the activity, if it will go longer or you want to stay longer, call or text and get permission. If you don't get permission, come home.

After the activity, either that night or the next day, tell your parents about the activity. They want to know what's going on in your life. The more you share with them, the more likely your parents are to let you participate in more activities.

In my son's Freshman Cornerstone class, he learned that the brain is not fully developed until adulthood, in the early 20's. My husband likes to use this information to tease our teenagers about their faulty choices. I could blame my poor teenage decisions on an undeveloped brain, but I knew inside that I was making poor choices. If I'd figured out how to communicate better with my parents and thought ahead about the consequences instead of the thrill, maybe I would have had a better relationship with them as a teenager and more privileges. I'll be sharing this advice with my son and can only hope I won't have too many more chances to learn what I put my mom through.

We all know children need parents. Otherwise they wouldn't be born. None of us would have been born. Parents also care for, teach, and instill values in their children. Being a parent is a lot of work--often unappreciated, emotional and physical work. So why do people have children?

Because sometimes when a man and woman have sex, a baby is created.

Because that's the best way to learn what you put your own parents through.

Because in order to learn selflessness, you have to love someone more than yourself.

Because other than being married to my husband, the births of each of my five children are the most beautiful moments of my life.

Because when we die, someone will remember that we lived.

Because the only person you can control in this life is yourself. Children teach you that from the second they enter this world on their own schedule, that first sleepless night, as an 18 month-old that tells you no, a five year-old who lies about the gum he took from his sibling,  a second grader who doesn't want to return to school, a 10 year-old who hides dirty clothes behind her bed, and a teenage daughter who refuses to talk to her teacher about a failed test. Yes, as a parent I've had it pretty good. Though eighteen years ago when my 2 year-old daughter dumped out an entire box of cold cereal after I told her to put it back, I didn't know how I'd survive let alone teach my children.

Because as your children grow, learn, accomplish, and become independent beings with unique talents and abilities, you feel lucky to have in a small way participated in their success. Because as they make decisions for themselves and grow from those good and bad decisions, you feel a tiny portion of our Heavenly Father's love and concern for each of us.

Because, as we learn from Eve in ancient scripture translated by Joseph Smith, "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient" (Moses 5:11).

Because children are a joy.

If a cult is a group that brainwashes its members so they'll commit evil acts, then we're not. If a cult is a group that teaches it's members to do good and how to receive eternal life, claims to be the only true church of Christ on the earth today, and works to retain it's members, then we are.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe in grace and works. Yes, we need to accept Christ as our Savior, have faith in His Atonement, and there is nothing we can do to get ourselves to heaven. Because of His atonement and resurrection, all will be resurrected. But not all will obtain eternal life or life with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. That life is possible because of the atonement, through ordinances like baptism, and keeping the commandments. While on earth, Christ did good works and taught us how to live.  He established His gospel, being baptized not because he committed sin, but to show us the way to commit to Him and to become part of His church. If we keep the commandments and enter the waters of baptism through proper authority of the priesthood of God, then we will become His spiritual children, part of His flock. In The Book of Mormon--ancient scripture--the prophet Nephi taught, "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23).

We work diligently to persuade our children and our brethren to believe in Christ. Some might consider that cult behavior. We attend church weekly, have daily prayer and scripture study, and a Family Home Evening once a week. We devote much time to teaching our children the doctrine of Christ. We would also love to teach others. Being Mormon is not exclusive. You don't have to be born into the church. Every person on the earth--every child of God, is welcome. Then after joining the church, we don't let you go. We have visiting teaching and home teaching programs where we teach each other monthly in our homes. A record is kept of all memberships and if a previously baptized member no longer comes to church, we still check on them to provide service and in the hopes that one day they will want to come back. Jesus Christ left the ninety-and-nine sheep to look for the one lost sheep.

And yes, we are the only true church of Christ on this earth. Many Christian and non-Christian churches have elements of the truth. We have all the teachings, covenants, ordinances, and priesthood authority that Christ gave His apostles. When Peter and the other apostles were killed, that authority was lost. It was restored through Joseph Smith in the early 1800's, because he asked which church to join. He saw God, the Father and His son, Jesus Christ.

Maybe these claims seem ludicrous, exclusive, cult behavior. But we don't force or coerce. As Nephi also taught, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). Are these claims true? Are Mormons an evil cult or Christ's church on the earth today? You can know for yourself. Be taught by the missionaries, study our teachings, pray and ask, and you will find out if we're radical members of an evil cult or good people trying our best to follow Christ. You'll find out if this is a group to which you want to belong.