sins of the parents-2 Samuel 13

"... visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation." Exodus 34:7

 It seems the sins of the father were visited on his children, Amnon, David’s son, raped is half sister, Tamar. supposedly Amnon loved Tamar, but the word should have read lust. No man who loves a woman would ever rape her. This becomes very evident only moments after the act, when Amnon’s feelings for Tamar changed to hatred 2 Samuel 13:15. "Once he had gratified his lust, he despised her. How often is such gross unfairness toward women demonstrated by evil men? They exploit women and then despise the women rather than themselves. Amnon would not save Tamar from disgrace by making her a part of his household as a wife or concubine. Knowing that she had been disgraced and would therefore be deprived of a husband, Tamar mourned in the manner of a widow (see v. 19 ; note especially v. 20 ). David was furious because of the way Amnon had treated Tamar, but what could he do or say? His own conduct with Bath-sheba had left him without a basis for condemnation. Here was another result of sin. Because of his own guilt, David did not act to correct this great abomination in his own household. David learned the sad lesson that a man’s sins can often visit him even to the third and fourth generation." LDS Institute Old Testament Student Manual, 27-3


“I heard Elder John A. Widtsoe … say, ‘It is my observation that a young man and a young woman who violate the principles of morality soon end up hating one another.’ I have observed the same thing. There may be words of love to begin with, but there will be words of anger and bitterness later” (Gordon B. Hinckley, “True to the Faith,” Ensign, June 1996, 5).

The sad story didn't stop here. Another brother, Absalom, sought revenge and killed Amnon. So three of David's children were caught in the web of his example of sex sin and murder.

How do we liken this terrible tragedy to our own lives? Lust, selfishness, and revenge did great damage here as did the terrible example of a previously righteous parent. It's been my experience that if we commune daily with the Lord through scripture and prayer, we have a sort of armor against sin. That is not to say that we cannot be tempted. Nor is it feasible to hope that we will escape this life sin-free. Like my grandma said the other day, "Look what happened to the only one on the earth who was sin-free." However, our best bet is to seek the Holy Ghost as our constant companion as a protector and guide. It's an unusual person, who rapes or murders as their first step towards an apostate's life. If we begin to justify a little misdeed here and a little lie there, our armor will crack. Beware rationalization.