FAMILIES

With the Lord, families are essential. He created the earth that we could gain physical bodies and form families. 2 He established His Church to exalt families. He provides temples so that families can be together forever. 3  (Russell M. Nelson, "Set in Order Thy House," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 69)

Brethren and sisters, material possessions and honors of the world do not endure. But your union as wife, husband, and family can. The only duration of family life that satisfies the loftiest longings of the human soul is forever. No sacrifice is too great to have the blessings of an eternal marriage. To qualify, one needs only to deny oneself of ungodliness and honor the ordinances of the temple. By making and keeping sacred temple covenants, we evidence our love for God, for our companion, and our real regard for our posterity—even those yet unborn. Our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in this life ("Set in Order Thy House," Ensign, Nov. 2001, 71).

When the seas of life are stormy, a wise mariner seeks a port of peace. The family, as we have traditionally known it, is such a refuge of safety. 'The home is the basis of a righteous life and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfil its essential functions' (quoted in Conference Report, Oct. 1962, 72) Thomas S. Monson, "Dedication Day," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 64

With respect to our stewardship for our families, some have taught that when we report to the Savior and He asks us to give an account of our earthly responsibilities, two important inquiries will relate to our families. The first will be our relationship with our spouse, and the second will be about each of our children (see Robert D. Hales, “Understandings of the Heart,” in Brigham Young University 1987–88 Devotional and Fireside Speeches [1988], 129; see also 2 Nephi 9:41) Quentin L. Cook, “Stewardship—a Sacred Trust,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 93

Just as Jesus used a child in His mortal ministry as an example for the people of the pure love they must and could have to be like Him, He has offered us the family as an example of an ideal setting in which we can learn how to love as He loves.

That is because the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is  (Henry B. Eyring, “Our Perfect Example,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 70-71).

When family members are not united in striving to keep the commandments of God, there will be divisions. We do all that we can to avoid impairing loving relationships, but sometimes it happens after all we can do.  In the midst of such stress, we must endure the reality that the straying of our loved ones will detract from our happiness, but it should not detract from our love for one another or our patient efforts to be united in understanding God’s love and God’s laws (Dallin H. Oaks, “Love and Law,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 29).        

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As parents grapple with . . . problems, they should remember the Lord’s teaching that we leave the ninety and nine and go out into the wilderness to rescue the lost sheep (see Luke 15:3-7). President Thomas S. Monson has called for a loving crusade to rescue our brothers and sisters who are wandering in the wilderness of apathy or ignorance (see Thomas S. Monson, “Lost Battalions,” Liahona, Sept. 1987, 3; Ensign, Apr. 1987, 3). These teachings require continued loving concern, which surely requires continued loving associations (Dallin H. Oaks, “Love and Law,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 2).

Parents are the master teachers. They do their most effective teaching by example. The family circle is the ideal place to demonstrate and learn kindness, forgiveness, faith in God, and every other practicing virtue of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Dallin H. Oaks, Parental Leadership in the Family, Ensign, June 1985, 9).

As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’? Unlike the book on the library shelf, the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents, we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes (Thomas S. Monson, “Dedication Day,” Liahona, Jan. 2001, 78)

Do we exemplify [a] legacy of love? Do our homes? Bernadine Healy, in a commencement address, gave this counsel: ‘As a physician, who has been deeply privileged to share the most profound moments of people’s lives including their final moments, let me tell you a secret. People facing death don’t think about what degrees they have earned, what positions they have held, or how much wealth they have accumulated. At the end, what really matters is who you loved and who loved you. That circle of love is everything, and is a great measure of a past life. It is the gift of greatest worth’ (“On Light and Worth: Lessons from Medicine,” Commencement address, Vassar College, 29 May 1994, 10, Special Collections). (Thomas S. Monson, “Dedication Day,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 65).

As we take a long, hard look at the world today, it is becoming increasingly evident that Satan is working overtime to enslave the souls of men. His main target is the fundamental unit of society--the family. During the past few decades, Satan has waged a vigorous campaign to belittle and demean this basic and most important of all organizations (L. Tom Perry, “Fatherhood, an Eternal Calling,” Ensign, May 2004, 69)

Since “no other success can compensate for failure” 12 here, we must place high priority on our families. We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together, like family dinner and family home evening and by just having fun together. In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time. Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home. We talk with, rather than about, each other. We learn from each other, and we appreciate our differences as well as our commonalities. We establish a divine bond with each other as we approach God together through family prayer, gospel study, and Sunday worship (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Of Things That Matter Most,” General Conference, Oct. 2010)

The gospel plan is “the great plan of happiness.” The family is the center of that plan (Boyd K, Packer, “Counsel to Youth, “ General Conference, Oct. 2011)

Individual progression is fostered in the family, which is “central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” 9 The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another.

Throughout the world, the family is increasingly under attack. If families fail, many of our political, economic, and social systems will also fail. And if families fail, their glorious eternal potential cannot be realized.

Our Heavenly Father wants husbands and wives to be faithful to each other and to esteem and treat their children as an heritage from the Lord. 10 In such a family we study the scriptures and pray together. And we fix our focus on the temple. There we receive the highest blessings that God has in store for His faithful children.

Thanks to God’s great plan of happiness, 11 families can be together forever—as exalted beings. Our Heavenly Father declared, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” 12 Both of His objectives were enabled by the Atonement of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. His Atonement made resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility for all who would ever live (Russell M. Nelson, “Salvation and Exaltation,” General Conference, Apr. 2008)

Weekly family home evening and daily family prayer and scripture study are essential. We need to introduce into our homes content that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” 6 If we make of our homes holy places that shelter us from evil, we will be protected from the adverse consequences that the scriptures have foretold. (Quentin L. Cook, “Let There Be Light,” General Conference, Oct. 2010).

“The great plan of happiness”15 centers on family life. The husband is the head of the home and the wife the heart of the home. And marriage is an equal partnership. A Latter-day Saint man is a responsible family man, faithful in the gospel. He is a caring, devoted husband and father. He reveres womanhood. The wife sustains her husband. Both parents nurture the spiritual growth of their children (Boyd K. Packer, “Guided By The Holy Spirit,” General Conference, Apr. 2011).

We recognize that there are enormous forces arrayed against women and families. Recent studies find there is deterioration in devotion to marriage, with a decrease in the number of adults being married.18 For some, marriage and family are becoming “a menu choice rather than the central organizing principle of our society.”19 Women are confronted with many options and need to prayerfully consider the choices they make and how those choices affect the family (Quentin L. Cook, “LDS Women are Incredible,” Apr. 2011)

The greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we experience are in family relationships. The joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is. And the sorrow comes primarily from selfishness, which is the absence of love. The ideal God holds for us is to form families in the way most likely to lead to happiness and away from sorrow. A man and a woman are to make sacred covenants that they will put the welfare and happiness of the other at the center of their lives. Children are to be born into a family where the parents hold the needs of children equal to their own in importance. And children are to love parents and each other (Henry B. Eyring, “Our Perfect Example, General Conference, Oct. 2009).

Marriage and family are ordained of God. The family is the most important social unit in time and in eternity. Under God’s great plan of happiness, families can be sealed in temples and be prepared to return to dwell in His holy presence forever. That is eternal life! It fulfills the deepest longings of the human soul—the natural yearning for endless association with beloved members of one’s family (Russell M. Nelson, “Thanks be to God,” General Conference Apr. 2012)