Family Position Statement

We were sent to earth not on our own, but to be in a family unit.  The family is the training place where we learn to develop characteristics that make us more like our Savior and Heavenly Father.  We learn love, patience, kindness, repentance, forgiveness, service, selflessness, compassion, loyalty, dependability, and so much more. As a child our biggest responsibility is to learn to be obedient and to love.  As a parent our stewardship in this area is huge! We are responsible to use the guidance of the gospel to help teach our children the values that will help them live up to their potential.  We set the example of what priorities should be held in their lives.  We show them what a good mother/father is and does.  We are to make the home a safe place for them to learn.  The church has given us some wonderful tools to assist us, but in the end it is our responsibility to follow through.

Prioritize Family

I point out these things not to boast but to testify that life is better (and much happier) as hearts turn toward family and as families live in the light of the gospel of Christ.  So what can we do to not become lost? First, may I suggest that we prioritize.‍ Put everything you do outside the home in subjection to and in support of what happens inside your home.  

“No other success can compensate for failure in the home” (quoted from J. E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization‍ [1924], 42; in Conference Report, Apr. 1935, 116).

Elder M. Russell Ballard - April 2012 General Conference "That the Lost May Be Found"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/that-the-lost-may-be-found?lang=eng

Joy in Nurturing Children

Teach your daughters to find joy in nurturing children. This is where their love and talents can have the greatest eternal significance. Consider in this context President Harold B. Lee’s injunction that “the most important … work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee‍ [2000], 134).

Satan is always attempting to undermine the most precious element of a woman’s divine nature—the nature to nurture.

Elder M. Russell Ballard - April 2015 General Conference, "Mothers and Daughters"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/mothers-and-daughters?lang=eng 

Influence of a Righteous Woman

Sisters, we, your brethren, cannot do what you were divinely designated to do from before the foundation of the world. We may try, but we cannot ever hope to replicate your unique gifts. There is nothing in this world as personal, as nurturing, or as life changing as the influence of a righteous woman.

Elder M. Russell Ballard - April 2012 General Conference "That the Lost May Be Found"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/that-the-lost-may-be-found?lang=eng

Weaken the Powers of Satan

When we are consistently praying morning and night, studying our scriptures daily, having weekly family home evening, and attending the temple regularly, we are actively responding to His invitation to “come unto Him.” The more we develop these habits, the more anxious is Satan to harm us but the less is his ability to do so. Through the use of these tools, we exercise our agency to accept the full gifts of His atoning sacrifice.

Elder Richard G. Scott - October 2014 General Conference "Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng

Protection for Our Homes

I must testify of the blessings of daily scripture study and prayer and weekly family home evening. These are the very practices that help take away stress, give direction to our lives, and add protection to our homes.

Sister Linda S. Reeves - April 2014 General Conference "Protection From Pornography - A Christ-Focused Home"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/protection-from-pornography-a-christ-focused-home?lang=eng

Family Home Evening

The structure of your evening is not as important as the time invested. The gospel should be taught both formally and informally. Make it a meaningful experience for each member of the family. Family home evening is a precious time to bear testimony in a safe environment; to learn teaching, planning, and organizational skills; to strengthen family bonds; to develop family traditions; to talk to each other; and more important, to have a marvelous time together!

Elder Richard G. Scott - October 2014 General Conference "Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/make-the-exercise-of-faith-your-first-priority?lang=eng

Distractions to Family Development

·         Our young men and young women have many more distractions to sidetrack them in their preparations for both a mission and a future happy life. Technology has expanded, and almost everyone has access to handheld devices that can capture the attention of the human family‍ of God for both great good and unconscionable ill.

       Elder M. Russell Ballard - April 2015 General Conference "The Greatest Generation of Young Adults"

      https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-greatest-generation-of-young-adults?lang=eng  

Key to Eternal Happiness

·         Marriage and family are still the aspiration and ideal of most people and that we are not alone in those beliefs. It has never been more of a challenge to find a practical balance between employment, families, and personal needs than it is in our day. As a church, we want to assist in all that we can to create and support strong marriages and families... Family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness.

      Elder L. Tom Perry - April 2015 General Conference "Why Marriage and Family Matter - Everywhere In the World"

      https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/why-marriage-and-family-matter-everywhere-in-the-world?lang=eng

Families are Eternal

·         Marriage and family-centered priorities cut across and superseded any political, economic, or religious differences. When it comes to love of spouse and hopes, worries, and dreams for children, we are all the same...    While it was wonderful to see and feel that we have so much in common with the rest of the world in regard to our families, only we have the eternal perspective of the restored gospel.  What the restored gospel brings to the discussion on marriage and family is so large and so relevant that it cannot be overstated: we make the subject eternal!

      Elder L. Tom Perry - April 2015 General Conference "Why Marriage and Family Matter - Everywhere In the World"

      https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/why-marriage-and-family-matter-everywhere-in-the-world?lang=eng

Women's Contribution

Women who make a house a home make a far greater contribution to society than those who command large armies or stand at the head of impressive corporations. Who can put a price tag on the influence a mother has on her children, a grandmother on her posterity, or aunts and sisters on their extended family?  We cannot begin to measure or calculate the influence of women who, in their own ways, build stable family life and nurture for everlasting good the generations of the future. The decisions made by the women of this generation will be eternal in their consequences. May I suggest that the mothers of today have no greater opportunity and no more serious challenge than to do all they can to strengthen the [home].

President Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing forSomething: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Heartsand Homes [2000], 152).

Capture the Moment

A successful parent should never be too busy to capture a moment in a child’s life when an important lesson can be taught.  It is my firm conviction that there has never been a period in my many years of life when our Father in Heaven’s children have needed the guiding hand of faithful, devoted parents more. 

     Elder L. Tom Perry - October 2014 General Conference "Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families"

      https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/finding-lasting-peace-and-building-eternal-families?lang=eng

Preserve and Protect the Family

·         Many in our worried society understand that the disintegration of the family will bring only sorrow and hopelessness into a troubled world. As members of the Church, we have the responsibility to preserve and protect the family as the basic unit of society and eternity...  Our homes must be holy places in order to stand against the pressures of the world. Remember that the greatest of all the blessings of the Lord come through and are given to righteous families.

       

      Elder L. Tom Perry - October 2014 General Conference "Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families"

      https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/finding-lasting-peace-and-building-eternal-families?lang=eng

Nourishing Love

·         True love requires reserving until after marriage the sharing of that affection which unlocks those sacred powers in that fountain of life. It means avoiding situations where physical desire might take control...   But romantic love is incomplete; it is a prelude. Love is nourished by the coming of children, who spring from that fountain of life entrusted to couples in marriage.  

      President Boyd K. Packer- April 2015 General Conference “The Plan of Happiness” 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng

Family Is the Plan of Happiness

       The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth has never been rescinded. It is essential to the plan of redemption and is the source of human happiness. Through the righteous exercise of this power, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fulness of joy, even godhood. The power of procreation is not an incidental part of the plan; it is the plan of happiness; it is the key to happiness.

President Boyd K. Packer- April 2015 General Conference “The Plan of Happiness” 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng

My Thoughts on Making the Most of This Life

We only have one life to live.  We must choose how we will use our time.  We don’t want to come to the end of our lives and wish that we had done things differently.  We can prevent many of what could be our future regrets by making certain resolutions today.  If we take the time to make a plan and chart a course we will use our time much more wisely.  We will cherish our loved ones more and make good memories with them.  We will work on improving ourselves, follow the Savior’s example more closely, and become more like Him.  And we will choose to be happy now.  We will find ways to enjoy our journey and show more gratitude for our blessings.  When we make mistakes, and we will, we will learn to receive the Atonement in our lives.  We will repent and we will let go of the pain that comes with those bad choices.  We will learn from those mistakes and move forward with peace and a resolve to be better.  We must make the most of the limited time we have while we are here.

Meaningful Time With Loved Ones

Perhaps the most universal regret dying patients expressed was that they wished they had spent more time with the people they love...  If we fail to give our best personal self and undivided time to those who are truly important to us, one day we will regret it. Let us resolve to cherish those we love by spending meaningful time with them, doing things together, and cultivating treasured memories.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - October 2012 General Conference "Of Regrets and Resolutions"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng

Stewardship of Our Time

If Jesus Christ‍ were to sit down with us and ask for an accounting of our stewardship, I am not sure He would focus much on programs and statistics. What the Savior would want to know is the condition of our heart. He would want to know how we love and minister to those in our care, how we show our love to our spouse and family, and how we lighten their daily load. And the Savior would want to know how you and I grow closer to Him and to our Heavenly Father.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf - April 2015 General Conference "On Being Genuine"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/on-being-genuine?lang=eng

Service in Family Life

One way for you to reproduce the successes of Father Lehi is by the way you lead family prayers and family time, such as family home evenings. Give children opportunities to pray, when they can pray, for each other in the circle who need blessings. Discern quickly the beginnings of discord and recognize acts of unselfish service, especially to each other. When they pray for each other and serve each other, hearts will be softened and turned to each other and to their parents.

President Henry B. Eyring - April 2012 General Conference "Families Under Covenant"
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/families-under-covenant?lang=eng

Happy Marriage

The secret of a happy marriage is to serve God and each other. The goal of marriage is unity and oneness, as well as self-development. Paradoxically, the more we serve one another, the greater is our spiritual and emotional growth.


 President Ezra Taft Benson - July 1992 Ensign "Salvation - A Family Affair"
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1992/07/salvation-a-family-affair?lang=eng