Family

In my reading about the family I felt a renewed responsibility as a parent. It is my duty to make sure that my home is centered on Christ. As my husband and I center our home on Christ it will become a refuge for my family, and also our friends and family.

1.The foundation of kindness and civility begins in our homes. It is not surprising that our public discourse has declined in equal measure with the breakdown of the family. The family is the foundation for love and for maintaining spirituality. The family promotes an atmosphere where religious observance can flourish. There is indeed “beauty all around when there’s love at home.” Quentin L. Cook “Can Ye Feel So Now?” October 2012

2.. . . homes which are places of refuge where kindness, forgiveness, truth, and righteousness prevail. Parents must have the courage to filter or monitor Internet access, television, movies, and music. Parents must have the courage to say no, defend truth, and bear powerful testimony. Your children need to know that you have faith in the Savior, love your Heavenly Father, and sustain the leaders of the Church. Spiritual maturity must flourish in our homes. My hope is that no one will leave this conference without understanding that the moral issues of our day must be addressed in the family. Quentin L. Cook “Can Ye Feel So Now?” October 2012

3.As taught in this scripture, an eternal bond doesn’t just happen as a result of sealing covenants we make in the temple. How we conduct ourselves in this life will determine what we will be in all the eternities to come. To receive the blessings of the sealing that our Heavenly Father has given to us, we have to keep the commandments and conduct ourselves in such a way that our families will want to live with us in the eternities. The family relationships we have here on this earth are important, but they are much more important for their effect on our families for generations in mortality and throughout all eternity. Robert D. Hales “The Eternal Family” October 1996

4.When families are functioning as designed by God, the relationships found therein are the most valued of mortality. Robert D. Hales “The Eternal Family” October 1996

5.Fathers, by divine decree, you are to preside over your family units. This is a sobering responsibility and the most important one you will ever assume, for it is an eternal responsibility. You place the family in its proper priority. It’s the part of your life that will endure beyond the grave. L. Tom Perry “Fatherhood, An Eternal Calling” April 2004

6.Among those truths that had been dimmed by the darkness of apostasy was the stirring reality that we are all the spirit sons and daughters of a loving God who is our Father. We are part of His family. He is not a father in some allegorical or poetic sense. He is literally the Father of our spirits. He cares for each one of us. Though this world has a way of diminishing and demeaning men and women, the reality is we are all of royal, divine lineage. In that unprecedented appearance of the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove, the very first word spoken by the Father of us all was the personal name of Joseph. Such is our Father’s personal relationship with each of us. He knows our names and yearns for us to become worthy to return to live with Him. M. Russell Ballard “The Atonement And The Value Of One Soul” April 2004

7.The fulfillment of this counsel does not rest upon parents alone, although it is their role to lead. Children can be responsible for improving the Christ-centered efforts in the home. It is important for parents to teach children to recognize how their actions affect each individual who lives in the home. Children who are made to feel accountable fro their actions, whether righteous or otherwise, grow to become trustworthy citizens in the kingdom of God. Richard G. Scott “For Peace At Home” April 2013

8.As you center your home on the Savior, it will naturally become a refuge not only to your own family but also to friends who live in more difficult circumstances. They will be drawn to the serenity they feel there. Welcome such friends into your home. They will blossom in that Christ-centered environment. Become friends with your children's friends. Be a worthy example to them. Richard G. Scott “For Peace At Home” April 2013

9.Strengthening families is our sacred duty as parents, children, extended family members, leaders, teachers, and individual members of the Church. Robert D. Hales “Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty” April 1999

10.To rule children by force is the technique of Satan, not of the Savior. No, we don’t own our children. Our parental privilege is to love them, to lead them, and to let them go. Russel M. Nelson “Listen to Learn” April 1991