FAMILY

 

 



FAMILY

 

1. We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.

 

-L. Tom Perry (The Importance of the Family) April 2003

 

2. “‘We have a family home evening program once a week [Monday night] across the Church in which parents sit down with their children. They study the scriptures. They talk about family problems. They plan family activities and things of that kind. I don’t hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced that one thing, you’d see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world’ (interview, Boston Globe, 14 Aug. 2000).”

 

-Gordon B. Hinckley “Family Home Evening” March 2003

 

3. “The family is the most important organization in time or in eternity. Our purpose in life is to create for ourselves eternal family units. There is nothing that will ever come into your family life that is as important as the sealing blessings of the temple and then keeping the covenants made in connection with this order of celestial marriage”.

 

-Joseph Fielding Smith "Counsel to the Saints and to the World" April 1972

 

4. Near the end of his life, one father looked back on how he had spent his time on earth. An acclaimed, respected author of numerous scholarly works, he said, ‘I wish I had written one less book and taken my children fishing more often.’ Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are grown, perhaps with children of their own. ‘Where did the years go?’ they ask. We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present.”

 

Thomas S. Monson (Dedication Day-October 2000)

 

5. "Through the restored gospel we learn there is an ideal family. It is a family composed of a righteous Melchizedek Priesthood bearer with a righteous wife sealed to him and children born in the covenant or sealed to them. With a mother in the home in an environment of love and service, the parents teach their children, through example and precept, the ways of the Lord and His truths."

 

Richard G. Scott "First Things First" May 2001

 

6. "To parents everywhere, my counsel is simple: Get a copy of 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World.' Read it and strive to align your marriage and your family to its inspired, revealed direction from the Lord."

 

M. Russell Ballard, "The Sacred Responsibilites of Parenthood" March 2006

 

7. "Let us open wide the windows of our hearts, that each family member may feel welcome and 'at home.' Let us open also the doors of our very souls, that the dear Christ may enter. Remember His promise: 'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him' (Revelation 3:20)."

-Thomas S. Monson,"Hallmarks of a Happy Home" October 2001

 

8. "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.”

 

-Thomas S. Monson, "Dedication Day" November 2000

 

9. “Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. ‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great’ (D&C 64:33).”

 

-David A. Bednar "More Dilligen and Concerned at Home" November 2009

 

10. “Often we assume that [the people around us] must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. … We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us”

 

-Thomas S. Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey" November 2008

 

Position Statement:

 

I am so grateful for the emphasis the Church places on the family. I am grateful for the counsel on ways to strengthen and improve our families. I was so blessed to grow up in the home I was raised in, with goodly parents who taught me the Gospel in world where wickedness is ever increasing. I believe the family is the most important unit in society. I love the little day to day things my parents did when I was growing up, such as scripture study, prayer, and family home evening. I love the opportunity I now have to do these things in my own home and I know there is a strength that comes from it nothing else can bring.