This past Sunday Dave and I were asked to speak. I was asked to speak on Family and Dave was asked to speak on Missionary work. I was so nervous! But both our talks went well. The first speaker was a no-show but we both were able to make up the time! I was amazed! I didn't think I had talked nearly 20 minutes, it hardly felt like 5!
But in my studying I loved what came together so I can't help but share.
I really
love how the Spirit works sometimes. I kept putting off preparing this talk, with being sick the week before, and our trip this week I didn't have much time. And really I figured it was a broad easy topic so I wouldn't need a lot of time to prepare
it. And so when I had free time Friday I just busied myself doing other things.
But I found that I was having a hard time focusing on the things I was trying to do.
Finally I became responsible, closed all the shopping and Pinterest tabs I had
open and went to the church website. Immediately I was clear and able to easily
focus on what really needed to get done.
I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes at myself and say a silent
thank you to the Lord for redirecting me.
As stated in the Family, a Proclimation; All human beings - male
and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or
daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and
destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal,
and eternal identity and purpose.
In a broadcast from January 2012 titled the DoctrinalImportance of Marriage and Children from Elder Russell M Nelson he stated;
Marriage brings two very different and
imperfect people together. Husbands and wives deal with their imperfections
best with patience and a sense of humor. Each should stand ready to say, “I’m
sorry! Please forgive me.” And each should be a peacemaker.
Marriage is sanctified by family prayer morning and night and daily scripture
study. Marriage is stabilized by careful financial planning, avoiding debt, and
living within a budget with willing obedience to the Lord’s law of tithing. Marriage is energized by making prime time
together. Marriage is protected by an absolute commitment to make it
successful.
I love what he says there that marriage is energized by making prime time together. I can attest to that just from this past week! Although our trip to Virginia beach had imperfections and was short, it was perfect and so revitalizing! I encourage everyone to spend prime time with each other, whether just a drive to somewhere new, or an overnight trip, get out and make new memories!
For each married bearer of the priesthood his
highest duty is to care for his wife. She enables him to qualify for his
greatest blessings. And when the children leave the nest, a husband and wife
will have each other in what can be a wonderful and exciting phase of life
together.
The Lord so taught;
“In the celestial
glory there are three heavens or degrees;
“And in order to
obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning
the new and everlasting covenant of marriage];
“And if he does not,
he cannot obtain it” (D&;C 131:1–3).
God’s plan of happiness is perfect. As we
teach it in our homes, quorums, councils, and classes, we bless all with love,
hope, peace, and joy, here and hereafter. It is up to us to share that light with the world.
An article I came across was from March 2012 New Era titled; Be a Defender of theFamily. Although it was a quite short article it had so many great tips on what we can do to defend the family unit today.
It started off by saying;
We each have the
power to stand up for eternal truths that are being attacked in one of Satan’s
biggest battles. You can make a huge difference by being a defender of the family and letting those around you know that “the family is ordained of
God. It is the most important unit in time and in eternity”
Robert D Hales stated in the Ensign
article The Eternal Family from November 1996;
“Because of the importance of the family to the eternal plan of happiness, Satan makes
a major effort to destroy the sanctity of the family, demean the importance of the role of men
and women, encourage moral uncleanliness and violations of the sacred law of
chastity, and to discourage parents from placing the bearing and rearing of
children as one of their highest priorities”
Put family time first.
With so many sporting events, parties, school
functions, and other activities in your schedule, it’s easy to say, “I’ll spend
time with my family later—when things slow down.” But you’ll soon
find that life will never slow down, so it’s important to give high priority to family activities now. Don’t underestimate the way
you can defend the family unit just by participating in your family unit.
The First Presidency has taught: “We counsel
parents and children to give highest priority to family prayer, family home evening, gospel study and instruction,
and wholesome family activities. However worthy and appropriate
other demands or activities may be, they must not be permitted to displace the
divinely-appointed duties that only parents and families can adequately
perform” (First Presidency letter, Feb. 11, 1999).
Strengthen
your family members.
Look for ways to make life
easier for those in your family. Find something they need help with and do
it, such as giving a hug to a brother who had a hard day at school or helping
your sister when it’s her turn to do the dishes. When you support one another
in your needs, your family will grow stronger as one. Remember
that family happiness is a team effort. We will find our lives most blessed only when we are in the
service of others.
Elder Robert D. Hales said "We need to understand that we are each an important and
integral part of a family and the highest blessings can be
received only within an eternal family. … Being one in a family carries a great
responsibility of caring, loving, lifting, and strengthening each member of the family so that all can righteously endure to
the end in mortality and dwell together throughout eternity. … The eternal
nature of an individual becomes the eternal nature of the family” (“The Eternal Family,” Ensign, Nov. 1996).
Be
an example of good family life.
Do your part to make your home a holy place
where others can feel the Spirit and where they can see what God’s plan for
families is all about. Consider inviting friends over when your family spends time together so they can see the joy of family friendships.
D&C
88:119 Organize yourselves; prepare every
needful thing; and establish a house, even a
house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a
house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.
In my opinion the best place we can show the beauty and
importance of the family is in our own homes. Our church buildings always say
“Visitors Welcome” and I would hope that goes the same for our homes. Obviously
not in the sense that anyone can just walk in as they please, but what better a
place to befriend and teach an investigator then in our own homes? Our home
should be a place where anyone who enters can feel the spirit.
My husband will probably roll his eyes for even mentioning
this in my talk, but I can’t help it! In preparing this talk I couldn’t help
but think of the ShayTards. If you are not familiar with them, they are an LDS
family who have been vlogging – doing video diaries of their lives every day
for the past five years and posting them on YouTube. I found them because they
did an interview with someone and I just had a feeling they were LDS and sure
enough they were. I have been following them for about two years now. They have
over 2 million followers and each video they post average 500,000 views per
video. They only vlog a total of 20 minutes out of each day, but they are
inviting the world into their home, into their family home evenings. They seem
like just really wonderful down to earth people. With how many viewers they
have I have no doubt that they are helping spread the gospel just by their
example of being a happy, loving family.
So many people watch their videos and
comment things like; you have such a wonderful family. I wish I had a family
like yours. There is just something so different about your family. Or even, I
never cared for having a family but seeing yours makes me want to have one.
That’s the beauty of a righteous LDS family in my mind. There is always a light to them. A happiness that other’s just don’t understand. And I hope that through our examples we can help bring more people and more families to that light and happiness.
That’s the beauty of a righteous LDS family in my mind. There is always a light to them. A happiness that other’s just don’t understand. And I hope that through our examples we can help bring more people and more families to that light and happiness.
Back to the article – just a few more things is lists to
help defend the family;
Up next, I’m going to combine two tips here;
Beware
of how the media defines families and Stand up for the family in your conversations;
Much in the media today does not support God’s definition of
marriage and families. It might endorse or glorify alternatives to wholesome family life that are contrary to God’s plan.
The counsel in For the Strength of Youth can apply to teachings about the family:
“Satan uses media to
deceive you by making what is wrong and evil look normal, humorous, or
exciting. He tries to mislead you into thinking that breaking God’s commandments
is acceptable and has no negative consequences for you or others. … Have the
courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer,
television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit”.
When conversations come up in school, work,
and other activities—or even in text messages, e-mails, social networking
sites, or online articles—where truths about the family are attacked, have the courage to defend the
doctrines about Heavenly Father’s plan for families. The world continues to
attack these eternal doctrines, and it’s up to you to be a voice of truth. The
Spirit will help you know what to say. When you support the principles of an eternal family, it will be easier to
strengthen the family and also prepare for a future temple
marriage.
A few weeks ago an actress came out saying she supported
the traditional family unit. She simply said something along the lines that she
was grateful to her mother for being a stay at home mom and raising her in that
environment. She also stated that the individual roles of a man and a women
working together in a family unit were important in helping a family be
successful.
To me this was something I full heartedly agreed with. But
I was appalled by the back lash she was getting. It became very clear to me
that the world is not okay with the traditional family unit and that more than
ever we need to be as open as can be about what we believe is right and what we
know will help lead others to a happy life.
Do
temple work.
Many of your ancestors have not received the
essential ordinances that seal them together as families. Remember that
defending the family isn’t just about the families on the earth
today, but it’s also about all families. With new.familysearch.org, it’s easy to prepare names for temple work to help deceased family members receive the sealing ordinances.
Develop
habits today that you want in your future family.
Even if you don’t come from a strong family, you can make your future family strong as you prepare for and worthily
marry in the temple and seek to raise a righteous family of your own. Think about the types of
things you want to do in your future family, and start those habits
today. For example, even if your family doesn’t have daily scripture study,
you can study the scriptures on your own each day. By forming that habit now,
it will be easy to hold family scripture study when you get married.
You can also defend the family by deciding now that when you are
older you will marry in the temple and then strive to have children and raise
them in righteousness. We have been counseled: “All members, even if they are
without family in the Church, should strive for the
ideal of living in an eternal family. This means preparing to
become worthy spouses and loving fathers or mothers”
In Ensign, March 2011, Sister Julie B. Beck,
Relief Society general president, said to the young members of the Church,
“This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. When you do this and live as a
defender of the family, you can change your future and your family’s future
and also be a part of a generation that can change the future of the world as
you protect the family together.
Even if you don’t see immediate results, your actions will be an influence for
good in supporting Heavenly Father’s plan for eternal families."
As difficult as what is asked of us may seem
at times, help is always available. If we allow the Lord to be part of our
marriages, our families, we will never be alone in our pursuit of a forever family.
President Henry B. Eyring, stated; “As we read what the
proclamation tells us about the family, we can expect—in fact, we must expect—impressions to come to
our minds as to what we are to do. And we can be confident it is possible for
us to do according to those impressions. We can start
now to ‘promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family. I pray that you will ask,
‘Father, how can I prepare?’ Tell [Him] how much you want what He desires to
give you. You will receive impressions, and if you act on them, I promise you
the help of the powers of heaven.”
It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost that we can
hope to be equally yoked in a marriage free from discord. I have seen how that
companionship is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of becoming
one requires the help of heaven, and it takes time. Our goal is to live
together forever in the presence of Heavenly Father and our Savior.
The family a proclamation states;
We call upon responsible
citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures
designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of
society.
That is for all of us. Each and everyone of us. As the world
changes, and will keep changing we must be constant, constant in our faith,
constant in our pursuit of being good examples. Spreading the light to all we
come in contact with, in any way, big or small we can. In the end, we don’t get
to take our money, our belongings, anything along with us when we pass away. The
only thing we can take is our family. Our family is the beginning and the end.
Family is everything. And the Lord will certainly bless us if we strive to
ensure that is always our focus.
I am so grateful for my parents having raised me in this gospel and being constant in their faith and attendance of the church, even during the times in my youth when I may not have wanted to go. I am also so grateful for my in-laws and the sacrifices they made to become converted to this church so that my husband could also be raised in the gospel and could be here with me today.
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