Some quotes from our prophets and leaders regarding the family.
"The family is ordained of God. Families are central to our Heavenly Father's plan here on earth and through the eternities. After Adam and Eve were joined in marriage, the scripture reads, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth." In our day prophets and apostles have declared, "The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force."
-Neil L. Andersen, "Children", LDS General Conference October 2011
"In the very beginning, God initiated marriage between a man and a woman--Adam and Eve. He designated the purposes of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adult to, more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared, and nurtured. Families are the treasure of heaven."
-Neil L. Andersen, "Spiritual Whirlwinds", LDS General Conference April 2014
"Parenthood is a sacred privilege, and depending upon faithfulness, it can be an eternal blessing. The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home."
-Boyd K. Packer, "The Witness", LDS General Conference April 2014
"Many voices in the world today marginalize the importance of having children or suggest delaying or limiting children in a family. My daughters recently referred me to a blog written by a Christian mother (not of our faith) with five children. She commented: “[Growing] up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood. … Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get.” She then adds: “Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.”
-Neil L. Andersen, "Children", LDS General Conference October 2011
"We go forward in faith--realizing the decision of how many children to have and when to have them is between a husband and wife and the Lord. We should not judge one another on this matter."
-Neil L. Andersen, "Children", LDS General Conference October 2011
"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."
-Linda S. Reeves, "Protection from Pornography-a Christ Focused Home", LDS General Conference April 2014
"Family commitments and expectations should be at the top of our priorities to protect our divine destiny. For those who are looking for more fruitful use of the Sabbath day for the family as a whole, the hastening of this work is fertile ground...Our precious roots and branches must be nourished."
-Quentin L. Cook, "Roots and Branches", LDS General Conference April 2014
"Parents who struggle to get a witness of the Savior into the heart of a child will be helped as they seek for a way to bring the words and the spirit of the Book of Mormon into the home and all the lives in their family."
-Henry B. Eyring, "A Witness", LDS General Conference October 2011
"The creation of life is a great responsibility for a married couple. It is the challenge of mortality to be a worthy and responsible parent. Neither man nor woman can bear children alone. It was meant that children have two parents--both a father and a mother. No other pattern or process can replace this one."
-Boyd K. Packer, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them", LDS General Conference April 2012
"The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children.
One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah’s prophecy that “a little child shall lead them.”
-Boyd K. Packer, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them", LDS General Conference April 2012
"Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected. We urge our members to show devotion to their families."
-Boyd K. Packer, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them", LDS General Conference April 2012
"Fathers and mothers, next time you cradle a newborn child in your arms, you can have an inner vision of the mysteries and purposes of life. You will better understand why the Church is as it is and why the family is the basic organization in time and in eternity. I bear witness that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, that the plan of redemption, which has been called the plan of happiness, is a plan for families."
-Boyd K. Packer, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them", LDS General Conference April 2012
"From the perspective of the plan of salvation, one of the most serious abuses of children is to deny them birth."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"We remember our Savior’s teaching as He placed a little child before His followers and declared:
“And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:5–6)."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"Of utmost importance to the well-being of children is whether their parents were married, the nature and duration of the marriage, and, more broadly, the culture and expectations of marriage and child care where they live. Two scholars of the family explain: “Throughout history, marriage has first and foremost been an institution for procreation and raising children. It has provided the cultural tie that seeks to connect the father to his children by binding him to the mother of his children. Yet in recent times, children have increasingly been pushed from center stage.”"
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"Our Church leaders have taught that looking “upon marriage as a mere contract that may be entered into at pleasure … and severed at the first difficulty … is an evil meriting severe condemnation,” especially where “children are made to suffer." And children are impacted by divorces. Over half of the divorces in a recent year involved couples with minor children. Many children would have had the blessing of being raised by both of their parents if only their parents had followed this inspired teaching in the family proclamation: “Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. … Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another. The most powerful teaching of children is by the example of their parents. Divorcing parents inevitably teach a negative lesson. There are surely cases when a divorce is necessary for the good of the children, but those circumstances are exceptional."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"Children need the emotional and personal strength that come from being raised by two parents who are united in their marriage and their goals."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"Little children are our role models of humility and teachableness:
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
Families are central to God's plan and Satan is constantly trying to break down the family because he knows that if he can do that then he has won. We need to teach our children to build a strong foundation of Jesus Christ so that they can withstand Satan - no better way for a child to be taught than in the home with a loving father and mother to guide them. Mothers and fathers are both needed. We must teach, guide, and protect our children as they are the rising generation. Parents need to be examples to their children - children learn best by example. We must humble ourselves and have faith and become like a little child. God loves all of His children.
“Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3–4)."... I pray that we will humble ourselves as little children and reach out to protect our little children, for they are the future for us, for our Church, and for our nations."
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"A woman's moral influence is nowhere more powerfully felt or more beneficially employed than in the home. There is no better setting for rearing the rising generation than the traditional family, where a father and a mother work in harmony to provide for, teach, and nurture their children."
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
-Dallin H. Oaks, "Protect the Children", LDS General Conference October 2012
"A woman's moral influence is nowhere more powerfully felt or more beneficially employed than in the home. There is no better setting for rearing the rising generation than the traditional family, where a father and a mother work in harmony to provide for, teach, and nurture their children."
-D. Todd Christofferson, "The Moral Force of Women", LDS General Conference October 2013
"In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship. By the power of her example and teaching, her sons learn to respect womanhood and to incorporate discipline and high moral standards in their own lives. Her daughters learn to cultivate their own virtue and to stand up for what is right, again and again, however unpopular. A mother’s love and high expectations lead her children to act responsibly without excuses, to be serious about education and personal development, and to make ongoing contributions to the well-being of all around them."
"Most sacred is a woman’s role in the creation of life. We know that our physical bodies have a divine origin and that we must experience both a physical birth and a spiritual rebirth to reach the highest realms in God’s celestial kingdom. Thus, women play an integral part (sometimes at the risk of their own lives) in God’s work and glory “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” As grandmothers, mothers, and role models, women have been the guardians of the wellspring of life, teaching each generation the importance of sexual purity—of chastity before marriage and fidelity within marriage. In this way, they have been a civilizing influence in society; they have brought out the best in men; they have perpetuated wholesome environments in which to raise secure and healthy children."
"A pernicious philosophy that undermines women’s moral influence is the devaluation of marriage and of motherhood and homemaking as a career. Some view homemaking with outright contempt, arguing it demeans women and that the relentless demands of raising children are a form of exploitation.8 They ridicule what they call “the mommy track” as a career. This is not fair or right. We do not diminish the value of what women or men achieve in any worthy endeavor or career—we all benefit from those achievements—but we still recognize there is not a higher good than motherhood and fatherhood in marriage. There is no superior career, and no amount of money, authority, or public acclaim can exceed the ultimate rewards of family. Whatever else a woman may accomplish, her moral influence is no more optimally employed than here."
"Abortion for personal or social convenience strikes at the heart of a woman’s most sacred powers and destroys her moral authority. The same is true of sexual immorality and of revealing dress that not only debases women but reinforces the lie that a woman’s sexuality is what defines her worth."
Families are central to God's plan and Satan is constantly trying to break down the family because he knows that if he can do that then he has won. We need to teach our children to build a strong foundation of Jesus Christ so that they can withstand Satan - no better way for a child to be taught than in the home with a loving father and mother to guide them. Mothers and fathers are both needed. We must teach, guide, and protect our children as they are the rising generation. Parents need to be examples to their children - children learn best by example. We must humble ourselves and have faith and become like a little child. God loves all of His children.
No comments:
Post a Comment