Family

The family is a social unit that has been instituted by God. God knows what environment that will benefit His children the best, and he has placed us in families. Through the Priesthood, families can be sealed through eternity. My family was sealed in 2008 in the Boise, Idaho Temple. I testify that Priesthood power is real and that I know that I was purposefully placed in a family by God. We should strive to build strong healthy family relationships. Families are a source of strength. Many life principles are learned in the home. I am grateful for my family and love them all so much.

“This son is living not only to qualify for eternal life but also to live surrounded eternally by grateful family members whom he is gathering around him.”
–President Eyring, Help Them Aim High, October 2012 General Conference

“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.”

 –Elder Ballard, That the Lost May Be Found, April 2012 General Conference

“Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you grow older, you will be able to participate in receiving the other ordinances as well. I can think of no greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life.”
–Elder Scott, The Joy of Redeeming the Dead, October 2012 General Conference

“But what about you? Have you prayed about your own ancestors’ work? Set aside those things in your life that don’t really matter. Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences. Perhaps you have been prompted to look for ancestors but feel you are not a genealogist. Can you see that you don’t have to be anymore? It all begins with love and a sincere desire to help those beyond the veil who can’t help themselves. Check around. There will be someone in your area who can help you have success.”
–Elder Scott, The Joy of Redeeming the Dead, October 2012 General Conference

“What we are speaks so loudly that our children may not hear what we say. When I was nearly five years old, my mother received word that her younger brother had been killed when the battleship on which he was serving was bombed off the coast of Japan near the end of World War II. This news was devastating to her. She was very emotional and went into the bedroom. After a while I peeked into the room to see if she was OK. She was kneeling by the bed in prayer. A great peace came over me because she had taught me to pray and love the Savior. This was typical of the example she always set for me. Mothers and fathers praying with children may be more important than any other example.”

–Elder Cook, In Tune with the Music of faith, April 2012 General Conference

“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.”
–Elder Oaks, Protect the Children, October 2012 General Conference

“Perhaps the most familiar and most important examples of unselfish service and sacrifice are performed in our families. Mothers devote themselves to the bearing and nurturing of their children. Husbands give themselves to supporting their wives and children. The sacrifices involved in the eternally important service to our families are too numerous to mention and too familiar to need mention.”
–Elder Oaks, Sacrifice, April 2012 General Conference

“Some of you will want to pursue university studies and careers in business, agriculture, government, or other professions. Some will excel in the arts, music, or teaching. Others will choose a military career or learn a trade. Over the years, I have had a number of craftsmen work on projects and repairs at my home, and I have admired the hard work and skill of these men. In whatever you choose, it is essential that you become proficient so that you can support a family and make a contribution for good in your community and your country.”
–Elder Christofferson, Brethren, We Have Work to Do, October 2012 General Conference

“You adult men—fathers, single adults, leaders, home teachers—be worthy models and help the rising generation of boys become men. Teach them social and other skills: how to participate in a conversation, how to get acquainted and interact with others, how to relate to women and girls, how to serve, how to be active and enjoy recreation, how to pursue hobbies without becoming addicted, how to correct mistakes and make better choices.”

–Elder Christofferson, Brethren, We Have Work to Do, October 2012 General Conference

“My son has given priesthood service across three continents but most importantly in his home and within his family. He has built his life around them. He works close to home, and he often returns to join his wife and younger children at the lunch hour. His family lives very near Sister Eyring and me. They care for our yard as though it were their own. This son is living not only to qualify for eternal life but also to live surrounded eternally by grateful family members whom he is gathering around him.”
–President Eyring, Help Them Aim High, October 2012 General Conference

“There are other ways to reach out; you are already engaged in many of them. Your habits of family prayer and scripture reading will create more lasting memories and greater changes of heart than you may realize now.”
–President Eyring, Help Them Aim High, October 2012 General Conference

“Perhaps the most universal regret dying patients expressed was that they wished they had spent more time with the people they love. Men in particular sang this universal lament: they “deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the [daily] treadmill of … work.” Many had lost out on choice memories that come from spending time with family and friends. They missed developing a deep connection with those who meant the most to them.”

 –President Uchtdoft, Of Regrets and Resolutions, October 2012 General Conference

“Lessons taught in the home by goodly parents are becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread. As we know, he is attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society—the family. In clever and carefully camouflaged ways, he is attacking commitment to family life throughout the world and undermining the culture and covenants of faithful Latter-day Saints.”
–Elder Perry, Becoming Goodly Parents, October 2012 General Conference