The Family - A Divine Blessing

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish. 

I would like to let you know that the first half of this week; the topic is "Families" and the second half of this week, the topic is "Fathers. Upcoming Sunday in Australia, it's Father's Day. This post focuses on a April 1974 General Conference talk, and it is called "The Family - A Divine Blessing" by Rex D. Pinegar. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope that you would be able to learn something new.

Elder Pinegar mentioned the following; "... His church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, exists for the perfecting of the Saints and for the unifying and exalting of the family of our Father in heaven. ... The Lord has said that in the ordinances of the Melchizedek Priesthood “the power of godliness is manifest.” (D&C 84:20.) Thus, clothed with the holy priesthood of God and commissioned by the Lord, a man takes his place at the head of his family.

Through his righteous leadership, the power of godliness may be manifest in his home. This sacred obligation and stewardship he shares with his wife, his helpmate. In partnership with our Heavenly Father, they experience the joy of creation as children bless their home and enlarge their family circle. A wife and mother will be an inspiration to her family and to her husband and will honor him in his divine appointment as head of their family. President Hugh B. Brown has said to the women of the Church: “There is no better way to worship and glorify God than by assisting his sons on the upward and difficult climb. This takes patience, tolerance, forbearance and other typically feminine virtues.” (Hugh B. Brown, “The Exalted Sphere of Woman,” Relief Society Magazine, December 1965)

A husband and father will endeavor to be noble and faithful in carrying forth his sacred responsibility to teach correct principles to his children by precept and by example. Recently I heard a father tell of the powerful influence his own testimony and example had in the life of his daughter. His lovely daughter was being pursued by an ardent admirer one who had unfortunately turned away from the Church and who, through his wrongdoings, had been cut off from the blessings of the priesthood and Church membership.

This girl thought she loved him and believed she might be happy with him. Her concerned parents invited the young man into their home and tried to convince him of the need to put his life in order and to follow Christ. The father bore a fervent testimony of the reality of the Savior and of the joy that comes through obedience to his gospel. However, his words were rejected by the young man. In fact, the boy scoffed at such ideas and afterward tried to convince the girl that her father was old-fashioned and a hypocrite. This accusation, the father said, was the young man’s undoing.

That daughter defended her father and his beliefs. She knew him. She knew the validity of his testimony. She knew her father lived as he believed his sincere love of the gospel and his example of living its teachings she could not doubt nor deny. Her love she would save for another whose testimony was like that of her father, whose life would be blessed with the joy and peace that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Today she is the wife of such a man, a happy mother of a lovely family born in the covenant of an eternal marriage. Oh, how blessed is the influence of a righteous father!

"Families are the because of Heaven."
- Elder Neil L. Anderson.

... A mother’s inherent qualities of trust, courage, and faith lend strength to every member of the family. Children also provide strength to the lives of family members. ... The atoning sacrifice of Christ was the supreme example of unselfish love. 

While Jesus was our only brother who could make such a sacrifice for us, each of us can and should make Christlike sacrifices daily for one another through unselfish actions and willing service. It is in the home that we experience many opportunities to do this.

... So important are our relationships with our family members as we learn these lessons of life that family home evening has been revealed by the Lord as a prescribed means for the enduring development of all family members.

Each Monday evening families will gather together, with father presiding, to experience one of the highlights of the week’s activities. During this special time together, the family, regardless of size or circumstances, may receive instruction and inspiration. Here in the sacredness of home father and mother teach correct gospel principles to their children. The children also have opportunities to teach and to share their thoughts and talents.

Often the most effective learning takes place as family members help each other prepare for family home evening. Parents and children increase in their love and appreciation for one another as they participate in family home evening and strive to apply the principles learned there throughout the following weeks and years.

President Kimball ... said: “While one objective is reached by merely being together, yet the additional and greater value can come from the lessons of life. The father will teach the children. Here they can learn integrity, honor, dependability, sacrifice, and faith in God. Life’s experiences and the scriptures are the basis of the teaching, and this, wrapped up in filial and parental love, makes an impact nothing else can make. Thus, reservoirs of righteousness are filled to carry children through the dark days of temptation and desire, of drought and skepticism.

As they grow up, the children cooperate in building this storage for themselves and the family. And so we have as a basic part of the Lord’s programs the home evening and the family prayers and the teaching of gospel principles in our homes.” (Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle, Deseret Book Co., 1972) The Lord has blessed us with families that we might maintain our eternal relationship with him. May we recognize the importance of this divine blessing and do all in our power to fulfill this sacred responsibility."

If you would like to read the talk either now or in your own time, here's the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1974/04/the-family-a-divine-blessing

Stay Tuned until next time.