Hallmarks of a Happy Home

1. Hallmarks of a Happy Home
2. In a 1988 general conference talk President speaks about four things that he personally feels are the most important aspects of a happy home.  These for key factors include:
3. 1. 
   A pattern of prayer.
4. 2. 
   A library of learning.
5. 3. 
   A legacy of love.
6. 4. 
   A treasury of testimony.
7. As I prepare to have a family of my own I try to implement these aspects into my life now so that I can continue to do so in the future.  Praying often i so important because it allows us to talk to our Heavenly Father.  We show him gratitude, ask for help, seek after comfort, and receive revelation. Talking to the Lord helps us gain a good relationship with Him and lets our testimony be strengthened.  A home is the best place to learn and to teach children.  A child learn how to walk, talk, eat, love, and so much more in their home.  Using the the home parents should teach their children to pray, read the scriptures, and to love God.  I know that when I have my family I will use these aspects to teach and lead by example.  To show love towards one another creates and strengthens special bonds within a family.  I want to always lead with love, act with love, and to learn with love.  Loving others, especially family members, is unlike anythings else one can ever experience.  It is special and important.  Finally having a solid testimony of the gospel and all of the aspects of it will allow a family to strive towards perfection and stay on the right path leading to eternal life with our Heavenly Father.  I know that God lives and Jesus Christ is our Savior.  He suffered for us and therefore brought the atonement that we can constantly use. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet and he restored the gospel and it's fullness to the earth.  And I know that if I keep the commandments of God and turn to Him I will one day return to Him and live with my family forever.

Read the whole talk here: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/10/hallmarks-of-a-happy-home?lang=eng 

Families Can Be Together Forever

Families Can Be Together Forever

We know that the only way for our family to be together forever is to make and keep sacred covenant in the Holy Temple.  Without being sealed to our families in The House of The Lord we can only be together until death. We must continually prepare to enter the Temple to make the covenants that allow families to be together for eternity and the song Families Can Be Together Forever describes this idea perfectly:

1. 1. I have a fam'ly here on earth.
   They are so good to me.
   I want to share my life with them through all eternity.
2. (Chorus)
   Fam'lies can be together forever
   Through Heav'nly Father's plan.
   I always want to be with my own family,
   And the Lord has shown me how I can.
   The Lord has shown me how I can.
3. 2. While I am in my early years,
   I'll prepare most carefully,
   So I can marry in God's temple for eternity.

I know that I want to return to my family and that I want to be sealed to them for all time and eternity and to do so I will prepare myself to make and keep the sacred covenants that I will receive by going through the temple. 

1. 
   

Family Home Evening

Family Home Evening

Families are one of the greatest gifts we have ever been given and to strengthen our family relationships we are counseled to hold family home evening (fhe) every Monday night. FHE is a time set apart weekly strictly spend time with family and sometimes other loved ones.  Each meeting should include a prayer, song, lesson, scripture, and usually an activity and treat.  This time allows a family to bond and learn more about the atonement of Jesus Christ and one another.  The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can't stress enough the importance of holding family home evening EVERY week. It may not be super easy at first but I firmly believe that blessings will come if FHE becomes a regular routine in your home. 

“Hold your family home evenings … ,” says President Gordon B. Hinckley. “I can remember when it was begun. I was a little boy five years old, and my father said, ‘President [Joseph F.] Smith has asked us to hold family home evenings.’ And we did it. It was not easy to do at first. We were more prone to laugh and giggle than we were to be well behaved. But we did it. I see the fruits of it in my own family and in the families of my grandchildren and in the families of my great-grandchildren. The principle of family solidarity carries with it a conviction of its truth” 

On lds.org it explains the great importance of family home evening saying:

Effective Family Home Evenings

Family home evening fosters love and unity within families, invites the Spirit, and helps family members strengthen their testimonies and withstand temptations. For most families, Monday night is the best time to hold family home evening. That night is kept free of Church meetings and activities so families can meet together and strengthen one another while they learn and practice gospel principles together.

Family home evening could include family prayer, gospel instruction, hymns or Primary songs, and a family activity. Lesson material can be found in many Church resources, including the scriptures, Gospel Principles (item number 31110), the Family Home Evening Resource Book(item number 31106), and the Church magazines (see page 48 of this issue of the Liahona). Family home evening might include activities such as holding a family council, reading the scriptures, enjoying a recreational activity, planning and carrying out a service project, having a family talent show, or enjoying special refreshments.

“Family home evening presents a special opportunity to teach the gospel to the family,” said Elder Merlin R. Lybbert, while serving as a member of the Seventy. “The parents of a five-year-old were concerned about how they should teach of Nephi’s encounter with the wicked Laban. …

“As this young boy, my grandson, knelt beside his bed that evening, his prayer demonstrated his understanding and personal application of the lesson. He said, ‘And help me, Heavenly Father, to be obedient like Nephi, even when it’s hard’” (“The Special Status of Children,” Ensign, May 1994, 32).

Blessings for All

Whatever our circumstances, we are blessed by participating in family home evening. “Family home evening is for everyone,” President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) and his Counselors declared. “It is for familieswith parents and children, for families with just one parent, and for parents who have no children at home. It is for home evening groups of single adults and for those who live alone or with roommates” (Family Home Evening [1976], 3).

For nearly 90 years now, prophets have counseled us to hold family home evening. Today prophets plead with us to strengthen our families through weekly family home evening. As we follow their counsel, we are blessed to learn just how inspired that counsel has been.

I can testify that if we take the time, even a simple half hour out of our day to be unified and to learn more about the gospel blessings within the family will pour out.  Family home evening will bring peace into the home and will truly strengthen the family. 

The Seven Principles

The Seven Principles

There are seven principle that a strong family should be founded upon.  They include faith, prayer, forgiveness, repentance, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.  

Faith within the family pertains to faith in God.  Faith in the things which we know to be true although be cannot see them.  A family with faith in the Lord will be blessed and will be able to understand and be emerged in the fullness of the gospel. Faith is a key principle to unify a family to each other the our Heavenly Father and Savior. 

Prayer is what allows us to talk to our Father; it lets us communicate and pour our hearts out to Him with love, fears, hope, struggles, success, gratefulness, and any other aspects we feel are important to share, ask of, and thank Him for.  Daily prayers within a family will once again allow the family to be unified.  Creating this habit of praying often creates a strong relationship with God and through that he can greatly bless our lives. 

God has commanded us to forgive all people.  I understand the importance of forgiveness in my life particularly, I know that the Lord wants me to love everyone as he does and there I must forgive any who may have treated me poorly.  Forgiveness may be hard but with the help of the Lord forgiveness will help families love and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

Repentance is the most crucial and important part of the atonement.  No unclean thing, not even one can enter the Kingdom of God.  I know that I must repent of my sins and wrongdoings so that I can live eternally with my families. In my eyes repentance may be the most important principle on this list because it is such a gift.  Jesus Christ already suffered for our sins we must turn away from them and turn to God while striving for perfection.  I know that when I waiver from the straight and narrow path I can repent and become clean again, I can be pure, I can be forgiven and I can have a change of heart.  I love the Lord and I know he wants my family to be together forever and therefore we must use the power and gift of repentance to achieve this goal. 

Compassion is sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. If this is peresent within families strogn bonds will be created and a better understanding for one another will be obtained as well.  Having compassion allows love be strong and for families to get along better.  I understanad the importance of this principle because it makes families special individually and creates unconditional between one another and God.

Work is essential in a family especially because it builds character.  A hard working person is someone that I know my Heavenly Father would want me to be.  Working is a gift we were from God and we must learn how to use it properly to be succesful on this earth.  If families learn to work together they will be indestructible from the things of this world that are trying to tear apart family founded upon these principles and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Wholesome recreational activities area must within any family.  They allow families to connect and learn about one another.  They can helpful in bonding one with another and most importantly they create memories.  Some of the wholesome recreational acitivies that my family enjoy doing together are camping, going to the movies, roadtrips, playing games, hiking, and enjoying nature.  Finding time to do activities such as these will help strengthen family relationships which is exactly what our Heavenly Father wants. 

I KNOW that is we establish and maintain our families upon these teaching and principle we create a strong eternal family that so full of love.  As I continue to grow I know more than ever that I need to continue to keep each of these principles part of my life and families even if we are not always all together.  

Strengthening Families

The Family is Central to God's Plan

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home." –David O. McKay

It's no stretch to say that a person has a serious advantage in life if they come from a loving, supportive home. Many people still succeed though they come from less-than-ideal family situations, but having our basic needs met, knowing that our parents love us and learning life lessons at home make all the challenges of day-to-day living that much easier to face. Likely, as an adult you want a happy home for your family.

This is no coincidence. God organizes us into families so that we can grow up in happiness and safety, and so that we can learn to love others selflessly—the key to true joy. Within the family is the best place to learn to love others the way Heavenly Father loves each one of us.

God's Church exists to help families gain eternal blessings. We believe the greatest blessing He gives us is the ability to return to live with Him in heaven with our families. We follow our Heavenly Father's will because that is how we earn this blessing.

We Are All Part of God’s Family

When we call a fellow Church member "Brother" Lee or "Sister" Brown, we really mean it. We believe that each of us—including those who aren’t members of our Church—is a literal son or daughter of our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:9) and therefore, our heavenly siblings. We were loved and taught by our Heavenly Father as part of an eternal family before coming to earth. So we share a bond that transcends this life. Think about it, if you truly thought of your neighbor or coworker as your brother or sister, would you treat them any differently? In the same vein, knowing that your earthly family has eternal significance might help you treat them better as well.

Families Come First

Maybe we are one of the lucky ones who was raised in a happy and secure family with two loving parents. Maybe we weren’t, and growing up was tough without the love and support we longed for. Likely, as an adult you want a happy home for your family. Living peacefully in a family isn’t always easy, but in God’s restored Church, marriage and families are the most important social unit now and in eternity.

People who have lived through a disaster never say, "All I could think about during the earthquake was my bank account." They almost always say, "All I could think about was my wife and children." It shouldn’t require a disaster for us to know this truth. But too often, we let earning money, chasing pleasure, or even the needs of people outside our families divert our attention. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints families come first.

Keys to Having a Happy Family on Earth

Next time you want to shout at your teenage son for something, ask yourself, "What would Christ have me do?"

Happiness within our family will most likely be achieved when it’s founded on the teachings of Jesus. That means being unselfish, honest, loyal, loving and a whole host of other virtues, not to mention a lot of effort. A loving and happy family doesn’t happen by accident.

Thinking back on our own family. There were times that were happy and times that weren’t. What were the happiest moments? Most likely they were when we felt loved. When our Dad cried because we were sick. When we saw our parents laugh and smile, and could see how much they loved each other. When my sister gave me a high five for scoring a goal, or vice versa. When I broke a window and my parents forgave me instead of yelling at me. When the car slid off the road during a blizzard and our family had to walk several miles for help. We held hands and sang to make the time go by faster. Our family pitched in to dig someone else out of the snow. My family suffered through my high school musical even though I was just a stagehand. Maybe our family prayed, sang songs, or attended church together. We can recreate those happy times today within our own family and marriage. If our family didn’t have many of those happy moments when we were young, then we want to make things different now.

Families Prepare Us For Eternal Life

We shouldn’t get discouraged. No matter how hard we try, our marriage and home won’t be perfect. But if we build them around Christ’s principles including faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work and wholesome fun, home can be a place of refuge, peace and immense joy.

Marriages Made in Heaven

Most people think of a marriage made in heaven as a rare occurrence in which both parties are deeply in love and highly compatible. We like to think that all our marriages are made in heaven. When a man and woman enters one of our holy temples to be married, they covenant (or promise) they will stay together forever—on earth and in heaven after they die, if they are faithful to each other and their promises to the Lord. A temple marriage doesn’t include phrases like, "Till death do you part" or "So long as you both shall live." If we keep these promises, our children also become part of this heavenly promise—sealed to us forever.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we understand how God views the family and it's importance.  We follow the model that the Lord has created as part of His plan called The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Elder M, Russell Ballard states, “The recent proclamation to the world on the family, issued by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, makes very clear that the family is ordained of God. The proclamation warns that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." Richard G. Scott also gives his input after the proclamation was released saying, “Learn the doctrinal foundation of the great plan of happiness by studying the scriptures, pondering their content, and praying to understand them. Carefully study and use the proclamation of the First Presidency and the Twelve on the family. … It was inspired of the Lord.” We know that the me who created this document were called upon by God and were revealed this information and prompted to share it with the world.

The Family: A Proclamation to he World

We, The First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

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 The Premortal Realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

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. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We Declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband And Wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We Warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

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.

My Family

I am the second child of four.  I have a 21 year old sister named Miranda, a 16 year old brother named Jason, and a 14 year old sister named Makayla, two loving parents Brett and Sheila and a lovely little black cat named Binx.  Because of the commitments my ancestors, grandparents, and parents made I know that my family can be together forever.  Being married and sealed in the Holy Temple allows for my family to be united after this life on earth.  In The Family: A Proclamation to the World it states, "Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally."  I know that if I keep the commandments and follow God's plan my family relationships will be perpetuated beyond the grave.  I am so grateful for this knowledge and especially for the love and support that I get from my family every day.

Defining Eternal Family

What is an eternal family?

Family is defined as a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household or all the descendants of a common ancestor.

Eternal can be described as lasting or existing forever; without end or beginning.

An apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Robert D. Hales talks about the importance of eternal families.  An eternal family is one of the things that every person on the earth should be striving towards.  An essential role of an eternal family includes eternal marriage.  Elder Hales explains, "From the earliest beginnings, God established the family and made it eternal."  It traces back to Adam and Eve, the first commandment that God gave to them dealt with marriage and a family.  

As members of the Church, we believe that eternal families are one of the greatest blessings and gifts from God.  As a young adult, active member, and college student I live my life pointed in the direction of gaining an eternal family of my own. 

1. • 
     

     
     

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
   •