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.