Bring Up Children in Light &
Truth: LT
D&C
93:40
Responsibility of Parents:
Provide Physically D&C 83:4; Mosiah 4:14
Teach Gospel D&C 68:25; Deuteronomy 4:10
Discipline D&C 121:41-44; Proverbs
19:18
Do not provoke Colossians
3:21; Ephesians 6:4
Teach to serve &
love Mosiah 4:15
Set house in order: D&C
93:50
Teach always Deuteronomy 6:7 & 11:19
Family Scripture Study
2 Nephi 4:15; 25:26; Mosiah 1:4
Pray as a Family 3 Nephi 18:21
Teach of Atonement Moses
6: 55-59; Mosiah 16:15
Pray for children Mosiah 27:14; Moroni 8:3
No contention Mosiah
4:14
Hope for generations Psalms 78: 3-7
Responsibility of Children:
Honor Parents: Deuteronomy: 5:16
Obey: Colossians3:20;
Ephesians 6:1-3
Listen to instruction: Proverbs
4:1
Promise:
Peace: Isaiah
54:13
Joy: 3
John 1:4
Will not depart from
Truth: Proverbs 22:6
[President
David O. McKay] taught us the most precious gift a man and woman can receive is
a child of God, and that the raising of a child is basically, fundamentally,
and most exclusively a spiritual process.
He
directed us to basic principles we need to teach our children. The first and
most important inner quality you can instill in a child is faith in God. The
first and most important action a child can learn is obedience. And the most
powerful tool you have with which to teach a child is love. L. Tom Perry; April 1983, General
Conference
Divine
Nature
Understanding
who these children are and their potential in God’s kingdom can help us have a
greater desire to meet the challenges more patiently—more lovingly. The Lord
will help us teach our children if we will do all that is within our power.
Families are forever, and the Savior wants us to succeed. As we seek the
Spirit, we can receive the comfort, guidance, and reassurance we need to
fulfill the responsibilities and receive the blessings of parenthood.
Coleen
K. Menlove; Oct. 2002, General Conference
What
to Do
Love
can make the difference—love generously given in childhood and reaching through
the awkward years of youth. It will do what money lavished on children will
never do.
—And
patience, with a bridling of the tongue and self-mastery over anger. The writer
of Proverbs declared, “A soft answer turneth away wrath” (Prov. 15:1).
—And
encouragement that is quick to compliment and slow to criticize.
These,
with prayers, will accomplish wonders. You cannot expect to do it alone. You
need heaven’s help in rearing heaven’s child—your child, who is also the child
of his or her Heavenly Father.
Gordon B. Hinckley, October 1993, General Conference
Parents
must try to be, or at least put forth their best efforts to be, what they wish
the children to be. It is impossible for you to be an example of what you are
not.
Joseph Fielding Smith; Teachings Book, Ch 16, p 204
Dr.
Nick Stinnett gave a most interesting talk at an annual meeting of the National
Council on Family Relations. It was titled “Characteristics of Strong
Families.” His six points were:
1.
A strong family spends a significant amount of time together while playing,
working, eating, or in recreation. Although family members all have outside
interests, they find adequate time to spend together.
2.
Strong families have a high degree of commitment to each family member, as
indicated not only by the time spent together, but also by their ability to
work together in a common cause.
3.
Strong families have good communication patterns, as indicated by the time
spent listening and speaking to each other in conversation.
4.
Strong families have a high degree of religious orientation.
5.
Strong families have the ability to deal with crises in a positive way because
they have spent time together, are committed to each other, and have good
communication patterns.
6.
Strong family members frequently give compliments to each other which are
genuine and not superficial. (See “In Search of Strong Families,” in Building
Family Strengths: Blueprints for Action, ed. Nick Stinnett, et al., Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press, 1979, pp. 23–30.)
Quoted in talk by L. Tom Perry, April 1983; General
Conf.
Live
the gospel as conspicuously as you can. Keep the covenants your children know
you have made. Give priesthood blessings. And bear your testimony! Don’t just assume your children will somehow
get the drift of your beliefs on their own.
Jeffrey R. Holland; April 2003, General Conference
My
counsel is to speak more frequently about Jesus Christ. In His holy name is
great spiritual power. “There [is] no other name given nor any other way …
whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the
name of Christ.”
Neil L. Anderson; April 2010, General Conference+9
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” (Psalm 127:3). 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, observe the commandments of God, and 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…
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.
The Family: A
Proclamation to the World; October 1995
Parents,
safeguard your families. Bring up your children in light and truth as the Lord
has commanded. Shower them with love, but do not spoil them. Share your
testimony with them. Read the scriptures together. Guide and protect them. You
have no greater blessing and no greater responsibility than those whom the Lord
has placed in your care. Pray together. There is no substitute for family
prayer when all kneel together before the Lord. Gordon B. Hinckley, October 1999, General
Conf.
