Family

“The family unit is not only fundamental to society and to the Church but to our hope for eternal life. We begin to practice in the family, the smaller unit, what will spread to the Church and to the society in which we live in this world and what then will be what we practice in families bound together forever by covenants and faithfulness.”
-              Henry B. Eyring, BYU Fireside, November 5, 1995, “The Family” http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=777

“The family is at the heart of Heavenly Father's plan because we are all part of His family and because mortality is our opportunity to form our own families and to assume the role of parents. It is within our families that we learn unconditional love, which can come to us and draw us very close to God's love. It is within families that values are taught and character is built. Father and mother are callings from which we will never be released, and there is no more important stewardship than the responsibility we have for God's spirit children who come into our families.”
-              Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Let Our Voices Be Heard,” Ensign, November 2003, pgs. 16-19 https://www.lds.org/topics/pornography/audiences/leaders/let-our-voices-be-heard?lang=eng

“The joining together of a man and a woman to be legally and lawfully wed not only is preparation for future generations to inherit the earth, but it also brings the greatest joy and satisfaction that can be found in this mortal experience. This is especially true when the powers of the priesthood proclaim a marriage to be for time and for all eternity. Children born to such marriages have a security that is found nowhere else.
“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. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility.”
-              L. Tom Perry, October 2012 General Conference, “Becoming Goodly Parents”  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/becoming-goodly-parents

“Be certain that every decision you make, whether temporal or spiritual, is conditioned on what the Savior would have you do. When He is the center of your home, there is peace and serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there.”
-              Elder Richard G. Scott, April 2013 General Conference, “For Peace at Home” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/for-peace-at-home?lang=eng

“It is important for parents to teach children to recognize how their actions affect each individual who lives in the home. Children who are made to feel accountable for their actions, whether righteous or otherwise, grow to become trustworthy citizens in the kingdom of God.”
-              Elder Richard G. Scott, April 2013 General Conference, “For Peace at Home” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/for-peace-at-home?lang=eng

“[E]nlist the entire family to love each other. President Ezra Taft Benson taught:
“In an eternal sense, salvation is a family affair. …
“Above all else, children need to know and feel they are loved, wanted, and appreciated. They need to be assured of that often. Obviously, this is a role parents should fill, and most often the mother can do it best.  But another crucial source for that feeling of being loved is love from other children in the family. Consistent care of brothers and sisters for each other will come only with persistent effort by parents and the help of God. You know that is true from experience in your own families.”
-              President Henry B. Eyring, April 2012 General Conference, “Families under Covenant” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/families-under-covenant?lang=eng#10-10485_000_35eyrin

“He is all-powerful and He cares. If you let Him be the leader of your family, things will work out.”
-              Henry B. Eyring, April 2014 General Conference, “A Priceless Heritage of Hope” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/a-priceless-heritage-of-hope?lang=eng

“All families need strengthening, from the ideal to the most troubled. That strengthening can come from you. In fact, in some families you may be the only source of spiritual strength. The Lord is depending on you to bring the blessings of the gospel to your family.”
-              Mary N. Cook, October 2007 General Conference, “Strengthen Home and Family” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/strengthen-home-and-family?lang=eng&query=family

“In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities. Families lie at the center of our Heavenly Father’s plan. This statement from “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” declares the responsibilities of parents to their families:

“’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.’”
-              L. Tom Perry, April 2003 General Conference, “The Importance of the Family” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/04/the-importance-of-the-family?lang=eng&query=family

“The doctrine of the family begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them. The Apostle Paul taught that God is the father of our spirits (see Heb. 12:9). From the proclamation we read, “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 proclamation also reiterates to the world 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” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102).”
-              Robert D. Hales, October 1996 General Conference, “The Eternal Family” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/the-eternal-family?lang=eng&query=family

“Parenthood is a sacred privilege, and depending upon faithfulness, it can be an eternal blessing. The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children can be happy at home.”

“Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that [we] must build [our] foundation” (Helaman 5:12). He is the anchor that holds us and protects us and our families through the storms of life.”
-              President Boyd K. Packer, April 2014 General Conference, “The Witness” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/the-witness?lang=eng

“Parents today wonder if there is a safe place to raise children. There is a safe place. It is in a gospel-centered home. We focus on the family in the Church, and we counsel parents everywhere to raise their children in righteousness.”
-              President Boyd K. Packer, October 2013 General Conference, “The Key to Spiritual Protection” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-key-to-spiritual-protection?lang=eng

"From the beginning, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has emphasized family life.  We have always understood that the foundations of the family, as an eternal unit, were laid even before this earth was created!  Society without basic family life is without foundation and will disintegrate into nothingness."
             -              President Spencer W. Kimball, October 1980 General Conference, Ensign, November 1980, p. 4.

Position Statement:

I know families are central to God’s plan.  As parents, we have a lot of responsibility to teach our children in righteousness.  We need to teach them to keep the commandments, to love one another, and to be accountable for their actions. Mothers and fathers need to work together to make their homes a safe haven from the world.  I want to be a righteous mother in Zion.  I want my family to be eternal.  I know if we build our family’s foundation on Jesus Christ, we can make it through any trial or hardship we face in this life.