Quotes Card File: August 2020

Friday, August 28, 2020

Put distractions, like technology, away at church

"In speaking about the sacrament meeting experience in general, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, suggested, “Our primary goal is for everyone to have a spiritual experience and a strengthening faith in our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through Sabbath day observance.” He added, “Surely we can expect that cell phones and iPads, games and food can be set aside for one precious hour out of 168 hours in a week for the sacrament meeting that is devoted to Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”"

"Managing Food Allergies at Church," By Lisa Ann Thomson, Ensign, June 2020, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/06/managing-food-allergies-at-church?lang=eng

M. Russell Ballard, “Elder Ballard’s Closing Testimony” (video), part of April 2015: Sabbath Day Observance video collection, ChurchofJesusChrist.org/media-library. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2015-04-1013-video-elder-ballards-closing-testimony-241?lang=eng#churchofjesuschrist

“What counsel do you have for fathers?”

Recently, I joined several Church leaders in recording a multistake conference broadcast to our members in Chile—73 stakes. Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s talk had an important message about fathers, which I share with my strong endorsement:

“Unfortunately, in some homes it is always the wife and mother who has to suggest—even sometimes plead—that the family gather for prayer or for home evening. This should not be. The women in our lives have the right to look to their husbands to assume their duty and to take the lead. A husband should counsel continually with his wife about the welfare of each of their children. … Most sisters are willing and eager to counsel with their husbands and can provide many helpful insights and recommendations, but it will be easier for them if their husband takes the initiative to talk with them and to plan together.”

Brethren, rise up to your responsibilities to lead your families in righteousness.

- President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, "Answers to Seven Questions from Young Married Adults," Ensign, June 2020, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/06/young-adults/answers-to-seven-questions-from-young-married-adults?lang=eng

D. Todd Christofferson, “To the Brethren of the Priesthood: Your Spiritual Leadership,” Chile multistake conference address, Aug. 26, 2018.

Strong families make the Church strong

“Why is the family preeminent in the Church?”

Our relationship to God and the purpose of earth life are explained in terms of the family. We are the spirit children of heavenly parents. The gospel plan is implemented through earthly families, and our highest aspiration is to perpetuate those family relationships throughout eternity. The ultimate mission of the Church is to help us achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and that can only be accomplished in a family relationship.

Church leaders and teachers should use every possible opportunity to recognize the preeminence and strengthen the position of the home and family. As the First Presidency reminded us in 1999, “The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility.”

We cannot have a strong Church whose leaders and members come mostly from weak families. Conversely, if most of the families in a ward or stake are strong, the ward or stake will also be strong.

Answer questions with testimony

"Children raise questions. Answering their questions in an appropriate way is one of the most important things parents can do. When you are asked a difficult question, such as a puzzler about Church history or doctrine, be honest and positive and tell what you know. If necessary, say you don’t know. But be sure to say what you do know: “I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.”"

"the best answer to any question that threatens faith is to work to increase faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Conversion to the Lord precedes conversion to the Church. And conversion to the Lord comes through prayer and study and service, furthered by loving patience on the part of the spouse and other concerned family members."