Family

1) “We can begin to become more diligent and concerned at home by telling the people we love that we love them. Such expressions do not need to be flowery or lengthy. We simply should sincerely and frequently express love.” (Elder David A. Bednar, Nov. 2009, “More Diligent and Concerned at Home,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/more-diligent-and-concerned-at-home?lang=eng)

2) “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. While other institutions such as church and school can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), this responsibility ultimately rests on the parents. According to the great plan of happiness, it is goodly parents who are entrusted with the care and development of Heavenly Father’s children.” (Elder L. Tom Perry, Nov. 2012, “Becoming Goodly Parents,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/11/becoming-goodly-parents?lang=eng&query=family)

3) “The need for civility in society has never been more important. The foundation of kindness and civility begins in our homes. It is not surprising that our public discourse has declined in equal measure with the breakdown of the family. The family is the foundation for love and for maintaining spirituality. The family promotes an atmosphere where religious observance can flourish. There is indeed ‘beauty all around when there’s love at home’.” (Elder Quentin L. Cook, Nov. 2012, “Can Ye Feel So Now?”, Engisn, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/11/can-ye-feel-so-now?lang=eng&query=family)

4) “The real question, of course, is about cause and effect...When people make family and religious commitments to gospel principles, they begin to do better spiritually and often temporally as well. And, of course, societies at large are strengthened as families grow stronger. Commitments to family and values are the basic cause. Nearly everything else is effect. When couples marry and make commitments to each other, they greatly increase their chances of economic well-being. When children are born in wedlock and have both a mom and a dad, their opportunities and their likelihood of occupational success skyrocket. And when families work and play together, neighborhoods and communities flourish, economies improve, and less government and fewer costly safety nets are required.” (Elder M. Russell Ballard, May 2012, “That the Lost May Be Found,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/05/that-the-lost-may-be-found?lang=eng&query=family)

5)  “Through all the fast-paced changes occurring around us, we earnestly pray and work to ensure that the values of the gospel of Jesus Christ endure. Already some of them are in jeopardy of being lost. At the top of the list of these values and, therefore, prime targets of the adversary, are the sanctity of marriage and the central importance of families. They provide an anchor and the safe harbor of a home where each child of a loving Heavenly Father can be influenced for good and acquire eternal values.” (Elder L. Tom Perry, November 2012, “Becoming Goodly Parents,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/11/becoming-goodly-parents?lang=eng)

6)  “The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is to see a husband and his wife and their children happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling—from which they will never be released—is to one another and then to their children.” (President Boyd K. Packer, May 2012, “And a Little Child Shall Lead Them,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/05/and-a-little-child-shall-lead-them?lang=eng)

7)  “We need to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended, negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.” (Elder L. Tom Perry, May 2003, “The Importance of the Family,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/05/the-importance-of-the-family?lang=eng)

8) “Of utmost importance to the well-being of children is whether their parents were married, the nature and duration of the marriage, and, more broadly, the culture and expectations of marriage and child care where they live... Children need the emotional and personal strength that come from being raised by two parents who are united in their marriage and their goals.” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, November 2012, “Protect the Children,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/11/protect-the-children?lang=eng)

9) “Let me say again that the family is the main target of evil’s attack and must therefore be the main point of our protection and defense. As I said once before, when you stop and think about it from a diabolically tactical point of view, fighting the family makes sense to Satan. When he wants to disrupt the work of the Lord, he doesn’t poison the world’s peanut butter supply, thus bringing the Church’s missionary system to its collective knees. He doesn’t send a plague of laryngitis to afflict the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He doesn’t legislate against green Jell-O and casseroles. When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God’s work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception.” (Elder M. Russell Ballard, November 2003, “Let Our Voices Be Heard,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2003/11/let-our-voices-be-heard?lang=eng)

10)  “We hold in our arms the rising generation. They come to this earth with important responsibilities and great spiritual capacities. We cannot be casual in how we prepare them. Our challenge as parents and teachers is not to create a spiritual core in their souls but rather to fan the flame of their spiritual core already aglow with the fire of their premortal faith.” (Elder Neil L. Andersen, May 2010, “Tell Me the Stories of Jesus,” Ensign, https://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/05/tell-me-the-stories-of-jesus?lang=eng)