Love at Home – President Thomas S. Monson
09688_000_003 Blessed Family Life
“When we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on—home and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family life.”1
Sharing Our Love
“Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ …
“Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important.”2
Showing Our Love
“Brethren, let’s treat our wives with dignity and with respect. They’re our eternal companions. Sisters, honor your husbands. They need to hear a good word. They need a friendly smile. They need a warm expression of true love. …
“To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them.”3
Expressing Our Love
“To you parents, express your love to your children. Pray for them that they may be able to withstand the evils of the world. Pray that they may grow in faith and testimony. Pray that they may pursue lives of goodness and of service to others.
“Children, let your parents know you love them. Let them know how much you appreciate all they have done and continue to do for you.”4
What Is Most Important
“What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”5
Bringing Heaven Closer
“May our families and homes be filled with love: love of each other, love of the gospel, love of our fellowman, and love of our Savior. As a result, heaven will be a little closer here on earth.
“May we make of our homes sanctuaries to which our family members will ever want to return.”6
A Prayer for Families
“Inasmuch as the family unit is under attack in the world today, and many things long held sacred are ridiculed, we ask Thee, our Father, to make us equal to the challenges we face, that we may stand strong for truth and righteousness. May our homes be havens of peace, of love and of spirituality.”7
Teaching from This Message
In one type of learning activity, “the teacher presents a question or situation and gives learners a short amount of time to freely suggest solutions or ideas” (Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 160). As you read this article with the family, ask them to listen for counsel or ideas that impress them. Family members could then suggest ways to increase love in their home. Consider inviting the family to review these ideas in an upcoming family home evening.
Youth
Mother Rescued Us By Patricia Auxier
09688_000_004
When I was six, my little sister and I were watching our older sister’s basketball game. My dad left, and then we decided that we wanted to go home with him, so we ran after him in the rain. When we couldn’t find him, we went back to the gym to go home with our mom, but by the time we entered the gym, everyone in the building was gone.
I remember huddling in a doorframe, trying to get my little sister and me out of the rain, praying that someone would come. Then I remember hearing the door to our red van slam shut, and we went running toward the sound. Then came one of the most vivid childhood memories I have: our mother enfolding us in her arms “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” (3 Nephi 10:4). My mother had rescued us, and I never felt more secure than I did at that moment.
As I think of her influence on me, I see that my mother’s life has pointed me toward the Savior and has shown me what it means to “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). She relied on Jesus Christ, who gave her strength “beyond [her] own” (“Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Hymns, no. 220).
I never felt more secure than I did at the moment my mother enfolded us in her arms.
Children
Building a Happy Home
09688_000_005President Monson suggests ways we can build a happy home. Look through the article to find things you and your family can do to make a happy home. Each time you find something you can do, write it in one of the spaces provided. After you have found your first item, draw the part of the home listed next to the line. Find at least five ways you can build a happy home and draw the whole house and your family in it.
1. Walls ______________________________________
2. Roof ______________________________________
3. Door ______________________________________
4. Windows ______________________________________
5. Family ______________________________________
“Love to Share”
cji
8/1/11
Blessings found abound
wherein there is love
tender forgiving thoughtful
a small touch or smile
understood and known
where true love grown
therein found no guile
with hearts ever full
this gift from far above
made rich fertile ground!
Copyright © 2011 – cji
Visiting Teaching: Come to the Temple and Claim Your Blessings
Close Audio
Study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life.
Come to the Temple and Claim Your Blessings
09607_000_005Faith • Family • Relief
Sisters, we are most blessed. The Savior stands at the head of this Church. We are led by living prophets. We have the holy scriptures. And we have many holy temples throughout the world where we can obtain the ordinances necessary to help us return to our Heavenly Father.
We go first to the temple for ourselves. “The primary purpose of the temple,” explained Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “is to provide the ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Temple ordinances guide us to our Savior and give us the blessings that come to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Temples are the greatest university of learning known to man, giving us knowledge and wisdom about the Creation of the world. Endowment instructions give guidance as to how we should conduct our lives here in mortality. … The ordinance consists of a series of instructions on how we should live and covenants we make to live righteously by following our Savior.”1
But our temple service does not end there. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught: “Acting as proxy for someone who has gone beyond the veil, you will have reviewed before you the covenants that you have made. You will have reinforced in your mind the great spiritual blessings that are associated with the house of the Lord. … In the covenants and ordinances center the blessings that you may claim in the holy temple.”2
Come to the temple and then come again. Making and keeping temple covenants will keep us on course to the greatest of all blessings—eternal life.
Barbara Thompson, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.
From the Scriptures
Isaiah 2:3; 1 Corinthians 11:11; Revelation 7:13–15; Doctrine and Covenants 109
From Our History
The Prophet Joseph often spoke to Relief Society sisters at their meetings. With the Nauvoo Temple under construction, the Prophet instructed the sisters in doctrine, preparing them to receive more knowledge through temple ordinances. In 1842 he said to Mercy Fielding Thompson that the endowment “will bring you out of darkness into marvelous light.”3
An estimated 6,000 Latter-day Saints received temple ordinances before the exodus from Nauvoo. President Brigham Young (1801–77) said, “Such has been the anxiety manifested by the saints to receive the ordinances [of the temple], and such the anxiety on our part to administer to them, that I have given myself up entirely to the work of the Lord in the Temple night and day, not taking more than four hours sleep, upon an average, per day, and going home but once a week.”4 The strength and power of temple covenants fortified the Saints as they left their city and temple for a journey into the unknown.
What Can I Do?
1. What experience will I share to strengthen those I visit in their determination to “come to the temple”?
2. How can I personally claim the blessings of the temple?
“Blessings From on High”
cji
8/1/11
Entering hallowed ground
able the spirit to embrace
putting aside all that’s worldly
presenting oneself worthy
eternal ordinances performed
guidence from the Scriptures
Prophet to Prophet to today
Father and Son who love
inviting each back home
able the spirit to embrace
entering hallowed ground!
Copyright © 2011 – cji
09688_000_003 Blessed Family Life
“When we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on—home and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family life.”1
Sharing Our Love
“Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ …
“Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important.”2
Showing Our Love
“Brethren, let’s treat our wives with dignity and with respect. They’re our eternal companions. Sisters, honor your husbands. They need to hear a good word. They need a friendly smile. They need a warm expression of true love. …
“To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them.”3
Expressing Our Love
“To you parents, express your love to your children. Pray for them that they may be able to withstand the evils of the world. Pray that they may grow in faith and testimony. Pray that they may pursue lives of goodness and of service to others.
“Children, let your parents know you love them. Let them know how much you appreciate all they have done and continue to do for you.”4
What Is Most Important
“What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.”5
Bringing Heaven Closer
“May our families and homes be filled with love: love of each other, love of the gospel, love of our fellowman, and love of our Savior. As a result, heaven will be a little closer here on earth.
“May we make of our homes sanctuaries to which our family members will ever want to return.”6
A Prayer for Families
“Inasmuch as the family unit is under attack in the world today, and many things long held sacred are ridiculed, we ask Thee, our Father, to make us equal to the challenges we face, that we may stand strong for truth and righteousness. May our homes be havens of peace, of love and of spirituality.”7
Teaching from This Message
In one type of learning activity, “the teacher presents a question or situation and gives learners a short amount of time to freely suggest solutions or ideas” (Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 160). As you read this article with the family, ask them to listen for counsel or ideas that impress them. Family members could then suggest ways to increase love in their home. Consider inviting the family to review these ideas in an upcoming family home evening.
Youth
Mother Rescued Us By Patricia Auxier
09688_000_004
When I was six, my little sister and I were watching our older sister’s basketball game. My dad left, and then we decided that we wanted to go home with him, so we ran after him in the rain. When we couldn’t find him, we went back to the gym to go home with our mom, but by the time we entered the gym, everyone in the building was gone.
I remember huddling in a doorframe, trying to get my little sister and me out of the rain, praying that someone would come. Then I remember hearing the door to our red van slam shut, and we went running toward the sound. Then came one of the most vivid childhood memories I have: our mother enfolding us in her arms “as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings” (3 Nephi 10:4). My mother had rescued us, and I never felt more secure than I did at that moment.
As I think of her influence on me, I see that my mother’s life has pointed me toward the Savior and has shown me what it means to “lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees” (D&C 81:5). She relied on Jesus Christ, who gave her strength “beyond [her] own” (“Lord, I Would Follow Thee,” Hymns, no. 220).
I never felt more secure than I did at the moment my mother enfolded us in her arms.
Children
Building a Happy Home
09688_000_005President Monson suggests ways we can build a happy home. Look through the article to find things you and your family can do to make a happy home. Each time you find something you can do, write it in one of the spaces provided. After you have found your first item, draw the part of the home listed next to the line. Find at least five ways you can build a happy home and draw the whole house and your family in it.
1. Walls ______________________________________
2. Roof ______________________________________
3. Door ______________________________________
4. Windows ______________________________________
5. Family ______________________________________
“Love to Share”
cji
8/1/11
Blessings found abound
wherein there is love
tender forgiving thoughtful
a small touch or smile
understood and known
where true love grown
therein found no guile
with hearts ever full
this gift from far above
made rich fertile ground!
Copyright © 2011 – cji
Visiting Teaching: Come to the Temple and Claim Your Blessings
Close Audio
Study this material and, as appropriate, discuss it with the sisters you visit. Use the questions to help you strengthen your sisters and to make Relief Society an active part of your own life.
Come to the Temple and Claim Your Blessings
09607_000_005Faith • Family • Relief
Sisters, we are most blessed. The Savior stands at the head of this Church. We are led by living prophets. We have the holy scriptures. And we have many holy temples throughout the world where we can obtain the ordinances necessary to help us return to our Heavenly Father.
We go first to the temple for ourselves. “The primary purpose of the temple,” explained Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “is to provide the ordinances necessary for our exaltation in the celestial kingdom. Temple ordinances guide us to our Savior and give us the blessings that come to us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Temples are the greatest university of learning known to man, giving us knowledge and wisdom about the Creation of the world. Endowment instructions give guidance as to how we should conduct our lives here in mortality. … The ordinance consists of a series of instructions on how we should live and covenants we make to live righteously by following our Savior.”1
But our temple service does not end there. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, taught: “Acting as proxy for someone who has gone beyond the veil, you will have reviewed before you the covenants that you have made. You will have reinforced in your mind the great spiritual blessings that are associated with the house of the Lord. … In the covenants and ordinances center the blessings that you may claim in the holy temple.”2
Come to the temple and then come again. Making and keeping temple covenants will keep us on course to the greatest of all blessings—eternal life.
Barbara Thompson, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency.
From the Scriptures
Isaiah 2:3; 1 Corinthians 11:11; Revelation 7:13–15; Doctrine and Covenants 109
From Our History
The Prophet Joseph often spoke to Relief Society sisters at their meetings. With the Nauvoo Temple under construction, the Prophet instructed the sisters in doctrine, preparing them to receive more knowledge through temple ordinances. In 1842 he said to Mercy Fielding Thompson that the endowment “will bring you out of darkness into marvelous light.”3
An estimated 6,000 Latter-day Saints received temple ordinances before the exodus from Nauvoo. President Brigham Young (1801–77) said, “Such has been the anxiety manifested by the saints to receive the ordinances [of the temple], and such the anxiety on our part to administer to them, that I have given myself up entirely to the work of the Lord in the Temple night and day, not taking more than four hours sleep, upon an average, per day, and going home but once a week.”4 The strength and power of temple covenants fortified the Saints as they left their city and temple for a journey into the unknown.
What Can I Do?
1. What experience will I share to strengthen those I visit in their determination to “come to the temple”?
2. How can I personally claim the blessings of the temple?
“Blessings From on High”
cji
8/1/11
Entering hallowed ground
able the spirit to embrace
putting aside all that’s worldly
presenting oneself worthy
eternal ordinances performed
guidence from the Scriptures
Prophet to Prophet to today
Father and Son who love
inviting each back home
able the spirit to embrace
entering hallowed ground!
Copyright © 2011 – cji
