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Teaching October 2012
By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Second
Counselor in the First Presidency
One
Key to a Happy Family
The great Russian author Leo Tolstoy began his novel Anna
Karenina with these words: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family
is unhappy in its own way.”1 While I do not have
Tolstoy’s certainty that happy families are all alike, I have discovered one
thing that most have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the
imperfections of others and of looking for the good.
Those in unhappy families, on the other hand, often find fault,
hold grudges, and can’t seem to let go of past offenses.
“Yes, but …” begin those who are unhappy. “Yes, but you don’t
know how badly she hurt me,” says one. “Yes, but you don’t know how terrible he
is,” says another.
Perhaps both are right; perhaps neither.
There are many degrees of offense. There are many degrees of
hurt. But what I have noticed is that often we justify our anger and satisfy
our consciences by telling ourselves stories about the motives of others that
condemn their actions as unforgivable and egoistic while, at the same time,
lifting our own motives as pure and innocent.
The
Prince’s Dog
There is an old Welsh story from the 13th century about a prince
who returned home to find his dog with blood dripping down its face. The man
rushed inside and, to his horror, saw that his baby boy was missing and his
cradle overturned. In anger the prince pulled out his sword and killed his dog.
Shortly thereafter, he heard the cry of his son—the babe was alive! By the
infant’s side lay a dead wolf. The dog had, in reality, defended the prince’s
baby from a murderous wolf.
Though this story is dramatic, it demonstrates a point. It opens
the possibility that the story we tell ourselves about why others behave a certain
way does not always agree with the facts—sometimes we don’t even want to know
the facts. We would rather feel self-justified in our anger by holding onto our
bitterness and resentment. Sometimes these grudges can last months or years.
Sometimes they can last a lifetime.
A
Family Divided
One father could not forgive his son for departing from the path
he had been taught. The boy had friends the father did not approve of, and he
did many things contrary to what his father thought he should do. This caused a
rift between father and son, and as soon as the boy could, he left home and
never returned. They rarely spoke again.
Did the father feel justified? Perhaps.
Did the son feel justified? Perhaps.
All I know is that this family was divided and unhappy because
neither father nor son could forgive each other. They could not look past the
bitter memories they had about each other. They filled their hearts with anger
instead of love and forgiveness.
Each robbed himself of the opportunity to influence the other’s life for good.
The divide between them appeared so deep and so wide that each became a
spiritual prisoner on his own emotional island.
Fortunately, our loving and wise Eternal Father in Heaven has
provided the means to overcome this prideful gap. The great and infinite
Atonement is the supreme act of forgiveness and reconciliation. Its magnitude
is beyond my understanding, but I testify with all my heart and soul of its reality
and ultimate power. The Savior offered Himself as ransom for our sins. Through
Him we gain forgiveness.
No
Family Is Perfect
None of us is without sin. Every one of us makes mistakes,
including you and me. We have all been wounded. We all have wounded others.
It is through our Savior’s sacrifice that we can gain exaltation
and eternal life. As we accept His ways and overcome our pride by softening our
hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our
personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, to be more willing to
walk the second mile, to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our
fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more. Thanks be to God, who
gave His Only Begotten Son, and to the Son, who gave His life for us.
We can feel God’s love for us every day. Shouldn’t we be able to
give a little more of ourselves to our fellowmen as taught in the beloved hymn “Because I
Have Been Given Much”?2 The Lord has opened
the door for us to be forgiven. Wouldn’t it be only right to put aside our own
egotism and pride and begin to open that blessed door of forgiveness to those
with whom we struggle—especially to all of our own family?
In the end, happiness does not spring from perfection but from
applying divine principles, even in small steps. The First Presidency and
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles have declared: “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.”3
Forgiveness is positioned right in the middle of these simple
truths, founded on our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness. Because forgiveness
connects principles, it connects people. It is a key, it opens locked doors, it
is the beginning of an honest path, and it is one of our best hopes for a happy
family.
May God help us to be a little more forgiving in our families,
more forgiving of each other, and perhaps more forgiving even with ourselves. I
pray that we may experience forgiveness as one wonderful way in which most
happy families are alike.
Teaching
from This Message
“As you prepare each lesson, ask yourself how the principle is
like something family
members have experienced in their own lives” (Teaching, No Greater Call
[1999], 171). Consider inviting family members to share positive experiences
they have had or observed with forgiveness.
Discuss these experiences, emphasizing the blessings of forgiveness. Conclude
by bearing testimony of the importance of forgiving one another.
Youth
Prayer
and Peace
By Lauren W.
One evening I argued with my mom and felt pretty bad. So I decided
I would pray. Although I was in a bad mood and didn’t want to be “spiritual,” I
knew praying would help me feel happier and less argumentative. After my mom
left the room, I started my prayer. “Dear Heavenly Father, I’ve come to Thee
tonight because …” No. I opened my eyes and unfolded my arms; that sounded
awkward. I tried again. “Heavenly Father, I need …” That also sounded strange.
I felt Satan urging me to give up my prayer of asking Heavenly Father for help.
Suddenly I had a prompting to say thank you! So I did, and
thoughts started spilling from my mind of all the many things I could thank my
Father in Heaven for. When I was done thanking Him, I discussed the problem at
hand.
Afterward I felt a wonderful peace inside me, the warm spiritual
feeling that I know our Heavenly Father and my parents love me and that I am a
child of God. I was able to apologize to my mother and accept her apology.
Children
Forgiveness
Brings Happiness
President Uchtdorf teaches that we should forgive our family
members. See how Joseph’s and Anna’s choices affect their family.
Joseph and his little sister, Anna, are playing together. Anna
snatches Joseph’s toy away from him. What should Joseph do?
Joseph gets angry at Anna. Anna cries. Joseph’s mother disciplines him
for fighting with his sister. Joseph is sorry that he made a poor choice.
Joseph forgives Anna and finds another toy to play with. They play together
happily. Their mother is glad that Joseph was kind to his sister and kept peace
in the family. Joseph feels happy for choosing to forgive.
Later, Joseph and Anna need to help their mother prepare dinner.
Joseph doesn’t help. What should Anna do?
Anna complains to her mother. Anna argues about having to do the work
alone. At dinner everyone is unhappy because of the arguing.
Anna forgives Joseph and helps with dinner. Their mother is
grateful for Anna’s help. The family enjoys being together at dinner. Anna feels
good that she chose to forgive.
How do your
choices to forgive affect your family’s happiness?
Visiting
Teaching October 2012
Honoring
Our Covenants
Visiting teaching is an expression of our discipleship and a way
to honor our covenants as we serve and strengthen one another. A covenant is a
sacred and enduring promise between God and His children. “When we realize that
we are children of the covenant, we know who we are and what God expects of
us,” said Elder Russell M.
Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “His law is written in
our hearts. He is our God and we are His people.”1
As visiting teachers we can strengthen those we visit in their
efforts to keep their sacred covenants. By doing so, we help them prepare for
the blessings of eternal life. “Every sister in this Church who has made
covenants with the Lord has a divine mandate to help save souls, to lead the
women of the world, to strengthen the homes of Zion, and to build the kingdom
of God,”2 said Elder M. Russell
Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
As we make and keep sacred covenants, we become instruments in
the hands of God. We will be able to articulate our beliefs and strengthen each
other’s faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
From
the Scriptures
From
Our History
The temple
is “a place of thanksgiving
for all saints,” the Lord
revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1833. It is “a place of instruction
for all those who are
called to the work of
the ministry in all their
several callings and offices; that they
may be perfected in the
understanding of their ministry, in theory,
in principle, and in doctrine, in all
things pertaining to the kingdom
of God on the earth”
(D&C 97:13–14).
Relief Society sisters in Nauvoo,
Illinois, USA, in the early
1840s helped each other prepare for temple
ordinances. In the ordinances of the
higher priesthood that Latter-day Saints received in the
Nauvoo Temple, “the power of godliness
[was] manifest” (D&C 84:20). “As the Saints kept their
covenants, this power strengthened and sustained
them through their trials in the
days and years ahead.”3
In the
Church today, faithful women and
men all over the world
serve in the temple and continue
to find strength in the
blessings that can be received
only through temple covenants.
For more
information, go to reliefsociety.lds.org.
What
Can I Do?
1.
How do my covenants strengthen me?
2.
How am I helping the sisters I watch over to keep their
covenants?
“Understanding
Each”
cji
10/01/12
A family
learning to grow each
becoming
one most important
keeping/making
eternal covenant
thus
love and sharing to teach;
Into the
forever’s all to reach
forgiving
and forgetting much
in
kindness and love to clutch
always
understanding each!
“Entering
on Hallowed Ground”
cji
10/01/12
As Moses
commanded on high
removing
ones shoes each to do
entering
on hallowed ground
eternal
covenants thus to make
forever
then each to keep fully
thus
with each we must know
helping
other’s thus to grow
some to
learn fast or slowly
yet we
each must now awake
on
hallowed ground to be found
living a
life clean and true
approaching
thrones on high!
Copyright © 2012 – cji
