Finding
Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families
It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that provides the foundation upon which we can find lasting peace and build eternal family units.
Our journey through life has periods of both good times and bad.
Each presents different challenges. How we learn to adjust to the changes which
come along depends on the foundation on which we build. The gospel of our Lord
and Savior provides a sure and solid foundation. It is constructed piece by
piece as we gain knowledge of the Lord’s eternal plan for His children. The Savior
is the Master Teacher. We follow Him.
The scriptures testify of Him and provide
an example of perfect righteousness for us to follow. I have shared with the
body of the Church at a previous conference that I have a number of notebooks
in which my mother had recorded material she was using to prepare her Relief
Society lessons. The notes are as timely today as they were then. One of these
was a quote written in 1908 by Charles Edward Jefferson on the character of
Jesus Christ. It reads:
“To be a Christian is to admire Jesus so
sincerely and so fervently that the whole life goes out to him in an aspiration
to be like him.
“… We may come to know him through the
words he spoke, through the deeds he did, and also through his silences. We may
know him also by the impression which he made first upon his friends and
secondly upon his foes, and thirdly upon the general body of his
contemporaries. …
“One of the notes of twentieth century life
is discontent [and trouble]. …
“… The world is crying out for
something, it scarce knows what. Wealth has come, … [and] the world is filled
with … inventions of human skill and genius, but … we are [still] restless,
unsatisfied, [and] bewildered. … [If we open] the New Testament [we are greeted
by these words], ‘Come unto me and I will give you rest, I am the bread of
life, I am the Light of the world, If any man thirst let him come unto me and
drink, My peace I give unto you, You shall receive power, You shall rejoice’” (The Character of Jesus [1908], 7, 11, 15–16).
Men and women are shaped partly by those
among whom they choose to live. Those to whom they look up and try to emulate
also shape them. Jesus is the great Exemplar. The only way to find lasting
peace is to look to Him and live.
What about Jesus is worthy of our study?
“The New Testament writers … cared nothing
for [Jesus’s] stature, the clothes he wore or the houses he lived in. … He was
born in a stable, worked in a carpenter’s shop, taught for three years, and
then died on a cross. … The New Testament was written by men who were
determined that we … fix our eyes on [Him]” (The
Character of Jesus, 21–22) with an assurance that He truly was and is
the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.
One of the Savior’s parables, I believe,
especially applies to our current day.
It is contained in Matthew
chapter 13, where we read:
“But while men slept, his enemy came and
sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
“But when the blade was sprung up, and
brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
“So the servants of the householder came
and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence
then hath it tares?
“He said unto them, An enemy hath done
this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
“But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up
the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
“Let both grow together until the harvest:
and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first
the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my
barn” (verses
25–30).
That old enemy of all mankind has found as
many devices as he can think of to scatter tares far and wide. He has found
ways to have them penetrate even the sanctity of our own homes. The wicked and
worldly ways have become so widespread there seems to be no real way of weeding
them out. They come by wire and through the air into the very devices we have
developed to educate and entertain us. The wheat and the tares have grown close
together. A steward managing the field must, with all his or her power, nourish
that which is good and make it so strong and beautiful the tares will have no
appeal either to the eye or the ear. How blessed are we as members of the
Lord’s Church to have the precious gospel of our Lord and Savior as a
foundation on which we can build our lives.
From the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi
we read: “For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way,
and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do”
(2 Nephi
32:5).
We must never let the noise of the world
overpower and overwhelm that still, small voice.
We certainly have been warned of events
that we will be facing in our day. Our challenge will be how we prepare for the
events the Lord has said are surely still to come.
Many in our worried society understand that
the disintegration of the family will bring only sorrow and hopelessness into a
troubled world. As members of the Church, we have the responsibility to
preserve and protect the family as the basic unit of society and eternity. The
prophets have warned and forewarned about the inevitable and destructive
consequence of a deterioration of family values.
As the world continues to watch us, let us
be certain that our example will sustain and support the plan the Lord has
designed for His children here in mortality. The greatest teaching of all must
be done by righteous example. Our homes must be holy places in order to stand
against the pressures of the world. Remember that the greatest of all the
blessings of the Lord come through and are given to righteous families.
We must carefully continue to evaluate our
performance as parents. The most powerful teaching a child will ever receive
will come from concerned and righteous fathers and mothers. Let us first look
at the role of the mother. Listen to this quote from President Gordon B.
Hinckley:
“Women who make a house a home make a far
greater contribution to society than those who command large armies or stand at
the head of impressive corporations. Who can put a price tag on the influence a
mother has on her children, a grandmother on her posterity, or aunts and
sisters on their extended family?
“We cannot begin to measure or calculate
the influence of women who, in their own ways, build stable family life and
nurture for everlasting good the generations of the future. The decisions made
by the women of this generation will be eternal in their consequences. May I
suggest that the mothers of today have no greater opportunity and no more
serious challenge than to do all they can to strengthen the [home]” (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our
Hearts and Homes [2000], 152).
Now let’s look at the role a father plays
in our lives:
Fathers give blessings and perform sacred
ordinances for their children. These will become spiritual highlights in their
lives.
Fathers are personally involved in leading
family prayers, daily scripture reading, and weekly family home evenings.
Fathers build family traditions by being
involved in helping plan vacation trips and outings that will involve all of
the family members. Memories of these special times together will never be
forgotten by their children.
Fathers hold one-on-one visits with their
children and teach them gospel principles.
Fathers teach sons and daughters the value
of work and help them establish worthy goals in their own lives.
Fathers set an example of faithful gospel
service.
Please remember, brethren, your sacred
calling as a father in Israel—your most important calling in time and
eternity—a calling from which you are never released.
Many years ago at stake conferences, we
would show a film clip to illustrate the theme of the message we were
presenting. During the course of a year, as we traveled around the Church on
our assigned stake conference visits, we became very familiar with the content
of the film. We could almost quote it by heart. The message has remained in my
mind over all these years. The film was narrated by President Harold B.
Lee and gave an account of an occurrence in the home of his daughter. It goes
something like this:
One evening the mother of the home was
frantically trying to finish bottling some fruit. Finally the children were
ready for bed and were settled down. It was now time to get to the fruit. As
she began to peel and pit the fruit, two little boys appeared in the kitchen
and announced that they were ready for their bedtime prayers.
Not wanting to be interrupted, the mother
said very quickly to the boys, “Why don’t you just say your prayers alone
tonight, and Mother will just keep working on the fruit?”
The older of the two sons firmly planted
his feet and asked, “Which is the most important, prayers or fruit?” (See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Harold B. Lee
[2000], 143–44.)
Sometimes we find ourselves in situations
when we have the opportunity to teach children a lesson which will have a
lasting effect on their young lives. Of course, prayers are more important than
fruit. A successful parent should never be too busy to capture a moment in a
child’s life when an important lesson can be taught.
It is my firm conviction that there has
never been a period in my many years of life when our Father in Heaven’s
children have needed the guiding hand of faithful, devoted parents more. We
have a great and noble heritage of parents giving up almost everything they
possess to find a place where they could rear their families with faith and
courage so the next generation would have greater opportunities than had been
theirs. We must find within ourselves that same determined spirit and overcome
the challenges we face with the same spirit of sacrifice. We must instill in
future generations an ever stronger reliance on the teachings of our Lord and
Savior.
“And now, my sons, remember, remember that
it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye
must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty
winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty
storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to
the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built,
which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall”
(Helaman
5:12).
It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that
provides this foundation upon which we can find lasting peace and build eternal
family units. Of this I testify in the name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus
Christ, amen.
“Eternal Families”
cji
11/01/14
What it is all about
in our mortality
holding fast to the
Commandments
obedient in all
things of the Word
enduring the ridicule
of the worldly
seeking after our
progenitors always
they without us
cannot be perfected
listening to Paul’s
baptism for the dead
holding ourselves
worthy eternally
believing Malachi
4:5-6 literally
knowing all things
are to be eternal
yet only those who
covenant
sealed by those with
authority
while in our earthly
mortality!
Copyright © 2014 –
cji
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