Play Together, Stay Together

Families that play together stay together, especially when their play is uplifting and wholesome. Family vacations, holidays, birthday celebrations, and other activities build strong bonds and feelings of self-worth. The phrase “Remember when we…” is sure to bring love and laughter in the years to come.

There Is No Substitute for Work

Building a strong family takes hard work, and part of that work is teaching our children how to work. Though some may see work as something to avoid, the gospel teaches that working for and with our families brings great blessings.God Himself calls His plan for His children “my work and my glory” (Moses 1:39).

Compassion at Home

When life seems tough, home can be a place where we find love, compassion, and warmth. Within our family, we feel reassured that someone understands and cares how we feel. And the compassion we witness and experience at home inspires us to be more compassionate to others.

Living Together in Love

“Love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). On this simple phrase hangs the success of every marriage and family. In the light of Christ’s love we see our family’s divine potential.We love them with all our heart, soul, and mind. And as we do, our ordinary family is transformed into an extraordinary one.

Building a Family of Faith

Faith in our family begins with trusting our Heavenly Father and His promises. We press forward despite challenges, never giving up on ourselves or our children. We teach our family to have faith in Christ by living what we know to be true. Our children learn their most powerful lessons from our faithfulness.

A House of Prayer

Just as we want our children to turn to us for counsel and comfort, our Heavenly Father wants us to turn to Him. He asks that we “pray always, and be believing” (D&C 90:24).  When our children kneel with us in prayer and hear our pleadings in their behalf, the foundation of prayer is laid in their own lives.

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, andwholesome recreational activities.”

Life will have its storms. We can and must have confidence. God our Heavenly Father has given us the right to know the truth. He has shown that the way to receive that truth is simple—so simple a child can follow it.

Once it is followed, more light comes from God to enlighten the understanding of His faithful spirit child. That light will become brighter even as the world darkens. The light that comes to us with truth will be brighter than the darkness that comes from sin and error around us.

It is by faith that you can lay hold upon every good thing. Just as you are marked as a target by the enemy of righteousness, you have been protected and watched over by your Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They know you. They know all the forces and individuals around you. They know what is ahead of you.

And so They know which of the choices you make, which of the desires you satisfy, and which of the circumstances around you will make the most difference in keeping you walking in the light.

I testify that by the Spirit of Christ and by the Holy Ghost, you may walk confidently in whatever difficulties will come. Because you are so valuable, some of your trials may be severe. You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith.

The child learns both from what the parents do and what they say.

The child who sees a mother or a father pass through the trials of life with fervent prayer to God and then hears a sincere testimony that God answered in kindness will remember what they saw and heard. When their trials come, they will be prepared

If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in your Church meetings, you will find it.

And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.

Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others.

There is no surprise in that, since the Lord proclaimed those as the first and great commandments. It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him.

We each think, say, and do things in our daily lives that can offend the Spirit. The Lord taught us that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion when our hearts are full of charity and when virtue garnishes our thoughts unceasingly (see D&C 121:45).

For those who are struggling with the high standard needed to qualify for the gift of the Spirit’s companionship, I offer this encouragement. You have had times when you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost. It may have happened for you today.

You can treat those moments of inspiration like the seed of faith that Alma described (see Alma 32:28). Plant each one. You can do that by acting on the prompting you felt.

The most valuable inspiration will be for you to know what God would have you do. If it is to pay tithing or to visit a grieving friend, you should do it. Whatever it is, do it.

When you demonstrate your willingness to obey, the Spirit will send you more impressions of what God would have you do for Him.

University studies and discussions between students tend to focus on the young family—primarily early marriage years. And yet these years are fleeting. To understand marriage and family we must develop our awareness of challenges and opportunities common to the aging family.

As noted elsewhere couples tend to focus strongly on their children's development and activities rather intensely during the child-rearing years. But the couples who focus too exclusively there lose the passion and joy of their own marriage.

We will discuss challenges associated with the "sandwich generation"—adults who find themselves caring for both children and aging parents. We will also examine the retired couple and the challenges and opportunities commonly associated with such significant realignment of time and energies. We will also consider the losses associated with the aging family, including the loss of adult children, health, independence and one's spouse.

Blended families have challenges on several fronts: they resulted from a "failure" in an earlier marriage, there are almost always continued ties of some sort, and there are few useful models of how a blended family ought to be constructed. (Sorry, the Brady Bunch just won't cut it.)

Here we will address some of the effects of divorce and remarriage—blending of families. Rather than focusing on several of the obvious negative outcomes of divorce we will look at how we can respond to many of them.

We will consider the total effects of parenting, both upon the children and the parents, as well as the subsystems. Though we will not be able to cover the wide range of topics and opportunities relative to parenting we will dive in deeply enough to help you develop some parenting skills and perspectives beyond your own upbringing experiences.

As always, recognizing and committing to utilize wise and well-researched approaches will serve you well, in terms of developing your own family skills and helping others to do so as well.

It would be great if everything went smoothly and on schedule, but it is not likely to work quite that easily.

Every family encounters crises—those moments in which our choices either move our family in an upward direction or create additional, perhaps more serious, problems to address. Crisis is best viewed as an opportunity paired with danger; as the term implies our response to these moments are critical to our further success.

transitional challenges and opportunities for the new family—dating and courtship, becoming a couple and blending resources, having young children, and establishing proper sexual relations as a couple while teaching children proper principles and boundaries.

To mothers everywhere, you are magnificent!

You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He knows that your giving birth to a child does not immediately propel you into the circle of the omniscient.

If you and your husband will strive to love God and live the gospel yourselves; if you will plead for that guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit promised to the faithful; if you will go to the temple to both make and claim the promises of the most sacred covenants a woman or man can make in this world; if you will show others, including your children, the same caring, compassionate, forgiving heart you want heaven to show you; if you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.

 







Children are a blessing. Little angels sent from our loving Heavenly Father to give our lives bliss! I know it is really important to treat these children with love and to be able to raise and guide them in a home with the gospel. Be an example to your little ones, hold them, play with them, be kind and compassionate. All is well when God is watching over you. Include your husband in the expeience of having a baby in your tummy for 9 months, make him feel the love too. Then include him as much as possible. He has the same love for them as well.

I know that you and I are children of a loving Heavenly Father. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, lives and that He is our Savior and that He paid the price of all of our sins. He was resurrected, and He and Heavenly Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, translated through the gift and power of God. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ.

I know that through the Holy Ghost we can learn what God would have usdo. I testify that He can give us the power to do what He asks of us, whatever it is and whatever trials may come.

I pray that we will choose to obey the Lord quickly, always, in quiet times and in storms. As we do, our faith will be strengthened, we will find peace in this life, and we will gain the assurance that we and our families can qualify for eternal life in the world to come.

We each think, say, and do things in our daily lives that can offend the Spirit. The Lord taught us that the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion when our hearts are full of charity and when virtue garnishes our thoughts unceasingly (see D&C 121:45).

For those who are struggling with the high standard needed to qualify for the gift of the Spirit’s companionship, I offer this encouragement. You have had times when you have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost. It may have happened for you today.

You can treat those moments of inspiration like the seed of faith that Alma described (see Alma 32:28). Plant each one. You can do that by acting on the prompting you felt.

The most valuable inspiration will be for you to know what God would have you do. If it is to pay tithing or to visit a grieving friend, you should do it. Whatever it is, do it.

When you demonstrate your willingness to obey, the Spirit will send you more impressions of what God would have you do for Him.

I love this quote by Elder Holland because It is so true about marriage, we each need to have the faith and the courage to go out of our way and serve each other so we can be stronger and grow together! Love is endless if we give our whole hearts. Never focus on the negative but see the good in each other and see how beautiful life can be!

I love this quote because it is so uplifting. I know this life is hard and al things may seem dark and dreary now. But Enjoy the moment, this life is short and all experiences are given to us so we can learn and grow and come unto Christ, we need to take all our experience and change our attitude for better.

Fathers are so precious in a child's life, They have to be there to fully support them when there is a need. Children recognize when a father is present and when he is not. Life is a continue tremulous battle field and where would the family be without fathers? the example of a father is a powerful one and needs to be shown to the world as a positive influence. I am especially thankful for my husband in my life and being my stronghold to help keep me afloat when my boat is rocked by the stormy seas of life. I know that he will be my companion and best friend for all of time. I can always count on him. Im so thankful for the priesthood that he holds, it makes me so proud when he exercises that power.

This week I have felt so small compared to the universe and how I am surrounded by the marvelous miracles that happen on a daily basis. I know that my life can be made strong through adversity and trial. Things that can be difficult for me can become a strength in the eyes of my Father. I am so thankful for the sadness in my life so I can see and appreciate the goodness and happiness that I have. I can see more blessings when I see more sorrow, I know that it seems like it wouldn't work like that but honestly, I feel like I can see all that Heavenly Father can do for me. He knows me and knows how I feel. He understand my life and my heart. Like this little ant, he will empower me with he great spirit and help me to do all things that are hard.

I love how the savior knows all things and he can be such an uplifting love when we need it. I believe with my whole heart that if I do as God would have me do then I will be blessed. All of us can receive the love of the atonement and can feel the peace that comes with it.

In our class, we talked about gender roles and how men and women are very different from each other. Me and woman were created equal so that they can serve different purposes on this earth. They each do specific things to balance one another and we can't have one without the other. Men and women need each other to serve specific roles. Men provide, protect and women nurture. Dad and mom are given children to raise, to help nurture and grow.

This Week it was an amazing experience to be in a classroom that brings real world problems to the discussion. It never clicked for me that so many people have changing life experiences that can change the structure of their family. It made a huge impact on me and how I saw other families. I know that many of us can go through events in our life that test and trial, that make us break down and feel like we are running in the dark with no sense of direction. We can be worried about what will happen and how things will change, for the better or for the worst. We may start out to have the best intentions but it doesn't always happen to what we think may be the outcome. I know that these hopes and dreams that we thought could set us free, actually bind us to a new bizarre culture that we aren't use to. This molds our family differently. For example, this week we talked about a family trying to immigrant to the United States from Mexico. We discussed how difficult it would be to get enough money to just send one person ( such as the father, to test the waters). The family may think that it will only take a couple months till they can come join, but on the other hand, it takes years instead. Their whole family system is now upside down because of the changing roles of the parents and the children.

When people think of cultural, they think that there is a difference between, skin color, race, or location. But have you ever thought about cultural from your family. Most of us don't realize there is a cultural that our families have. There is a set of beliefs, or traditions that we follow as a group that some other families do not. Most of us don't realize how those traditions were set up, They simply were already there and you just follow along. Sometimes it isn't easy to recognize the rules we have set up because they aren't written down on paper, they are just established from the fact that we learned through experience. It is a quite interesting part of life.

 I am really into my class that I am taking at BYU-I, It is amazing how there are so many things that contribute to the family that I never realize are apart of it. This week we talked about how the family has different relationships and different boundaries that they perceive about themselves. We related the boundaries to fences, there needs to be a balance between how open and closed off you are. Some families have relationships that have a cinder block wall, that means it is a solid line that shows to other people that they are private and not friendly or open to other people. Another situation would be if there were no boundaries, It is too open to the outside and have no protection. People don't understand that there should be some privacy. The perfect in between is having a white picket fence. It shows to other people that there is a boundary and keeping things to the family, but it also shows there isn't a cut off of friendliness because of the spaces. I think we need to make sure our families have a good boundary around us.

Hello once again!

         We had an amazing discussion this week about the family and how there are so many different aspects that effect the family unit. I love talking about the family and being able to know how we can make our families stronger. I believe that there are so many things we can do to strengthen our family like reading our scriptures, praying, going to the temple, and going to church. This week we talked about how living alone, employed mothers, same sex marriage and divorce all can make a huge difference. I realized that the main difference about all these things is that they are adult decisions to make adults happy or have pleasure. There isn't any consideration of the children and how it affects their lives. I know that families and children are given to us to have joy and peace in our lives, we should not neglect children's feelings for our own choice. They impact the next generation and will continue the trend that is taught by their parents. When I was reading in the Doctrine and Covenants in chapter 10 verse 33, it states “Thus Satan thinketh  to overpower your testimony in this generation, that the work may not come forth in this generation”.  I know that it is such a blessing to have someone in my life to always help my uphold my standards. We love to read the scriptures together every night and say prayers together. When I was walking down the hallway at school there was a drawing that illustrated two mountain cliffs with a gap in-between. On one side we stood at the edge of the cliff and it stated, “What we are” then on the other side of the mountain it stated, “What we want to be”. Then in the middle where the gap was, stated “leap of faith”. Simply it said under the illustration, “Make the jump”. I thought it was very strong and inspiring. We all must make the jump and stand up for families!! We all have so much potential and ability to accomplish great things. Heavenly Father wants us to perform miracles and make something of ourselves and our familes. I know with faith and his help that we can allow him to mold us into what he needs us to be, so we can be an instrument in his hands. I love you all!!!

Hello World!!!
       

           I am a college student at BYU-I and love going to school there. My major is childhood education and I hope to be a preschool teacher one day and help children. Ever since I was little girl, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always said I wanted to be a mom. I love family and how life couldn't be complete without others in our lives to love and to support. I recently just got married a couple weeks ago on August 1st. My husband and I were sealed to each other in the Los Angles Temple. Life is full of Bliss!! Now I am taking a class in college on family, so I have created this blog so that the idea of the family can be talked about and hopefully discussed back and forth. I have roots of faith that have helped keep me grounded in the right place my whole life.I know as time goes on that my faith and family can blossom. Family is a Beautiful thing.