Gospel Topic Tuesday: Families

While sitting in Young Women's listening to the lesson it was talking about things we promised to do when we came down to earth.

1. Live a righteous life
2. Get married in the temple
3. Have a family and raise them in righteousness

These are all things I am trying to do and have done. The later is the newest one on my list of accomplishments and on my to do list. While looking at blogs yesterday I found a craft around the "The Family Proclamation". So I was trying to decide what to write on today it hit me...the Family.

Families are the central part of Heavenly Father's plan. In the book of Genesis in chapter 1 verse 28 the Lord commands Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. It is a commandment from the very beginning to have families. We all come from a Heavenly family, we were (and are) brothers and sisters in the pre-existence. We came down to the earth and were born into families. I know and believe that if we are sealed in the temple that our families are sealed together for time and all eternity. If we live worthy and obey God's commandments we can live together again with God and Jesus Christ.

A family consists of a mother and a father who have the "solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children" (The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Jun 1996). Of course marriage is not easy but if you read the Proclamation closely it tells you how to have a happy and successful marriage and family. "Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." Basically all the principles of the gospel. Now if you do these things it does not mean that your marriage and family will be trial free. We are here after all to gain experiences and be tried to see if we will follow the Lord. I find it interesting how work is close to the end of the list. Work is good and necessary but it should not be all consuming. We need to balance our lives with family at the head.

I am grateful for the Proclamation on families and the principles it outlines. I am grateful for the family I was raised in and the bonds built there. I am grateful for my budding family and look forward with faith for the Lord to help me raise it in righteousness that we might all be worthy to return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again.