Tag: LDS Quotes

This is part eight of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

Do Things as a Family. Eighth, take time to do things together as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Whenever possible, attend, as a family, events where one of the family members is involved, such as a school play, a ball game, a talk, a recital. Attend church meetings together and sit together as a family when you can. Mothers who help families pray and play together will stay together and will bless children’s lives forever.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

This is part seven of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

Read Scriptures Daily. Seventh, take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family. Individual scripture reading is important, but family scripture reading is vital. Reading the Book of Mormon together as a family will especially bring increased spirituality into your home and will give both parents and children the power to resist temptation and to have the Holy Ghost as their constant companion. I promise you that the Book of Mormon will change the lives of your family.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

This is part six of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

“Be Together at Mealtimes. Sixth, take time to be together at mealtimes as often as possible. This is a challenge as the children get older and lives get busier. But happy conversation, sharing of the day’s plans and activities, and special teaching moments occur at mealtime because mothers and fathers and children work at it.”

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

I just got home from a wonderful stake conference. The focus of the meeting was on strengthening families, and I was touched by many of the messages shared. I’ll be sharing some of the things I learned in future posts. But the part that stood out to me the most, the lesson that I feel the Spirit most wanted me to learn today, came in the form of a scripture:

“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;”

Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

“If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

“If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.”

Thomas S. Monson, Finding Joy in the Journey, address given at the 178th Semiannual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5 October 2008.

“The trick is to enjoy it. Don’t wish away your days of caring for young children. This is your great day. Sometimes we get so caught up in the physical work and trivia that we forget the big picture. We forget whose children they really are. When the house is filled with children, noise and teasing and laughter you get the feeling this is forever. Before you know it they will be gone.”

“We have a great responsibility to our children. Find joy in them. Don’t overschedule them or yourself. You may not be able to take them on exotic vacations. It doesn’t matter. When the day dawns bright and sunny, take an excursion to the canyon or park. When it’s cloudy and wet, read a book together or make something good to eat. Give them time to explore and learn about the feel of grass and wiggliness of worms.”

Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, ed. Virginia H. Pearce (1999), 61 and 75.

This is part five of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

Have Weekly Home Evenings. Fifth, take time to have a meaningful weekly home evening. With your husband presiding, participate in a spiritual and an uplifting home evening each week. Have your children actively involved. Teach them correct principles. Make this one of your great family traditions. Remember the marvelous promise made by President Joseph F. Smith when home evenings were first introduced to the Church: “If the Saints obey this counsel, we promise that great blessings will result. Love at home and obedience to parents will increase. Faith will be developed in the hearts of the youth of Israel, and they will gain power to combat the evil influence and temptations which beset them” (in James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. [1965–75], 4:339). This wonderful promise is still in effect today.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

This is part four of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

Pray with Your Children. Fourth, take time to pray with your children. Family prayers, under the direction of the father, should be held morning and night. Have your children feel of your faith as you call down the blessings of heaven upon them. Paraphrasing the words of James, “The … fervent prayer of a righteous [mother] availeth much” (James 5:16). Have your children participate in family and personal prayers, and rejoice in their sweet utterances to their Father in Heaven.

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

This is part three of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

“Read to Your Children. Third, mothers, take time to read to your children. Starting from the cradle, read to your sons and daughters. Remember what the poet said:

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be—
I had a mother who read to me.
(Strickland Gillilan, “The Reading Mother.”)

You will plant a love for good literature and a real love for the scriptures if you will read to your children regularly.”

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

This is part two of my ongoing feature of President Benson’s address to mothers.

“Be a Real Friend. Second, mothers, take time to be a real friend to your children. Listen to your children, really listen. Talk with them, laugh and joke with them, sing with them, play with them, cry with them, hug them, honestly praise them. Yes, regularly spend unrushed one-on-one time with each child. Be a real friend to your children.”

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.

In 1987, President Benson gave a wonderful address entitled To the Mothers in Zion. In his talk he offers ten ways that mothers may spend effective time with their children. I think this talk is so good that I’m tempted to include the whole talk on this blog.

But rather than throwing you the entire talk at once, I will be offering it a snippet at a time. I don’t know about you, but I know I learn better one step at a time. So for the next little while, I will be featuring the wise words of President Benson. Here is the first installment:

“Mothers in Zion, your God-given roles are so vital to your own exaltation and to the salvation and exaltation of your family. A child needs a mother more than all the things money can buy. Spending time with your children is the greatest gift of all.

“With love in my heart for the mothers in Zion, I would now like to suggest ten specific ways our mothers may spend effective time with their children.

“Be at the Crossroads. First, take time to always be at the crossroads when your children are either coming or going—when they leave and return from school, when they leave and return from dates, when they bring friends home. Be there at the crossroads whether your children are six or sixteen. In Proverbs we read, “A child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame” (Proverbs 29:15). Among the greatest concerns in our society are the millions of latchkey children who come home daily to empty houses, unsupervised by working parents.”

Ezra Taft Benson, To the Mothers in Zion, address given at a fireside for parents, 22 February 1987.