Tag: Elder Perry

Remembering Elder Perry

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

Elder L. Tom Perry, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, passed away on May 30, 2015, at the age of 92. He was such an inspiring man, and I have been reviewing and learning more about him.

I love how Elder Perry was true to his testimony and his concern for other people right until his last day (source).

At Elder L. Tom Perry’s funeral in the Tabernacle today, Elders Dallin H. Oaks and M. Russell Ballard both delivered heartfelt tributes to their colleague and friend. During his address, Elder Ballard related the following:

“Three days prior to his passing, Elder . . . Oaks and I called on Elder and Sister Perry. We had a tender visit, and as always, Elder Perry spoke of his love of the members of the Church, and his great anxiety and concern for their spiritual well-being.”

Elder Oaks remembered Elder Perry saying, “I just worry about what is going on in the world! How did we get mixed up in this mess?” Elder Perry continued, “Worldwide morals are declining. At the same time, we have populations all over the world that are suffering. We have lost our good, strong Christian beliefs—it is just a tough time.”

Then Elder Oaks said, “As was typical of Elder Perry, he did not linger on the negative.” He smiled as he recalled these words from a dying apostle: “We have a lot of great talented help in the Church! These young kids who come along—I just love them. They’re strong!”

Elder Ballard recounted the advice that Elder Perry wanted the people of the Church to hear. “[I wish I] could get every member of the Church to go and partake of the sacrament, and when they took the bread, they’d ask themselves, ‘Who am I? What am I doing? How am I living? Where am I going? What should I be accomplishing?’ as they renew their covenants with the Lord.” He finished, “The minute they’d pick up the bread, something [would] happen.”

In those final quiet days, Elder Perry delivered this testimony to his brethren in the apostleship. “Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Everything depends on Him. We’d better find a way to stay close to him, and if [we] can’t, there’s not much hope. [He] is what we need.”

Inspiring Teachings from Elder Perry

“The family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness” (April 2015).

“The most powerful teaching a child will ever receive will come from concerned and righteous fathers and mothers” (October 2014).

“Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence” (April 2014).

“Make the honoring of family traditions—holiday traditions, birthday traditions, Sunday traditions, dinnertime traditions—and the development of new ones a priority throughout your lives” (December 2012).

L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Goodly Parents”. October 2012 General Conference.

L. Tom Perry, “Mothers Teaching Children in the Home,” Ensign, May 2010, 29–31

Marriage Matters FHE Lesson (May 2015).

Helpful links 

Life Sketch and A Builder of the Kingdom

Biography and links to his recent conference addresses.

3 Things We’ll Never Forget About Elder Perry

News recap of his funeral service

Marriage Matters: Celebrating our Marriage (FHE plans and quotes from Elder Perry)

Nurture Mama 1 Comment

My husband and I are celebrating 13 years of marriage today, and what better way to celebrate than a FHE lesson on marriage!

Lesson Plan

“Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World, paragraph seven).fh_lt_antique_2_sm

image source

Use photo albums and scrapbooks to share pictures and stories from our wedding day thirteen years ago. 1-wedding_photo

Discuss ways that we can focus on and live the teachings of Jesus Christ in our family.

Celebrate our family with a fancy cake for dessert made by dad!

Further Discussion

Discuss the following points from Elder L. Tom Perry, “Why Marriage and Family Matter-Everywhere in the World”. April 2015 General Conference.

“The family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness.”

“Last November, Elder Perry attended a colloquium, which is an educational conference, at the Vatican in Rome, Italy, with Pres. Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and Bishop Gérald Caussé. Explain how the location is honored by the Catholic religion and other Christians. The fact that leaders from our church would also be invited shows that many of our beliefs are honored by other religions too” (source).

Pope Francis opened the first session of the assembly with this statement: “We now live in a culture of the temporary, in which more and more people are simply giving up on marriage as a public commitment. This revolution in manners and morals has often flown the flag of freedom, but in fact it has brought spiritual and material devastation to countless human beings, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. … It is always they who suffer the most in this crisis.”-

“It was remarkable for me to see how marriage and family-centered priorities cut across and superseded any political, economic, or religious differences. When it comes to love of spouse and hopes, worries, and dreams for children, we are all the same.”

“What the restored gospel brings to the discussion on marriage and family is so large and so relevant that it cannot be overstated: we make the subject eternal! We take the commitment and the sanctity of marriage to a greater level because of our belief and understanding that families go back to before this earth was and that they can go forward into eternity.”

Powerful teaching comes from concerned parents

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“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.“

Elder L. Tom Perry, “Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families”. October 2014 General Conference.

“Obedience is a choice.” (Highlights from Elder Perry, April 2014)

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

meme-perry-simplicity-1240672-gallery“So the lesson my grandfather taught me was always to be ready to receive the gentle tug of the Spirit. He taught me that I would always receive such a prompting if I ever veered off course. And I would never be guilty of more serious wrongdoings if I allowed the Spirit to guide me in my decisions.”

“when we demonstrate our faithfulness through obedience, God will ultimately rescue us.”

“Strong, proactive obedience is anything but weak or passive. It is the means by which we declare our faith in God and qualify ourselves to receive the powers of heaven. Obedience is a choice. It is a choice between our own limited knowledge and power and God’s unlimited wisdom and omnipotence.”

Elder L. Tom Perry, “Obedience through Our Faithfulness”. April 2014 General Conference. 

 

Keep the commandments for eternal happiness

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“A useful way to think about the commandments is they are loving counsel from a wise, all-knowing Heavenly Father. His goal is our eternal happiness, and His commandments are the road map He has given us to return to Him, which is the only way we will be eternally happy. How significant are the home and the family to our eternal happiness? On page 141 of my little brown book, it states, “Indeed our heaven is little more than a projection of our homes into eternity.”

“In a world where the moral compass of society is faltering, the restored gospel of Jesus Christ never wavers, nor should its stakes and wards, its families, or its individual members. We must not pick and choose which commandments we think are important to keep but acknowledge all of God’s commandments. We must stand firm and steadfast, having perfect confidence in the Lord’s consistency and perfect trust in His promises.”

Elder L. Tom Perry, “Obedience to Law is Liberty”. April 2013 General Conference.

The Importance of Traditions

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“I believe family traditions are like the hewn oak trunks driven into the ground to build the Old Fort House. Make the honoring of family traditions—holiday traditions, birthday traditions, Sunday traditions, dinnertime traditions—and the development of new ones a priority throughout your lives. Honor them, write them down, and make certain you follow them. Studies show that the reason young people join gangs is for the tradition and ritual of belonging to something larger than self. That is what a family should be. Be certain you are creating a rich environment in which your family can look forward to special times of the year when traditions hold you together as a great eternal family unit.

“Understand that this is neither a simple nor an easy solution. Just as Rome was not built in a day, neither are family traditions. Family traditions can offer basic and lasting support, but there’s a lot that must be built around them. Perhaps family traditions work only when they create a role for every member of the family and when there is united effort to build them. This means family members need to spend time together and learn how to work together. When it comes to families, there is no such thing as quality time without a certain quantity of time.”

Elder L. Tom Perry “The Tradition of Light and Testimony”. The Ensign, December 2012, p. 29.

Highlights from General Conference: Elder Perry “Becoming Goodly Parents”

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions such as church and school can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), this responsibility ultimately rests on the parents. ”

Five things parents can do to create stronger family cultures:

“First, parents can pray in earnest, asking our Eternal Father to help them love, understand, and guide the children He has sent to them.

Second, they can hold family prayer, scripture study, and family home evenings and eat together as often as possible, making dinner a time of communication and the teaching of values.

Third, parents can fully avail themselves of the Church’s support network, communicating with their children’s Primary teachers, youth leaders, and class and quorum presidencies. By communicating with those who are called and set apart to work with their children, parents can provide essential understanding of a child’s special and specific needs.

Fourth, parents can share their testimonies often with their children, commit them to keep the commandments of God, and promise the blessings that our Heavenly Father promises His faithful children.

Fifth, we can organize our families based on clear, simple family rules and expectations, wholesome family traditions and rituals, and “family economics,” where children have household responsibilities and can earn allowances so that they can learn to budget, save, and pay tithing on the money they earn.”

L. Tom Perry, “Becoming Goodly Parents”. October 2012 General Conference.

Protect your children by teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ

Nurture Mama Leave a comment

“Elder Joseph Fielding Smith taught: “It is the duty of parents to teach their children these saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they will know why they are to be baptized and that they may be impressed in their hearts with a desire to continue to keep the commandments of God after they are baptized, that they may come back into his presence. Do you, my good brethren and sisters, want your families, your children; do you want to be sealed to your fathers and your mothers before you … ? If so, then you must begin by teaching at the cradle-side. You are to teach by example as well as precept” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1948, 153).

“According to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” the principles I have taught about teaching in the home apply to both parents, but they are especially crucial to the role of a mother. Fathers most often spend much of their day away from home in their employment. That is one of the many reasons so much of the responsibility for teaching the child in the home falls on mothers. While circumstances do vary and the ideal isn’t always possible, I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation. We see so many challenges today from distracting and destructive influences intended to mislead God’s children. We are seeing many young people who lack the deep spiritual roots necessary to remain standing in faith as storms of unbelief and despair swirl around them. Too many of our Father in Heaven’s children are being overcome by worldly desires. The onslaught of wickedness against our children is at once more subtle and more brazen than it has ever been. Teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home adds another layer of insulation to protect our children from worldly influences.”

L. Tom Perry, “Mothers Teaching Children in the Home,” Ensign, May 2010, 29–31