While visiting evacuee centers with some of his Brethren after Hurricane Katrina devastated part of the southern United States recently, Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said that what was of most concern to those in crisis were their families.
Speaking in the Saturday afternoon session of general conference, Elder Ballard said, "Crisis or transition of any kind reminds us of what matters most. In the routine of life, we often take our families — our parents and children and siblings — for granted. But in times of danger and need and change there is no question that what we care about most is our families. It will be even more so when we leave this life and enter into the Spirit World. Surely, the first people we will seek to find there will be father, mother, spouse, children, and siblings."
He reminded members of the congregation that this year is the 10th anniversary of the "Proclamation to the World on the Family."
He said, "The Proclamation's clear and simple language stands in stark contrast to the confused and convoluted notions of a society that cannot even agree on a definition of family, let alone supply the help and support parents and families need."
Later, Elder Ballard added, "The world needs to know what the Proclamation teaches because the family is the basic unit of society, of the economy, of our culture, and of our government. And as Latter-day Saints know, family will also be the basic unit in the celestial kingdom."
In spite of the world's changing attitudes, Church doctrine confirms the importance of the family and that "will attract the world to us," he said. "Parents who place a high priority on their families will gravitate to the Church because it offers the family structure, values, doctrine, and eternal perspective that they seek and cannot find elsewhere."
Elder Ballard made "three simple suggestions" on how to preserve and strengthen homes and families:
"First, be consistent in holding daily family prayer and weekly family home evenings. Both of these invite the Lord's Spirit which provides the help and power we need as parents and family leaders. The Church curriculum and magazines have many good ideas for family home evening. Also consider holding a family testimony meeting where parents and children can express their beliefs and feelings to each other in a private and personal setting.
"Second, teach the gospel and basic values in your home. Establish a love for the scriptures by reading them together. Too many of our parents are abdicating this responsibility to the Church. While seminary, auxiliaries, and priesthood quorums are important as a supplement to parental gospel instruction, the main responsibility rests in the home. You might want to choose one gospel subject or family value and watch for opportunities to teach it. Be wise and do not involve children or yourselves in so many activities out of the home that you are so busy that the Spirit of the Lord cannot be recognized or felt in giving you the promised guidance for yourself and your family.
"And third, create meaningful family bonds that give your children an identity stronger than what they can find in their peer group, at school, or any place else. This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, for Sundays. It can also be done through family policies and rules with natural and well-understood consequences. Have a simple family economy where children have specific chores or household duties and receive praise or other reward commensurate with how they do. Teach them the importance of avoiding debt and of earning, saving, and wisely spending money. Help them learn responsibility for their own temporal and spiritual self-reliance."
He concluded, "What matters most is what lasts longest, and our families are for eternity."
