Family, 1990 to Today

       Discovering these quotes on the family has been revieling to me of the state of the family sense April,1990. The directions to the church in the 1990s are very simular then as they are today. Happiness in family life is not always easy but as we apply the gosple teachings to our life style, we see the promised blessings come to pass. I have noticed that Family Home Evening is one of those small and simple commandments that I feel brings to much peace to our home. My wife and I work together more effortlessly when have our Family home evenings. Each of the quotes that follow were insightful to me as I studdied the topic of Families in the last 24 years of general conferene. 

Heavenly Father has made each of us unique. No two of us have exactly the same experiences. No two families are alike. So it is not surprising that advice about how to choose happiness in family life is hard to give. Yet a loving Heavenly Father has set the same path to happiness for all of His children. Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever will be our experiences, there is but one plan of happiness. That plan is to follow all the commandments of God.

Elder Henry B. Eyring

To My Grandchildren
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng

Parents today wonder if there is a safe place to raise children. There is a safe place. It is in a gospel-centered home. We focus on the family in the Church, and we counsel parents everywhere to raise their children in righteousness.

President Boyd K. Packer

The Key to Spiritual Protection
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-key-to-spiritual-protection?lang=eng

The messages of this conference will also be woven into the online youth curriculum. Parents, you may access youth lessons for yourself on LDS.org. Find out what your children are learning, and make it the subject of your own study, family discussions, family home evenings, family councils, and personal interviews with each of your children concerning what they need to be taught individually.

Robert D. Hales

General Conference: Strengthening Faith and Testimony
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/general-conference-strengthening-faith-and-testimony?lang=eng

Today, evil forces are challenging the home as never before. If our homes are to endure, parents and children must dedicate themselves to the gospel ideals that ensure preservation of home and family.

Dr. Pearsall expresses the opinion that families aren’t failing, but we are failing the family because we have not learned how to put family life first in our world.

ELder Rex D. Pinegar
“Home First”
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/04/home-first?lang=eng

Although Father and Mother work hard, they should find time to keep informed on current events and to read good books, to discuss the Ensign, the New Era, and the Friend with each other and with their children. These magazines can add a wonderful dimension to our lives if we make them part of our homes and discuss them with our families. This is an ongoing challenge for all of us, but it is worth the effort.
The family should kneel together daily in family prayer. Alma 58:10 tells us: “Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.” Our family has always needed to be strengthened--and still does--and kneeling in prayer daily certainly helps. Children need to be constantly taught how they should act when they mature and have their own families.

Elder LeGrand R. Curtis

Happiness Is Homemade
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1990/10/happiness-is-homemade?lang=eng

Heavenly Father has assigned us to a great variety of stations to strengthen and, when needed, to lead travelers to safety. Our most important and powerful assignments are in the family. They are important because the family has the opportunity at the start of a child’s life to put feet firmly on the path home. Parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, aunts and uncles are made more powerful guides and rescuers by the bonds of love that are the very nature of a family.

Henry B. Eyring 

Help Them on Their Way Home
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/help-them-on-their-way-home?lang=eng

Inviting children as gospel learners to act and not merely be acted upon builds on reading and talking about the Book of Mormon and bearing testimony spontaneously in the home. Imagine, for example, a family home evening in which children are invited and expected to come prepared to ask questions about what they are reading and learning in the Book of Mormon--or about an issue that recently was emphasized in a gospel discussion or spontaneous testimony in the home. And imagine further that the children ask questions the parents are not prepared adequately to answer. Some parents might be apprehensive about such an unstructured approach to home evening. But the best family home evenings are not necessarily the product of preprepared, purchased, or downloaded packets of outlines and visual aids. What a glorious opportunity for family members to search the scriptures together and to be tutored by the Holy Ghost. “For the preacher was no better than the hearer, neither was the teacher any better than the learner; … and they did all labor, every man according to his strength” (Alma 1:26).

David A. Bednar
Watching with All Perseverance
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/watching-with-all-perseverance?lang=eng

My brothers and sisters, what a wonderful occasion this is! I know of nothing else like it in all the world. We are gathered this morning as a great family in reverence and worship of the Lord our God. We are of one faith and one doctrine. We speak words of testimony concerning God our Eternal Father and His Beloved Son. We declare with conviction and certainty that they have restored in this last dispensation The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

President Gordon B. Hinkley
A Great Family in Reverence and Worship
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/a-great-family-in-reverence-and-worship?lang=eng

Every time we strengthen our own testimony or help someone else strengthen theirs, we build the kingdom of God. Every time we mentor a newly baptized sister or befriend a wandering soul without judging her or invite a nonmember family to home evening or give a Book of Mormon to a colleague or lead a family to the temple or stand up for modesty and motherhood or invite the missionaries into our homes or help someone discover the power of the word, we build the kingdom of God. Imagine how it lifted my sister’s spirits when she read this journal entry Tanner had made just before he died: “Thanks, Mom and Dad, for teaching me about Christ.” What builds the kingdom more than raising up a child to the Lord?

Sheri L. Dew

Stand Tall and Stand Together
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/stand-tall-and-stand-together?lang=eng

We can all ask ourselves the standard questions: Are we praying daily, personally and as a family? Are we reading the scriptures? Are we holding our family home evenings and paying our tithing? The list can go on. But the real question is: Are we becoming a disciple? Are we becoming a friend?

Elder Richard C. Edgly

A Disciple, a Friend
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/a-disciple-a-friend?lang=eng

You young women have an important role to play in at least three families. The first is the family you are part of now, the second is your future family, and the third is the heavenly family of which we are all part.

Margaret D. Nudauld
Turning Hearts to the Family
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/turning-hearts-to-the-family?lang=eng

Is yours a culture where the husband exerts a domineering, authoritarian role, making all of the important decisions for the family? That pattern needs to be tempered so that both husband and wife act as equal partners, making decisions in unity for themselves and their family. No family can long endure under fear or force; that leads to contention and rebellion. Love is the foundation of a happy family.
These are other traditions that should be set aside, any aspect of heritage:

That would violate the Word of Wisdom.
That is based on forcing others to comply by the power of station often determined by heredity.
That encourages the establishment of caste systems.
That breeds conflict with other cultures.

Elder Richard G. Scott
Removing Barriers to Happiness
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/removing-barriers-to-happiness?lang=eng

Family--what a sacred name for those we love the most. If someone asked you to name the greatest thing about your family, what would it be? I know that most families, including mine, are not perfect, but every day we are trying to be more kind and thoughtful to each other. This past month my father died. I learned many lessons from my dad. He had such great faith. He said, “Dying is just like walking into another room.” The day he died, I thought: My dad died today! This was his last day on earth! He has just walked into another room. It was such a sweet, sacred experience for my family and me.

Carol B. Thomas
Understanding Our True Identity
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/understanding-our-true-identity?lang=eng