Important Stuff

Dearest Children,
Last night and today was our Stake Conference. Our Stake President, Jack Hamblin, gave the most wonderful talk last night and I wanted to share it with you as best I can from the notes that I took.
It was about being good parents and even all of you aren’t parents yet, you all will be one day. The first part of his talk he gave 3 quotes from 3 prophets that said in a nutshell, that not 1 in a 100 children will go astray if we have Family Home Evening. Teaching the gospel in our home through the scriptures, prayer and FHE will practically assure us as parents that our children will stay true to the gospel. Then he gave counsel to fathers and mothers.

Fathers:
1.Provide homes where love and the Spirit can reside. Do our children feel our love and acceptance. Never speak in anger. Use no lash and no violence. Compliment, use courtesy and listen. Fatherhood is the supreme opportunity of life.
2.Teach principles of truth and help your children to understand those principles. Take time to find out what your children are learning and correct it if necessary.
3.Set in order your own households by keeping the commandments, have family prayer, both husband and wife holding Temple Recommends. Be free from debt, pay all your tithes and offerings.  Be determined to see your family exalted.  No other success can compensate for failure in the home.  Remember President Hinckley’s story of “No Vacant Chairs” when we all sit down together in heaven.

Mothers:
1. Be at the crossroads - when children leave and return from school, dates, activities, with friends. Daycare cannot substitute for a mother.
2.Be a real friend - listen, laugh, joke, sing, cry with your children
3. Take time to read to your children, from the time they are tiny on up. Plan a love for great literature and the scriptures.
4. Take time to pray with your children under the husbands direction
5. Have FHE every week.
6. Be together at mealtimes
7. Read the scriptures daily together - VITAL. Reading the Book of Mormon will change their lives. He read several quotes by prophets about FHE and scripture study
8. Do things together - attend events, church, games, vacation, etc. Spend time having fun together
9. Take time to teach your children the gospel in the home. Sunday school, Primary, YM/YW can’t do this for you.  Children will remember your teaching.
 10.Love your children

If we could see into the future and see the results and consequences of our decisions to do these things or not, in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th generations we would double our efforts to raise a righteous family.

I just really loved this talk. I can see that Dad and I did some things right, but we could have done better. You all have turned out pretty darn good in spite of our shortcomings! Much of this is commonsense and just obeying basic gospel principles, but when President Hamblin said it last night he said that if we felt rebuked as he talked to us the perhaps we need to repent and consider it an invitation to do better. It's a little too late for Dad and I to go back and redo the things we did wrong, but it's not too late for all of you to commit to living these principles of the gospel in your home and improve on the last generation. You all are living in a world that is much less righteous than it was 30 years ago when Dad and I started our family. I think these things are even more critical now to save your children in the Celestial Kingdom than they were for Dad and I. FHE should be a part of all of our lives, every week, regardless of whether we have children or not. Dad and I certainly need to do better at this. Just because Jessie has left doesn't mean we shouldn't still be doing this. Daily prayer, scripture study, etc., are all principles that all of us need to have in our personal lives and in our families.

I love you all so much. I feel so grateful for all of you. Dad and I often talk about how wonderful you all are and how blessed we are to have children (by blood and marriage) like you. The older I get the more I know that President McKay's statement about no success can compensate for failure in the home is true. That's what really matters - saving ourselves and our children so we can all sit down in heaven together.