The Family Under Siege

There has been a war between light and darkness, between good and evil, since before the world was created. The battle still rages, and the casualties seem to be increasing. The destroyer would like to make all God’s children miserable. To destroy families is the supreme goal of Satan.

So how do we protect and preserve and strengthen our homes and families in a world pulling so hard in opposite directions? So much now is the need for us to make our homes so sweet that the world tastes bitter to our children.

We need to continually arm ourselves with the armor of God & be the daily "fasteners" of our children's armor by...

-Being consistent in holding daily family prayer and weekly family home evenings.
-Make our home a place where the Lord’s Spirit can reside.

"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 & Covenants 88:119

-Only allow uplifting conversation & media in your home.
-Teach & live the gospel and basic values in your home.
-Establish a love for reading the scriptures together.
-Create meaningful family bonds.

"Creating meaningful family bonds will give your children an identity stronger than what they can find with their peer group or at school or anyplace else.This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, and 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 rewards commensurate to how well 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."

-M. Russell Ballard, “What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest,” Liahona, Nov 2005, 41–44

The Lord's plan for Happiness and Salvation should remind us what matters most is what lasts the longest & our families are for all eternity.