My Family Brings Me Joy

One day when I was on my way home, I saw an English sign that caught my attention. It read, "The spelling of Family means Father And Mother I Love You." This sign gave me some inspiration. It seemed to explain the structure of the word "Family.” A family includes parents and children, and more importantly, it includes an essential act – "love.” This makes this simple word very different and fills it with the motivation and hope that a family needs.

Of all the gifts our loving Heavenly Father has provided to His children, the greatest gift is eternal life. That gift is to live in the presence of God the Father and His Beloved Son forever in families. Only in the highest of the kingdoms of God, the celestial kingdom, will the loving bonds of family life continue. All of us hope for the joy of living in loving families. We have all felt the hope that someday we will feel again the warm affection of that family member we loved so much and now ache to embrace again.

Our loving Heavenly Father knows our hearts. His purpose is to give us joy. He gave the gift of His Son to make possible the joy of family bonds that will continue forever. Because the Savior broke the bands of death, we will be resurrected. Because He atoned for our sins, we can, by our faith and repentance, become worthy of the celestial kingdom, where families are bound together in love forever.

Elder Henry B. Eyring said, “My promise to you is one that a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once made to me. I had said to him that because of choices some in our extended family had made, I doubted that we could be together in the world to come. He said, as well as I can remember, “You are worrying about the wrong problem. You just live worthy of the celestial kingdom, and the family arrangements will be more wonderful than you can imagine.”

President Harold B. Lee encouraged us all to have greater love, strength, and happiness in our homes. He said, “Strengthen your family ties and be mindful of your children . . . Be sure that the home is made the strong place to which children can come for the anchor they need in this day of trouble and turmoil. Then love will abound and your joy will be increased.” He suggested that we should say family prayers and fulfill our church callings. Family members should show respect for each other. Parents should not bicker, and misunderstandings need to be sensibly discussed together. Each person should strive daily to make sacrifices to help others in the family.

President Harold B. Lee stated, “The love of God is not something that you get just for the asking. It was John who said, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” You cannot love God and then despise your brother with whom you are associated. Any man who thinks he is a spiritual giant and his home is in disorder because of neglect and his failure to care for his wife and his own children, that man is not on his way to cultivating a love for God.”

“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” can help strengthen and unite your family. The following suggestions were given to the Primary children.

• You are part of an eternal family that needs your help.

• You can bring happiness, kindness, and love to your family.

• You can listen to each other, work and play together, forgive, and help each other.

• You can read the scriptures with your family.

• You can be a good example to your family as you pray and keep the commandments.

I testify that as you live worthy of the celestial kingdom, the prophetic promise that “family arrangements will be more wonderful than you can imagine” will be yours. ■