Elder Ballard said, “I testify, there is not greater goal in mortality
than to live eternity with our Heavenly Parents and our beloved Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, but it is more than just our goal—it is also Their goal. They have a perfect love for us, more
powerful than we can even begin to comprehend.
They are totally, completely, eternally aligned with us. We are Their work. Our glory is Their glory. More than anything else, They want us to come
home—to return and to receive eternal happiness in Their presence.”
It is no wonder that God gave us families to help us both
(God and us) to accomplish the goal of living eternally with our Heavenly
Parents. It is no wonder that we are
Their work when our own families are our work.
It is no wonder that They want us to come home and experience that
celestial glory They want for us ALL. I emphasize ALL because of something Spencer
W. Kimball said, “The Family: The Proclamation to the World” should motivate us
not only to apply true principles to protect our own families, but it should
also move us to share these principles with others”. (Successful
Marriages and Families, A. Hawkins, p.354)
When my oldest son was on a mission, one of his good
friends started investigating the church.
The elders teaching him asked if they could teach him in our home, which
I gladly consented to. Before each
lesson, I would pray for guidance and inspiration that if I was called upon to
help teach, I would know the right things to say. It was near the end of his lessons and a
baptism date had been set, but his parents were threatening to disown him. He was distraught and stressed with
worry. He said his parents thought the
missionaries were brainwashing him and trying to take him away from his family. The elders turned to me for help and
immediately I was prompted to look on the wall behind where they sat. There was my framed copy of the
Proclamation. I asked the elders to read
it for me. I then turned to my sons’ friend and told him that God’s Eternal
Plan is centered around the family and in this document, we read how much He
loves the family and we as members of the church would never do anything that
would jeopardize the family, including his.
I asked him to please take it home and share with his parents in hopes
that they would know that their family is also important to God. He did, and was eventually baptized. Although his parents didn’t attend, the fact
that they supported him was enough.
The Proclamation was given to us as members of the church
and all the world, to help defend the family.
It is our ammunition when we are under attack, it is our testimony when
someone has questions, it is our revelation from God in which he makes known
how important the family is to Him.
President Boyd K. Packer called it “revelatory” and “scripturelike” in
is power”. (Successful Marriages and Families, A.
Hawkins, p. 358)
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