Stake Conference: My Thoughts and Goals

This weekend we had the opportunity to attend stake conference.   What a blessing it is to meet together and receive encouragement and council!  There were two talks referred to in our meetings that I really wanted to take the time to study today. They can be found here (Robert D Hales)  and here (Larry R. Lawrence).  I've been reading through them today and have been uplifted and encouraged in my efforts to be a courageous parent.   As moral values continue to decline, I feel an increased need to fortify my family and to make our home a safe haven from the world.  Our stake President, who also happens to be my dad,  asked each family to review the 5  fundamentals practices listed in Larry R. Lawrence's talk then visit with our children about how we are doing in these areas. 

Larry R. Lawrence:  Our church leaders have counseled us to establish righteous patterns in our homes.  Consider five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth:  family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together, and regular one on one interviews with each child.

We spoke with our boys about each of these areas and this is what we came up with:

Family Prayer:  We do it every morning and night, but some mornings not everyone is awake.  The goal: Make sure everyone is awake for prayer before Dad goes to work.

Family Scripture Study:  We read from the children's scripture reader every night and have been trying to read out of the standard works at the dinner table.  However, we have been a bit inconsistent at dinner, especially on scout nights when dinner is more rushed than usual.  The goal:  Make sure dinner is prepared with enough time to read from the standard works together before scouts.

Family Home Evening:  We feel really good about our efforts to set Mondays aside for family home evening.  The goal:  Give the boys more opportunities to teach the lesson and plan the activity.

Family Dinner together:  We all enjoy having family meal time together and feel good about our efforts.  I know that this one will become more difficult as the children get older and more involved in other activities.  The goal:  Plan for earlier meal times on scout nights so we have time for dinner and scriptures.

One on One interviews:  We try to make opportunities to visit with the boys individually.  We usually visit with them casually, but can improve on making sure we have time set aside more regularly.   The goal:  Set time aside to have more regular interviews, perhaps on fast Sundays.

I am so thankful for the instruction we received this weekend, and I am looking  forward to studying these talks throughout the week.

As we teach our children the gospel through word and example, our families are spiritually strengthened and fortified.