Gospel Principles
Unit 8: Family Salvation
Chapter 36: The Family Can Be Eternal
Concept 2: The Importance of Families
"After Heavenly Father gave Eve to Adam, he commanded them to have children
Genesis 1:28 "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."
He revealed that one of the purposes of marriage is to provide mortal bodies for his spirit children. Parents are partners with our Heavenly Father. He wants each of his spirit children to receive a physical body and to experience earth life. When a man and a woman bring children into this world, they help our Heavenly Father carry out his plan.
Every new child should be welcomed into the family with gladness. Each is a child of God. We should take time to enjoy our children, to play with them, and to teach them.
President David O. McKay said, "With all my heart I believe that the best place to prepare for ... eternal life is in the home" ("Blueprint for Family Living," Improvement Era, Apr. 1963, p. 252). At home, with our families, we can learn self-control, sacrifice, loyalty, and the value of work. We can learn to love, to share, and to serve one another.
Fathers and mothers are responsible to teach their children about Heavenly Father. They should show by example that they love him because they keep his commandments. Parents should also teach their children to pray and to obey the commandments.
prov/22/6#6">Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Discussion
Why did the Lord give us families? Why is the home the best place to prepare for eternal life?"