The Purpose of Families

I want to share with you some of my favorite quotes, treasures and experiences about families, and how the purpose of families is related to the work of preparing for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior.
One day in my personal study I was reading a talk by Elder Eyring. In it he states:

“The truth of most worth is to know God our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and Their plan for us to have eternal life with Them in families” (A Life Founded on Truth and Light, 2000)
The doctrine of families is an eternal doctrine and it part of Heavenly Father’s Plan of Happiness because ultimate and lasting happiness cannot be outside of our families experiences. I have thought hard a long about the truth of this doctrine on the days where I have struggled in my family relationships and have wondered what I have to learn to find the joy that is promised in family. And I like President Monson’s reminder this past conference related to service. He read the scripture found in Matt. 16:25, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for MY SAKE shall find it.” I think remembering the purpose of our family relationships is not to elevate ourselves, or to create an exterior image of goodness, but to serve others with the motive to glorify Christ and in the process learn to be like Christ.
In the October 2000 General Conference Elder Oaks gave a powerful address about becoming like Christ and how our family relationship facilitate that process. He said:

“Now is the time for each of us to work toward our personal conversion, toward becoming what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. As we do so, we should remember that our family relationships--even more than our Church callings--are the setting in which the most important part of that development can occur. The conversion we must achieve requires us to be a good husband and father or a good wife and mother. Being a successful Church leader is not enough. Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it. “
I find such reassurance in knowing that my Heavenly Father has created a perfect plan with the divine design of families placed deliberately at its core, so that my eternal progress can move forward inside my daily and ordinary life all the while my knowledge and understanding of God and happiness expand. All in keeping with Heavenly Father’s response and promise to our deep desire to be like our Him hailing from the foundation of our existence.
In these last day as the philosophy of the world’s “itching ears” impact on the simplest of family definitions and doctrines challenges our civility with Babylon, I find it grounding to have such decrees as, “The Family Proclamation:” that solidify the pure and eternal doctrines of the family. Such an outlines guides us to see and live the simple truths that will usher in Christ’s Second Coming.
President Kimball said:

When Satan is bound in a single home,
When Satan is bound in a single life,
The millennium has already begun,
In that home,
In that life. (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 172)

Clearly the time of Christ’s coming is not only determined by the state of the wicked to be “ripe for destruction” but also for those that are faithful to be ready and ripe for righteousness.

As we daily relate to our family members, as we feel our emotional responses of joy or discomfort to their behavior we gain a clear picture of how we are progressing toward Christ and preparing for His much anticipated arrival, I like to think of this promise from President Kiimball:
“O my beloved hearers, what a world it would be if a million families in this church were to be on their knees like this every night and morning! And what a world it would be if nearly a hundred million families in this great land and other hundreds in other lands were praying for their sons and daughters twice daily! And what a world this would be if a billion families through the world were in home evenings and church activity were on their physical knees pouring out their souls for their children, their families, their leaders, their governments!
This kind of family life could bring us back toward the translation experience of righteous Enoch. The millennium would be ushered in. (Teachings of Spencer W.. Kimball, p. 117)

In and address given in April 2003 to University of Denver’s graduating students President Hinckley said,

“…you cannot destroy the family, with the values on which it must be based, without under minding the strength of the nation. There is no more important foundation stone on which to build a bridge for the future than the family – that simple but wonderful organization that the God of heaven put together, where there is a father who loves and takes responsibility, where there is a mother who nurtures and rears her children with pride, and where there are children who look to parents with love and respect and appreciation.
"I submit that if we will work to turn the families of America to God, if they will recognize Him as our divine Father, as the Ruler of the universe, as the Giver of all good, something wonderful will happen. Think of what it means to know that each of us is actually a child of God and that He is our Father, to whom we may go in prayer. If we will use our energies to bring about a practice in the homes of America of good reading, including the reading of scripture; of a desire for education; of an attitude of civility one to another; then and only then, will our nation truly become not only the military leader but also the moral light of the entire world. "


After reading these prophesies I am reminded of the scriptures and the family proclamation that bears witness of how family and the Second Coming are related:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the f to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4: 5-6)
And
“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
It is clear that the culminating events surrounding the issue of family are a ripening of times for the Second Coming. As we focus and seek for improvement in this important may we continue to focus on the words of the prophets both ancient and modern. And in our moments of self reflection may we honestly review our family relationships and our “self” in them. It is my sincerest prayer that we will learn all that we can in our family relationships to find the eternal truths and happiness that is found in being like our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.