Family Life

I taught a lesson today in Sunday School about family relationships and family responsibilities. I really enjoyed preparing this lesson, and part of my research led me to read this from an Ensign article written in 2004:

"...In 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World' it says: "successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and whole some recreational activities."

President David O. McKay taught: "The home is the first and most effective place for children to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self-control; the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home". Parents are the master teachers. They do their most effective teaching by example.

Parents teach and families learn by doing things together. PRAY together, to offer thanks for blessings and prayers for common concerns. WORSHIP together, participating in church services and family devotionals. STUDY & LEARN together, including group reading and discussion of the scriptures, as well as discussing other valuable subjects, such as the practical knowledge necessary to funciton in a modern world. WORK together, as mentioned in the next paragraph. PLAY together, so that happy recreational experiences are associated with the activities of the family. COUNSEL together, treating all matters of concern to the family and its members. EAT together, mealtime is a natural time for the family to assemble and communicate.

Families unite when they do meaningful things together. Children should work together under the leadership of parents. Common employment, even on a part-time basis, is valuable. So is a family garden. Common projects to help others are also desirable. Families can organize family reunions. They can educate family members in the basic skills of living, including managing finances, maintaining property, and broadening their general education. The teachers of these subjects can be parents or grandparents or other members of the extended family..."


During the Sunday School lesson today, we talked about valuable lessons our parents taught us, and we discussed important principles that need to be taught to the youth of today. I enjoyed listening to the input that the class members gave, and I reflected on what my parents taught me. My dad taught me to value the scriptures and the words of our prophets. He taught me to be accountable and responsible and respectful. My mom taught me to love and serve others. She taught me to be forgiving and kind and prayerful. I am grateful for the way that my parents raised me, and I know they did the best they could.
Being a good parent is no easy task. Even though Josh and I do a lot of those things together as a family like it mentioned (pray, worship, learn, work, play, eat), a lot of the time, I still feel like I am failing as a mother.

I love watching the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle" because I feel like I can relate to so much of it. The show is about a family with 4 boys; four crazy, wild, physical boys. And from raising the boys, the mom has become a control-freak, and the dad is so laid-back and goofy. The boys get into so much mischief, so the mom is always angry, and the dad is always trying to calm her down or hide from her.

Raising 4 boys of my own is...well, crazy at times. I feel like an angry control-freak too and so when I watch that show, I laugh at the way that Lois (the mom) reacts to all the stupid things her boys do!  Watching the show also makes me feel better about being a parent, and the way that I choose to discipline my boys. Lois does her best to teach her boys what's right, so she disciplines them (a LOT) and she yells at them a lot, but she makes them be accountable for their choices. I feel like I am the same--I discipline a LOT, and I use my loud voice a lot, and I give punishments that are natural consequences for the choices they make. Even though I may feel like I am failing as a parent because they still choose to do and say things over and over that aren't right, I recognize from watching this show that boys are boys and they do dumb things and it's still my responsibility to teach them (even if it is the same principles over and over and over). Heavenly Father entrusted these boys in my care, and I'm doing the best I know how to teach them and raise them to someday be outstanding men.