Sacrament Service
Your friends will help to determine who you will become.
19 Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
“Wherever you go, your priesthood goes with you. Are you standing in holy places? Before you put yourself and your priesthood in jeopardy by venturing into places or participating in activities which are not worthy of you or of that priesthood, pause to consider the consequences. Remember who you are and what God expects you to become. You are a child of promise. You are a man of might. You are a son of God.“ (President Thomas S Monson, A Sacred Trust, April 2016 General Conference)
The adult speakers shared memories of their fathers. The sister talked about the tandem bike they have. She said that when on the bike she follows where he leads and he steers the bike.
Sunday School
The Book of Mormon Lesson 26, Mosiah 25-28;Alma 36
“It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness “ - Unknown
We talked of different ways to get to know our neighbors. Things like sharing trash cans when ours are not full. You could have cook outs or ice cream socials in our yards and invite neighbors. “We are cooking out hamburgers and hot dogs tonight if you want to come over and throw something on the grill.”
One sister expressed that with our modern conveniences we don't go outside as much anymore. It use to be that without air conditioning people went outside to get cool. Kids went out and played ball and not they stay in and play on TV and computer.
Elders Quorum
My lesson on Teachings of Presidents of the Church Howard W Hunter, chapter 17
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Can anyone tell me the three words that are a man’s main responsibility in life? They all begin with the letter P (preside, provide and protect).
Does anyone have any authoritative evidence that these are our responsibilities? The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
Could someone please read that part?
“By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.”
This is a single sentence. Do we really understand what this means?
Let’s hear this again: By divine design...fathers... are to preside over their families... in love and righteousness. Fathers... are responsible to provide the necessities of life. Fathers...are to protect their families.
If we are not fathers we still should be practicing these principles and learning to understand how to do these things, to the best we are able within the things for which we are responsible. Our goal is to be like our Father in Heaven.
Preside, provide and protect.
The manual states that Howard W Hunter loved music and started a band with his friends when he was young, but he soon began to feel “parts of the lifestyle were incompatible with the kind of life he envisioned for his family.”
Have you had things in your life that you felt were incompatible with the kind of life you envisioned for your family that you had to change or give up? Which of the 3 P’s (preside, provide, or protect) deals with giving up things that are incompatible to a celestial family?
P223 third paragraph:
“The greatest training that can be given to a child is that which comes from the example of parents. Parents need to set the example for young people to follow. Great strength comes from the home where righteous principles are taught, where there is love and respect for each other, where prayer has been an influence in the family life, and where there is respect for those things that pertain to God.”
P223 middle of 6th paragraph through the 2nd paragraph on p224:
“If you are to enjoy the blessings of the Lord, you must set your own homes in order. Together with your wife, you determine the spiritual climate of your home. Your first obligation is to get your own spiritual life in order through regular scriptural study and daily prayer. Secure and honor your priesthood and temple covenants; encourage your family to do the same.”
“A man who holds the priesthood has reverence for motherhood. Mothers are given a sacred privilege to “bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of [the] Father continued, that he may be glorified” (D&C 132:63).
“… The priesthood cannot work out its destiny, nor can God’s purposes be fulfilled, without our helpmates. Mothers perform a labor the priesthood cannot do. For this gift of life, the priesthood should have love unbounded for the mothers of their children.
“[Brethren,] honor your wife’s unique and divinely appointed role as a mother in Israel and her special capacity to bear and nurture children. We are under divine commandment to multiply and replenish the earth and to bring up our children and grandchildren in light and truth (see Moses 2:28; D&C 93:40). You share, as a loving partner, the care of the children. Help her to manage and keep up your home. Help teach, train, and discipline your children.”
When I was in my twenties and fairly newly married, an elders quorum president was announcing to the quorum that a relief society enrichment night was coming up and that the husbands should make it so that their wives could attend. He suggested that the husbands babysit their children, so their wives could attend. He sat down, then spoke again and said, “Some call it babysitting your children and some call it being a father.”
I would add to that that our responsibility as husbands is to remove any obstacles that get in the way of motherhood. That motherhood extends outside their home to being a mother to the whole earth. Frequently the obstacle we, as husbands, have to remove for our wife is our own children in order for her to fulfill her calling as mother. Often we need to make it so she can serve those in the neighborhood or the city or beyond. Often we need to make it so she can attend her Church meetings as she has covenanted to do. Meetings like relief society enrichment night or whatever they are calling it these days.
P224 paragraph 4
“A man who holds the priesthood accepts his wife as a partner in the leadership of the home and family with full knowledge of and full participation in all decisions relating thereto. Of necessity there must be in the Church and in the home a presiding officer (see D&C 107:21). By divine appointment, the responsibility to preside in the home rests upon the priesthood holder (see Moses 4:22). The Lord intended that the wife be a helpmeet for man (meet means equal)—that is, a companion equal and necessary in full partnership. Presiding in righteousness necessitates a shared responsibility between husband and wife; together you act with knowledge and participation in all family matters. For a man to operate independent of or without regard to the feelings and counsel of his wife in governing the family is to exercise unrighteous dominion.”
End of next paragraph:
“Tender expressions of love and affection toward children are as much the responsibility of the father as the mother. Tell your children you love them.”
P225 2nd paragraph:
“Surely that home is strongest and most beautiful in which we find each person sensitive to the feelings of others, striving to serve others, striving to live at home the principles we demonstrate in more public settings. We need to try harder to live the gospel in our family circles. Our homes deserve our most faithful commitments.”
Which husband responsibilities does this statement illustrate? Provide and Protect
The Sabbath Day
P225 last paragraph 2nd sentence:
“We remind all that the Lord has admonished parents to teach their children the gospel, to pray, and to observe the Sabbath Day.”
How do we teach our children to observe the Sabbath Day?
First we have to understand what it means to keep the Sabbath holy ourselves. The Lord gives us commandments like keep the Sabbath Day holy, but doesn’t spell everything out for us. I think he expects us to take what he has told us specifically, and use study and the spirit to build on that. I think it has been made clear over the years that on the Sabbath we do not shop. And on the Sabbath we go to church. So we attend our 3 hour block of church and stay out of the stores and the rest of the day is ours, right?
We as men are to PRESIDE over our time and how it is used on the Sabbath. We as men are to PROVIDE an education to our children on what a holy day looks like. If we do not have children, then we are to PROVIDE an education about the Sabbath to ourselves to be prepared to be a witness to others. We as men are to PROTECT our families from false ideas of what the Sabbath Day is and what its purpose is.
What are some things you are doing well in keeping the Sabbath day holy? What are some things you would like to improve on?
Family Counsels
P226 2nd paragraph:
“In order that parents and children may better understand each other, a plan has been adopted by the church known as the ‘Family Council.’ This council is called and conducted by the parents and attended by all members of the family. It strengthens family ties, assures children they ‘belong,’ and convinces them that the parents are interested in their problems. This family meeting teaches mutual respect for each other, eliminates selfishness, and emphasizes the Golden Rule [see Matthew 7:12] in the home and living a clean life. Family worship and prayer are taught, together with the lessons of kindness and honesty. The problem of the family usually confronts one at such close range that its real dimensions and significance are not easily appreciated, but when families are strong and united in the endeavor to serve God and keep His commandments, many of our modern-day problems disappear.”
Again, what are the three main responsibilities of men? Preside, provide, and protect.
What do family counsels have to do with these three responsibilities?
Teaching Our Families
P226 2nd paragraph:
“[Brethren,] take seriously your responsibility to teach the gospel to your family through regular family home evening, family prayer, devotional and scripture-reading time, and other teaching moments. Give special emphasis to preparation for missionary service and temple marriage. As patriarch in the home, exercise your priesthood through performing the appropriate ordinances for your family and by giving blessings to your wife and children. Next to your own salvation, brethren, there is nothing so important to you as the salvation of your wife and children.”
Which of the three Ps that we as men are responsible for fall under teaching our family?
Make Our Home a Holy Place
First 3 paragraphs under section 5 on p229:
“We hope that you will not be overcome with discouragement in your attempts to raise your families in righteousness. Remember that the Lord has commanded this: “But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved” (D&C 45:32).
“While some interpret this to mean the temple, which surely it does, it also represents the homes in which we live. If you will diligently work to lead your families in righteousness, encouraging and participating in daily family prayer, scripture reading, family home evening, and love and support for each other in living the teachings of the gospel, you will receive the promised blessings of the Lord in raising a righteous posterity.
“In an increasingly wicked world, how essential it is that each of us “stand in holy places” and commit to be true and faithful to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
How are the three Ps of male responsibility applied in making your home a holy place?
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