Conference Address

I seek the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord. ¶

I am not going to give you anything new. Everything that pertains to the gospel is new, but I shall not present anything that has not already been considered, either at this conference or at some other time, and I may, in the course of my remarks, repeat and emphasize some things that have already been said. ¶

Light and Truth ¶

First, I shall read to you from section nine-three of the Doctrine and Covenants where the Lord says, speaking of light and truth which is the Spirit of Christ: ¶

Light and truth forsake that evil one. ¶

Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God. ¶

And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers. ¶

But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth. (D. 6 C. 93:37-40.) ¶

I know we were all very deeply impressed with the remarks of President McKay this morning, and others of the brethren who have spoken, in relation to the care of our children in the home. I wish to continue, perhaps treating this matter from a little different viewpoint, but nevertheless calling the attention of the members of the Church, of fathers and mothers, to their responsibility in regard to the training of their children. ¶

The Family Unit ¶

There is no substitute for a righteous home. That may not be so considered in the world, but it is and ought to be in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family is the unit in the kingdom of God. That we believe, and if we are fortunate enough, through the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, to go back and re-enter the celestial kingdom to dwell with him, we will find that we are his sons and his daughters, that he is in very deed our Father. As Paul has stated it, we are his offspring, and through obedience to every principle of eternal truth we will go back to be his sons and his daughters. ¶

Paul has said and prayed, speaking of the mission of Christ and his obedience to him: ¶

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (Eph. 3:14-15.) ¶

If we get back into that great kingdom after the earth is redeemed, we will find ourselves members of the great family of God, and he will be our Father. ¶

He said, you know, to John: ¶

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I shall be his God, and he shall be my son. (Rev. 21:7.) ¶

We should remember, as Latter-day Saints, that outside of the celestial kingdom, there is no family organization. That organization is reserved for those who are willing to abide in every covenant and every obligation which we are called upon to receive while we sojourn here in this mortal life. ¶

Duties of Parents ¶

Now, let me take up where these brethren left off. Of course there should be prayer and faith and love and obedience to God in the home. It is the duty of parents to teach their children these saving principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they will know why they are to be baptized and that they may be impressed in their hearts with a desire to continue to keep the commandments of God after they are baptized, that they may come back into his presence. Do you, my good brethren and sisters, want your families, your children; do you want to be sealed to your fathers and your mothers before you, do you want to have this family unit perfect when you, if you are permitted, shall enter the celestial kingdom of God? If so, then you must begin by teaching at the cradle-side. You are to teach by example as well as precept. You are to kneel with your children in prayer. You are to teach them, in all humility, of the mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ. You have to show them the way, and the father who shows his son the way will not say to him: ¶

"Son, go to Sunday School, or go to Mutual, or go to the priesthood meeting," but he will say: "Come and go with me." He will teach by example. ¶

Family prayer will be in the home. In the morning when the family arises for the day, the father will gather his family, kneel in prayer, and thank the Lord for his blessings. At night he will have them assemble again, and in the family unit they will kneel again to pray. And all these things will be taught in the home, because we want to have that home, intact. We do not want it destroyed when we cross to the other side. ¶

Family Organization in the Hereafter ¶

I have a great deal of pity in my heart for the world, this socalled Christian world, professing to believe in the mission of Jesus Christ, and in sincerity, many of them, I am sure. They think they are on the right course; but they have been misled by false teachers into thinking that the family comes to an end at death, that husband and wife are separated eternally, and that there is no more claim for them upon their children. And that is true for them, according to their belief. That is the condition that will prevail in the terrestrial kingdom and in the telestial kingdom, because there will be no marriage there, and there will be no family order there. Do you want that? I say I feel sorry for these people that have been misled into these false notions in regard to the hereafter and the family organization. ¶

Why do we go into the temples to be sealed, husbands and wives, and children to parents, and why are we commanded to have this work done, not only for ourselves, but also to be sealed to our fathers and mothers, and their fathers and mothers before them, back as far as we can go? Because we want to belong to that great family of God which is in heaven, and, so far as the Church is concerned, on earth. That is why. ¶

Eventually, when this work is perfected, and Christ delivers up to his Father the keys and makes his report, and death is destroyed, then that great family from the days of Adam down, of all the righteous, those who have kept the commandments of God, will find that they are one family, the family of God, entitled to all the blessings that pertain to the exaltation. ¶

Responsibility to Teach Children ¶

Are you teaching your children these truths, my brothers, my sisters? Are you training them so that when they are married they will want to go to the house of the Lord? Are you teaching them so that they will want to receive the great endowment which the Lord has in store for them? Have, you impressed upon them the fact that they can be sealed as husbands and wives and have bestowed upon them every gift and every blessing that pertains to the celestial kingdom, and thus they shall become the sons and the daughters of God, and have you impressed upon them that great truth that if they are not married for time and eternity that they will come forth in the resurrection of the dead separately and singly, to be servants for those who belong to the family of God. Have you done that? Are you doing that? ¶

Time will not permit me to say anything more, but I want to leave this impression with you, in continuation of our responsibilities as parents to each other and to our children, and as the Patriarch declared yesterday, if we will do these things, keep these commandments and live as we ought to, there will be no divorce in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

The Lord bless you, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶