Organization of Family

                    Families are strengthened when they are organized properly and understand the purpose of being families.  In order to be most effective, each family must be organized properly with the husband and father as the head of the home, and the wife and mother as the heart of the home.  The home and family is the best place to teach, learn, and apply moral principles.

                    The family is sacred because it is the most important social unit in both this life and in eternity.  In God's plan for the happiness of His children, He established families as the best place for us to learn correct principles.  Father and mother are equals as partners in teaching and caring for their children.  In the atmosphere of a loving home, parents and children can best prepare to be a family forever.  The family is where we can learn most successfully the principles involved in providing food, clothing, shelter, and other necessities needed in a family.  The family is where we learn to seek the truth and to live by faith in God.

                    The father is the head of the home by divine commandment.  He is responsible to preside over the family and to lead the family members in appropriate paths.  He is responsible to teach the children and to provide the necessities of life for the family.  He is responsible to protect his family and to provide a safe environment for happiness to grow.  He is responsible to provide spiritual leadership of his family and to bless them.

                    The mother is her husband's most important companion, partner, and counselor.  Father and mother should counsel together about everything that affects the family and the home.  The mother is an equal partner with her husband and helps him to teach the children about God and their relationship to Him.  If there is no father in the home, mother presides over the family.

                    It is very important that father and mother be unified in purpose.  Their most important goal should be to prepare their family to return to the presence of Heavenly Father and to be an eternal family.  They should work as a single unit towards this goal.

Both parents are to love their children, to teach them correct principles, and to be good examples to them.  Children are responsible to honor and obey their parents and to learn and keep the commandments of God.

                    The strength of our churches, our communities and our nation depends on the strength of families.  The success of the family depends primarily on how well the father and the mother understand their basic responsibilities and perform their duties. 

   

                    We are organized in family units because Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to become like He is.  He organized and planned for us to follow divine laws of truth.  By following Heavenly Father's plan faithfully, we can someday become like Him and enjoy the kind of life He lives.

                    As part of Heavenly Father's plan, we had to leave heaven and come to earth.  Leaving the presence of our Father in Heaven to come to earth is much the same as when our children leave our home to attend college.  We came to earth to gain a physical body, to learn through various experiences, and to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of God.  The process of proving ourselves worthy involves learning about God's laws and using our agency to choose to obey His laws.  By organizing us into family units, God helps us to prepare ourselves to live with Him again.