Family

Break from Elijah for a second, although I still think he's awesome, and we'll keep talking about him this week.

My husband, Eric, was telling me about a conversation he had with some of his classmates a few days ago. They asked him if he wanted to have a big family, and he asked what a big family meant to them. 3 kids seemed to be the consensus of a big family, and they were pretty floored when he said he wanted to have upwards of 7 or 8 kids.

One of the classmates said off the cuff "what is it about mormons wanting and having big families? (Which again to him meant to even have children at all)"

There are many varied answers to this question, but I think I'll let Elder Nelson answer this for you.

“Individual progression is fostered in the family, which is ‘central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.’ (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,"). The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another.” (CR May 2008, 8)

"The home is to be God's laboratory of love and service." In Moses 1:39 it says God's purpose and work day in and day out is the "eternal life and immortality" of his children. And since we believe we are learning to be like God, our focus is all about the family.

One of our past prophets David O. McKay said "“No other success can compensate for failure in the home.” It doesn't matter if you invented something that changed the world, or influenced thousands of other people, the most important focus should be on your specific family. I watched a movie about the inventor of the windshield wiper. He had the idea stolen from him, and spent the next 20 years of his life fighting this big company. He did win the lawsuit in the end, and it said he opened the door for many other entrepreneur/inventors to win suits of similar natures, but his wife left and divorced him because of this obsession. I felt empty inside at the end and so sad for the choice he made that this lawsuit became more important than his family. I felt no joy that he won at that point, and I think many people would agree at the end of their lives, it's not about how much money they earned or power they held, but what they did with their families that really mattered in their lives.

That also could be why the family is under so much attack today. Satan realizes the value of strong families and how they really are the building block of individuals, communities and the world. As a teacher I saw firsthand the kids that came from the most unstable homes generally had the hardest times with discipline, focus and learning in their classes. If you want to improve education improve the homes the children are living in.

Families are so amazing, and I do feel blessed everyday that I can be a part of such an amazing family as a daughter, granddaughter, sister, wife, and mother. That's what it's all about!