The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(1/22/99)
"As parents we cannot delegate the responsibility to teach our children.
Certainly our children will have other teachers in the Church and in
their lives, but the primary responsibility for teaching them gospel
principles rests on our parental shoulders." — K. Douglas Bassett,
"Eternal Families", Chapter 6
(1/23/99)
"A man's family is his greatest asset and blessing, also his chief
concern. A true parent is constantly devoted to the interests and
welfare of his family." — Delbert L. Stapely, "Man, A Child of God,"
"BYU Speeches of the Year," January 10, 1962
(1/24/99)
"What man or what woman would feel that he was enjoying a blessing in
the world to come if it were not in the association of his father and
his mother? What parent could possibly feel that heaven would be heaven
to him unless he could be associated there with his own children? What
is true of these immediate connections is true of those that have gone
on before. Our fathers and our mothers would never be happy nor feel
that they could be exalted and saved in the kingdom of God unless they
could be associated with their fathers and their mothers. And so it will
be until we connect ourselves and reunite in that one great family, the
family of God, united together with that welding link under the new and
everlasting covenant." — Rulon S. Wells, "General Conference Reports,"
p. 42, October 1924
(1/25/99)
"Home life, home teaching, parental guidance is the panacea for all the
ailments, a cure for all diseases, a remedy for all problems." — Spencer
W. Kimball, "General Conference Reports," p. 65, April 1965
(1/26/99)
"...it is my hope and my belief that the Lord never permits the light of
faith wholly to be extinguished in any human heart, however faint the
light may glow. The Lord has provided that there shall still be there a
spark which, with teaching, with the spirit of righteousness, with love,
with tenderness, with example, with living the Gospel, shall brighten
and glow again, however darkened the mind may have been. And if we shall
fail so to reach those among us of our own whose faith has dwindled low,
we shall fail in one of the main things which the Lord expects at our
hands." — J. Reuben Clark, Jr., "General Conference Report," p. 114,
October 1936
(12/17/03)
"Parenting is a godly responsibility necessary for the salvation of
Father's children and important for our preparation for eternal
blessings. Rejoice in your opportunities to love and care for the souls
of children. Our Father has blessings and eternal rewards available for
each of His children, whether they are married or single, parents or
childless. Our circumstances may be different, our opportunities may be
varied, but the end result of our righteousness can be the same--eternal
parenthood, eternal lives. Helping to care for the souls of children
will help each of us prepare for this eternal blessing." - Patricia P.
Pinegar, "Caring
for
the Souls of Children," General Conference, April 1997
2/11/04)
"Prior to his death, Lehi gathered all his posterity together and
pleaded with them to awake and arise and to put on the armor of
righteousness (see 2
Ne. 1:13-23). Then he gave them his final blessing (see 2
Ne. 4:2-12). Goodly parents bless their children." - Jay
E. Jensen, "Little
Children
and the Gospel," Ensign, Jan. 1999, p. 36
(2/27/04)
"How can they [children] know of these most important matters unless we
teach them? According to the scriptures, parents should teach children
'that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit
the kingdom of God' (Moses
6:57). Children should learn 'to pray, and to walk uprightly
before the Lord' (D&C
68:28), and 'to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; . to love
one another, and to serve one another' (Mosiah 4:15). Our children
should know 'to what source they may look for a remission of their sins'
(2 Ne. 25:26), and
they should learn that they are to 'love the Lord thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might' (Deut.
6:5)." - M. Russell Ballard, "Great
Shall
Be the Peace of Thy Children," Ensign, Apr. 1994, p. 60
(3/30/04)
"Jacob's impact upon his son Enos is measured by this comment: 'I, Enos,
knowing my father that he was a just man-for he taught me' (Enos
1:1). These teachings led Enos to pray and seek the blessings of
the Atonement for himself. Goodly parents teach their children about the
Atonement and a remission of sins." - Jay E. Jensen, "Little
Children
and the Gospel," Ensign, Jan. 1999, p. 36
(4/20/04)
"I assure you, my brothers and sisters, that training our children will
be easier if we can get into their hearts and feelings the attitude and
spirit of this great sermon of King Benjamin. Let us seek to imbue our
children with the spirit of the gospel and then our children will not
have a mind to injure one another and others, but to live peaceably and
to render to everyone that which is his due. Teach them, as Benjamin
said, 'to walk in the ways of truth and soberness;... teach them to love
one another, and to serve one another.' (Mosiah
4:15.)" - Marion G. Romney, "Let
Us
Set in Order Our Own Houses," Ensign, January 1985, p. 6
(4/22/04)
"If parents receive sufficient spiritual nourishment, does this assure
that their children will have it also? While some physical
characteristics are inherited, experience teaches that strong faith and
spirituality do not pass automatically from one generation to another.
Consider the example of King Benjamin, one of the greatest teachers of
the Book of Mormon. He taught the purity of the gospel to a generation
who were so profoundly affected that they had 'no more disposition to do
evil, but to do good continually.' They had experienced what they called
'a mighty change' in their hearts (Mosiah
5:2). But that marvelous faith and spirituality did not pass
automatically to their posterity." - Dallin H. Oaks, "Nourishing the
Spirit," Ensign, December 1998, p. 7
(8/2/04)
"It is not easy for children to stay clean and pure in today's world.
There are times when it becomes hard for them to tell right from wrong.
We need to teach our children, as Alma taught his son Corianton,
'Wickedness never was happiness' (Alma
41:10). Teach them to stay on the Lord's side of the line. Hold
family home evening regularly. Hold family prayer twice a day, if
possible. Teach them to love the scriptures and how to experience the
sweet answer to individual prayer. Teach them to understand and
recognize how the Holy Ghost communicates with us and how it comes as
promptings, thoughts, impressions, and feelings. Teach the sacred
significance of the atoning sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ." - Ben
B. Banks, "Take
Time
for Your Children," Ensign, November 1993, p. 30
(8/15/04)
"Generally, those children who make the decision and have the resolve to
abstain from drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex are those who have adopted
and internalized the strong values of their homes as lived by their
parents. In times of difficult decisions they are most likely to follow
the teachings of their parents rather than the example of their peers or
the sophistries of the media which glamorize alcohol consumption,
illicit sex, infidelity, dishonesty, and other vices. They are like
Helaman's two thousand young men who "had been taught by their mothers,
that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them" from death. 'And
they rehearsed... the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt
our mothers knew it.' (Alma
56:47-48.)" - James E. Faust, "The
Greatest
Challenge in the World-Good Parenting," Ensign, November 1990, p.
34
(1/27/05)
"Honesty and integrity as perfected virtues in parents are more likely
to become the heritage and rich endowments of their children. Parents
cannot give to their children that which they do not possess. All these
fine ideals and principles that are a part of the gospel teachings,
together with all the virtues that make for good character and good
life, should be perfected in each of us. In that perfection they become
a part of our nature, and when parenthood comes, these virtues are more
apt to be transmitted to our children. We read in Proverbs: 'The just
man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.' (Prov.
20:7.) How true and basic this statement is!" - Delbert L.
Stapley, "Honesty
and
Integrity," Ensign, June 1971, p. 105
(8/20/05)
"Genuine hope gives spiritual
spunk, including to deserving parents drenched in honest sweat from
being 'anxiously engaged.' Just as the leaning Tower of Pisa is a
persistent rebuke to architectural pessimism, so parental hope—by
refusing to topple merely because of the gravity of the current family
situation—is a repudiation of despair. Giving parents never give up
hope!" - Neal A. Maxwell, "Brightness
of Hope," Ensign, Nov. 1994, 36
3/10/06
"Although life sometimes makes us weary, impatient, or too busy
for our children, we must never forget the infinite worth of what we
have in our homes—our sons and our daughters. The task at hand, a
business engagement, or a new automobile are all of benefit but pale in
value when compared to the worth of a young soul." - W. Douglas Shumway,
"Marriage
and Family: Our Sacred Responsibility," Ensign (CR), May 2004,
p.94
3/5/08
"The
calling of father or mother is sacred and carries with it great
significance. One of the greatest privileges and responsibilities
given to us is that of being a parent—helping
to bring to earth a child of God and having the sacred responsibility
to love, care, and guide children back to our Heavenly Father. In many
ways earthly parents represent their Heavenly Father in the process of
nurturing, loving, caring, and teaching children. Children naturally
look to their parents to learn of the characteristics of their
Heavenly Father. After they come to love, respect, and have confidence
in their earthly parents, they often unknowingly develop the same
feelings towards their Heavenly Father."
- Robert D. Hales, "How
Will Our Children Remember Us?",
Ensign (CR), November 1993, p.8
8/25/09
“For
a family to be successful in the way acceptable to the Lord, there
must be dedicated leadership in the home and strong family
organization. The Lord has prescribed a patriarchal order for the
kingdom, and the family, being the basic unit of the kingdom, must,
therefore, be patriarchal in its organization. Under this order the
father becomes the head of the family, acting in the spirit of the
priesthood, and the mother has the obligation to support, sustain,
and be in harmony with that righteous leadership.” – “The
Teachings of Howard W. Hunter,” edited by Clyde J. Williams, p.
151
8/9/10
"The Church will help wherever we can. We are there to support and
sustain you as parents and as children. But the home is the most
important place to prepare the youth of today to lead the families and
the Church of tomorrow. It rests upon each one of us as mothers and
fathers to do all we can to prepare our youth to be faithful, righteous
men and women. It is in the home where we must teach the gospel by
precept and by example." - M. Russell Ballard, "Mothers and
Daughters," Ensign (CR) May 2010
8/11/10
"Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s
world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is
attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our
society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home
is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions,
such as church and school, can assist parents to 'train up a child in
the way he [or she] should go' (Proverbs 22:6), ultimately this
responsibility rests with parents. According to the great plan of
happiness, it is parents who are entrusted with the care and development
of our Heavenly Father’s children." - L.
Tom Perry, "Mothers Teaching Children in the Home," Ensign (CR) May
2010
9/3/10
"In our world today, each child, each young man and young woman
needs his or her own conversion to the truth. Each needs his or her
own light, his or her own 'steadfast and immovable' faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, independent of parents, youth leaders, and supportive
friends.
"The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of
faith in the hearts of our children. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the
truth, and the life.' The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of
testimony. Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?
"Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in the minds and
souls of our children? Do they think about the Savior’s life when they
wonder what to do in their own lives? This will be more and more
important in the years ahead." - Neil L. Andersen, "Tell Me the
Stories of Jesus," Ensign (CR) May 2010
4/4/12
One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more
about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our
parents. We come to recognize the truth in Isaiah’s prophecy that “a
little child shall lead them.” - Boyd
K. Packer, "And
a Little Child Shall Lead Them," Ensign, (CR) May 2012
4/29/12
Wise parents prepare their children to get along without them. They
provide opportunities for growth as children acquire the spiritual
maturity to exercise their agency properly. And yes, this means
children will sometimes make mistakes and learn from them. - Larry
Y. Wilson, "Only
upon the Principles of Righteousness," Ensign (CR) May 2012
6/18/12
We must raise up a
generation that is prepared to make wise choices, to stand and to
withstand. We must raise up people who will desire to make the holy
covenants and keep them, and learn the word of God and share it. - Elaine
A. Cannon, "A
Generation Prepared to Make Wise Choices," Ensign (CR) May
1984
4/6/14
Consider the power of the idea
taught in our beloved song “I Am a Child of God” (Hymns,
1985, no. 301), sung so impressively by the choir at the
beginning of this session. Here is the answer to one of life’s great
questions, “Who am I?” I am a child of God with a spirit lineage to
heavenly parents. That parentage defines our eternal potential. That
powerful idea is a potent antidepressant. It can strengthen each of
us to make righteous choices and to seek the best that is within us.
Establish in the mind of a young person the powerful idea that he or
she is a child of God and you have given self-respect and motivation
to move against the problems of life. - Dallin
H. Oaks, “Powerful
Ideas,” Ensign (CR) November 1995