Disobedient Children

 “We should be considerate of those worthy, righteous parents who struggle and suffer with disobedient children.”

President James E. Faust, “Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered,” Ensign, June 2013, 20. 

Loving But Firm Discipline

 “An important element of doing the best we can as parents is to provide loving but firm discipline. If we do not discipline our children, society may do it in a way that is not to our liking or our children’s. Part of disciplining children is to teach them to work.”

President James E. Faust, “Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered,” Ensign, June 2013, 19. 

Disobedient Children

 “The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the divine promises made to them for valiant service in the Cause of Truth, would save not only themselves, but likewise their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their debt to justice; they will suffer for theirs; and may tread a thorny path; but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and forgiving father’s heart and home, the painful experience will not have been in vain. Pray for your careless and disobedient children; hold on to them with your faith. Hope on, trust on, till you see the salvation of God.”

Orson F. Whitney, in Conference Report, Apr. 1929, 110. 

Who are Good Parents?

 “Who are good parents? They are those who have lovingly, prayerfully, and earnestly tried to teach their children by example and precept “to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” This is true even though some of their children are disobedient or worldly. Children come into this world with their own distinct spirits and personality traits. Some children “would challenge any set of parents under any set of circumstances. . . . Perhaps there are others who would bless the lives of, and be a joy to, almost any father or mother.” Successful parents are those who have sacrificed and struggled to do the best they can in their own family circumstances.”

President James E. Faust, “Dear Are the Sheep That Have Wandered,” Ensign, June 2013, 16. 

Inheriting our Kingdom

 “An older couple retired from the world of work and also, in effect, from the Church. They purchased a pickup truck and camper and . . . set out to see the world. . . . They had no time for the temple, were too busy for genealogical research and for missionary service. He lost contact with his high priests quorum and was not home enough to work on his personal history. Their experience and leadership were sorely needed in their branch, but . . . they were not available. . . .

“If we insist on spending all our time and resources building up for ourselves a worldly kingdom, that is exactly what we will inherit.”

President Spencer W. Kimball, “Worship the True and Living God,” Ensign, June 2013, 11.

A Poor Exchange

“One man I know of was called to a position of service in the Church, but he felt that he couldn’t accept because his investments required more . . . of his time than he could spare for the Lord’s work. He left the service of the Lord in search of Mammon, and he is a millionaire today.

“But I recently learned an interesting fact: If a man owns a million dollars worth of gold . . . , he possesses approximately one 27-billionth of all the gold that is present in the earth’s thin crust alone. This is an amount so small in proportion as to be inconceivable to the mind of man. But there is more to this: The Lord who created and has power over all the earth created many other earths as well, even “worlds without number” (Moses 1:33); and when this man received the oath and covenant of the priesthood (see D&C 84:33-34), he received a promise from the Lord of “all that my Father hath” (D&C 84: 38). To set aside all these great promises in favor of a chest of gold and a sense of carnal security is a mistake in perspective of colossal proportions. To think that he has settled for so little is a saddening and pitiful prospect indeed; the souls of men are for more precious than this.”

President Spencer W. Kimball, “Worship the True and Living God,” Ensign, June 2013, 10-11.

He Understands

“There is nothing that we are enduring that Jesus does not understand, and He waits for us to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. I testify that if we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord and feel of His love and of the comfort of the Holy Ghost.”

Elder Robert D. Hales, “Behold, We Count Them Happy Which Endure,” Ensign, May 1998, 77.