Control Your Tempers

"I plead with you to control your tempers, to put a smile upon your faces, which will erase anger; speak out with words or love and peace, appreciation, and respect. If you will do this, your lives will be without regret. Your marriages and family relationships will be preserved. You will be much happier."

Gordon B. Hinckley, "Slow to Anger," Ensign, Nov 2007, 66.

Criticizing Children

"Avoid criticizing your children, which can lead them to poor self-esteem and a lack of confidence; rather, find an emphasize the good in each of your children."

Sheree Lyn Clarke, "Talking About Tough Topics," Ensign, Mar 2015, 11.

How to Create an Environment of Love and Respect.

"The scriptures give excellent guidance on how to create an environment of love and respect. Notice some of the key words in Doctrine and Covenants 121:41-42: persuasion (not force), long-suffering (not immediate, forced compliance or impatience), gentleness (not loud aggressive, intense communication), meekness (not proud or domineering responses), kindness ( not cruel manipulation), and love unfeigned (genuine, sincere expressions of love).

Sheree Lyn Clarke, "Talking About Tough Topics," Ensign, Mar 2015, 10-11.

Listen to Children

"The time to listen is when someone needs to be heard. Children are naturally eager to share their experiences. . . . If they try to express their anguish, is it possible for us to listen openly to a shocking experience without going into a state of shock ourselves?

"Can we listen without interrupting and without making snap judgments that slam shut the door of dialogue? It can remain open with the soothing reassurance that we believe in them and understand their feelings. Adults should not pretend an experience did not happen just because they might wish otherwise."

Russell M. Nelson, "Listen to Learn," Ensign, may 1991, 22.

Patience is often thought of as a quiet, passive, trait, but as President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, said, "Patience is not a passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something . . even  when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well."

"Patience means accepting that which cannot be changed and facing it with courage, grace, and faith. It means being 'willing to submit to all things which the Lord seethe fit to inflict upon [us], even as a child doth submit to his father' [Mosiah 3:19]. Ultimately, patience means being 'firm and steadfast, and immovable in keeping the commandments of the Lord' [1 Nephi 2:10] every hour of every day, even when it is hard to do so."

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience," Ensign, May 2010, 57, 59.

Doctrinal Certainties

"I can live with some human imperfections, even among prophets of God--that is to be expected in mortal beings. I can live with some alleged scientific findings contrary to the Book of Mormon; time will correct those. And I can live with some seeming historical anomalies; they are minor in the total landscape of truth. But I cannot live without the doctrinal truths and ordinances restored by Joseph Smith, I cannot live without the priesthood of God to bless my family, and I cannot live without knowing my wife and children are sealed to me for eternity. That is the choice we face--a few unanswered questions on one hand verses a host of doctrinal certainties and the power of God on the other."

Tad R. Callister, "What is the Blueprint of Christ's Church?" (CES devotional, Jan 12, 2014), cesdevotionals.lds.org.

Seek the Gift of Charity

"We show our love for the Savior and assist Him in His great work when we seek the gift of charity through fervent prayer and acts of kindness. As we do this we will be transformed, little by little, to become more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. Our sensitivity and concern for those who might need our love will increase, and we will have the power to see beauty and goodness in the hearts of all people in all circumstances, as He does."

"Changing Our Hearts Through Charity," Ensign, Feb 2015, 43.