WEBVTT 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:07.714 Paisley: Hey everybody, welcome back Paisley. Imperfect here and 00:00:07.783 --> 00:00:11.264 today, we are going to talk about strengthening our 00:00:11.333 --> 00:00:15.702 families. I want to start with a quote from President Nelson. He 00:00:15.770 --> 00:00:20.071 was Elder Nelson. When he shared this quote was back in October 00:00:20.139 --> 00:00:23.962 of 2001 he said parents and children should realize that 00:00:24.031 --> 00:00:28.127 strong opposition will always come against the work and will 00:00:28.195 --> 00:00:32.360 of the Lord, because the work and glory of God is to bring to 00:00:32.428 --> 00:00:36.729 pass our immortality and eternal life as a family, it logically 00:00:36.797 --> 00:00:40.825 follows that the work of the adversary will strike directly 00:00:40.893 --> 00:00:44.989 at the heart of the home, the family. Satan is attacking the 00:00:45.058 --> 00:00:49.290 family, and he has been for a very long time. He's been pretty 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:53.387 subtle about it. Usually he's pretty subtle about it. There 00:00:53.455 --> 00:00:57.756 was a television network not too long ago that had the slogan a 00:00:57.824 --> 00:01:02.125 new kind of family, which even at the time, made me cringe just 00:01:02.193 --> 00:01:06.494 a little bit. But Satan has been very, very subtle about how he 00:01:06.563 --> 00:01:10.932 attacks the family, and he has a very well thought out plan. And 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:14.687 if you look closely enough, you can see it if you have 00:01:14.755 --> 00:01:18.783 discovery, plus, if you have the app or the subscription to 00:01:18.851 --> 00:01:22.538 discovery. Plus, I recently watched, excuse me, it's a 00:01:22.606 --> 00:01:26.907 series. It's a series of series made by CNN. The first one that 00:01:26.975 --> 00:01:30.867 I noticed was called the 80s, and it had a big picture of 00:01:30.935 --> 00:01:35.236 Ronald Reagan on the front. And I was like, Oh, I mean, I was a 00:01:35.304 --> 00:01:39.195 kid in the 80s. Let me watch that and see what that's all 00:01:39.264 --> 00:01:43.633 about. So I started watching it, and then, you know, it shows up 00:01:43.701 --> 00:01:47.866 on your recommended for you, they have the little recommended 00:01:47.934 --> 00:01:51.825 for you list, and it started showing other ones, like the 00:01:51.894 --> 00:01:56.263 70s, the 90s, the 60s. And I was like, Oh, well, these are cool. 00:01:56.331 --> 00:02:00.564 Let me go back and I'll start. I'm going to pause where I'm at 00:02:00.632 --> 00:02:04.797 with the 80s, and I'm going to go back and I'm going to start 00:02:04.865 --> 00:02:09.097 with the 60s. And so I started with the 60s. And I watched the 00:02:09.166 --> 00:02:13.125 60s and the 70s, 80s, 90s, and then the 2000s and then the 00:02:13.194 --> 00:02:17.563 2010s and as I was watching it, I could see the deterioration of 00:02:17.631 --> 00:02:21.659 the family. I could see it unfolding. I was just I was kind 00:02:21.727 --> 00:02:25.619 of dumbfounded at first. He hides some really ugly things 00:02:25.687 --> 00:02:29.920 inside some really good things, and that's what I mean by he's 00:02:29.988 --> 00:02:33.401 very subtle. And it kind of reminds me of this old 00:02:33.470 --> 00:02:37.907 Berenstein Bears books that that I had when I was a kid. This one 00:02:37.975 --> 00:02:42.208 book, and I don't remember which book it was. I don't remember 00:02:42.276 --> 00:02:46.509 what the title of it was, but inside the book, Mother Bear has 00:02:46.577 --> 00:02:50.810 this bushel of apples, and she's trying to teach the Cubs that 00:02:50.878 --> 00:02:55.043 not everything that looks great on the outside is good on the 00:02:55.111 --> 00:02:58.934 inside, and not everything that's ugly on the outside is 00:02:59.002 --> 00:03:03.235 ugly on the inside. And so she takes these two apples out, and 00:03:03.303 --> 00:03:07.536 one of them is kind of wrinkly and bumpy and kind of ugly, and 00:03:07.604 --> 00:03:11.974 the other one just looks like a perfect apple. And she cuts open 00:03:12.042 --> 00:03:16.411 the ugly, wrinkly one first, and it looks perfect on the inside, 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:20.576 nice and juicy, probably pretty crispy. It looks just like a 00:03:20.644 --> 00:03:24.467 perfect apple on the inside. Then she takes the one that 00:03:24.535 --> 00:03:28.631 looks perfect on the outside, and she cuts it open, and it's 00:03:28.700 --> 00:03:32.659 full of worms. It's a wormy apple. And Satan does the same 00:03:32.728 --> 00:03:36.892 thing. He gets ugly things, and he puts them inside of pretty 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:41.193 things to try and distract us from the ugliness that it is. So 00:03:41.261 --> 00:03:45.221 to continue and quote Elder Nelson again, he said, because 00:03:45.289 --> 00:03:49.522 the evil one is ever at work, our vigilance cannot be relaxed, 00:03:49.590 --> 00:03:53.208 not even for a moment. A small and seemingly innocent 00:03:53.277 --> 00:03:57.441 invitation can turn into a tall temptation, which can lead to 00:03:57.509 --> 00:04:01.537 tragic transgression. He also talks about addiction in this 00:04:01.606 --> 00:04:05.838 particular article, this talk, and so that's kind of what that 00:04:05.907 --> 00:04:10.071 that quote is about, that we have to be increasingly vigilant 00:04:10.139 --> 00:04:14.440 and not let our guard down ever he continues. Satan wants us to 00:04:14.509 --> 00:04:18.263 be miserable just as He is. He would animate our carnal 00:04:18.332 --> 00:04:22.701 appetites, entice us to live in spiritual darkness and doubt the 00:04:22.769 --> 00:04:27.070 reality of life after death. He wants us to be miserable. Satan 00:04:27.138 --> 00:04:31.371 delights in your misery. That's another president Nelson quote 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:35.194 that I still have on a sticky note up on my wall. Satan 00:04:35.262 --> 00:04:39.017 delights in your misery and mine. But there's hope, and 00:04:39.086 --> 00:04:43.045 there are things that we can do to strengthen our families 00:04:43.113 --> 00:04:47.346 against the constant onslaught of garbage. That is it's coming 00:04:47.414 --> 00:04:51.647 at us from everywhere. The talk that I've been quoting from is 00:04:51.715 --> 00:04:55.607 called set, set in order thy house. And there's a section 00:04:55.675 --> 00:04:59.635 within that talk that has a subtitle that says, how to set 00:04:59.703 --> 00:05:03.663 your. House in order, and it seems pretty simple. Remember 00:05:03.731 --> 00:05:07.895 that simple does not mean easy. Just because it's simple does 00:05:07.964 --> 00:05:12.265 not mean it's going to be easy in execution. Keep that in mind, 00:05:12.333 --> 00:05:15.678 but don't let it be discouraging. He says, to set 00:05:15.746 --> 00:05:19.842 our house in an order pleasing to the Lord, we need to do it 00:05:19.911 --> 00:05:23.870 his way. We are to employ his attributes of righteousness, 00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:28.376 godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness, six things so far. 00:05:28.444 --> 00:05:32.677 Spoiler alert, there's 11 total. Then he calls out the fathers 00:05:32.745 --> 00:05:36.842 and their use of the priesthood in their home. It's almost a 00:05:36.910 --> 00:05:41.074 rebuke. He quotes from Doctrine and Covenants, 121, verse, 41 00:05:41.143 --> 00:05:44.966 and he says each father should remember that no power or 00:05:45.034 --> 00:05:48.857 influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the 00:05:48.925 --> 00:05:53.021 priesthood, only by persuasion long suffering, by gentleness 00:05:53.090 --> 00:05:56.708 and meekness and by love unfeigned. There's the other 00:05:56.776 --> 00:06:00.668 five. Now I want to add here, though, that as mothers, as 00:06:00.736 --> 00:06:04.832 women, we have been learning a lot more in more recent years 00:06:04.900 --> 00:06:08.655 about our role within the priesthood and our ability to 00:06:08.723 --> 00:06:12.956 call upon its power and use the power of the priesthood in our 00:06:13.024 --> 00:06:17.325 own lives. So I would argue that that quote also applies to us, 00:06:17.394 --> 00:06:21.285 which he kind of alludes to in his next sentence. He says 00:06:21.353 --> 00:06:25.040 parents are to be living examples of kindness and pure 00:06:25.108 --> 00:06:29.546 knowledge, which greatly enlarge the soul. Each mother and father 00:06:29.614 --> 00:06:33.437 should lay aside selfish interests and avoid any thought 00:06:33.505 --> 00:06:37.738 of hypocrisy, physical force or evil speaking so. That was the 00:06:37.806 --> 00:06:41.220 number one thing that we're supposed to do, employ 00:06:41.288 --> 00:06:45.452 attributes of righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience 00:06:45.521 --> 00:06:49.617 and meekness, while becoming living examples of kindness and 00:06:49.685 --> 00:06:53.850 pure knowledge. We need to be selfless and honest and not use 00:06:53.918 --> 00:06:58.082 physical force, no pressure and hardly anything to do, right? 00:06:58.151 --> 00:07:02.110 That's a lot. But there's one other thing that he said. He 00:07:02.178 --> 00:07:06.275 said, Not only are parents to cling to the word of the Lord, 00:07:06.343 --> 00:07:10.507 but they have a divine mandate to teach it to their children. 00:07:10.576 --> 00:07:14.603 And he somewhat paraphrases Doctrine and Covenants. Section 00:07:14.672 --> 00:07:18.904 68 verse 25 he says, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion 00:07:18.973 --> 00:07:22.318 that teach them not to understand the doctrine of 00:07:22.386 --> 00:07:26.551 repentance faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and of 00:07:26.619 --> 00:07:30.988 baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands 00:07:31.056 --> 00:07:35.357 when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. 00:07:35.426 --> 00:07:39.658 We are responsible for teaching our children, and if we don't, 00:07:39.727 --> 00:07:43.755 it will be on us. We will be held accountable for it. Okay? 00:07:43.823 --> 00:07:47.987 Again, no pressure and nothing to do. It's all fine and good, 00:07:48.056 --> 00:07:51.810 but how do these things strengthen our families? That's 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:55.838 a lot to try and figure out and weed through and take upon 00:07:55.907 --> 00:08:00.139 yourself all at the same time. How is that going to strengthen 00:08:00.208 --> 00:08:03.689 my family? He said, an understanding of God's great 00:08:03.758 --> 00:08:07.922 plan of happiness fortifies our faith in the future. His plan 00:08:07.990 --> 00:08:11.745 provides answers to ageless questions, and he gives two 00:08:11.813 --> 00:08:16.183 questions, which I'll get to in a second. Fortifies our faith in 00:08:16.251 --> 00:08:19.937 the future. That's how it strengthens our families. It 00:08:20.006 --> 00:08:23.897 gives us faith in the future. It helps us have an eternal 00:08:23.965 --> 00:08:27.925 perspective. It helps us to think celestial, to see beyond 00:08:27.993 --> 00:08:31.953 this life and be able to see into the eternities. And what 00:08:32.021 --> 00:08:36.117 doing all of these things are trying our very best to do all 00:08:36.186 --> 00:08:40.282 of those things. What that can help us accomplish? Okay, the 00:08:40.350 --> 00:08:44.583 two questions, number one, are all our sympathies and love for 00:08:44.651 --> 00:08:48.884 each other only temporary to be lost in death? No. Number two, 00:08:48.952 --> 00:08:53.185 can family life endure beyond this period of mortal probation? 00:08:53.253 --> 00:08:57.008 Yes. The answers to those two questions that nothing is 00:08:57.076 --> 00:09:00.831 temporary. We there is an eternity. There is an eternal 00:09:00.899 --> 00:09:05.337 and celestial plan of happiness. That's what helps strengthen our 00:09:05.405 --> 00:09:09.569 families. Now I've said this before, and I'll say it again. I 00:09:09.638 --> 00:09:13.870 am not here to judge you or your family. I'm not here to judge 00:09:13.939 --> 00:09:17.898 your parenting style. I'm not here to tell you that you're 00:09:17.966 --> 00:09:22.131 doing it wrong. I don't know if gentle parenting is the right 00:09:22.199 --> 00:09:25.886 way to go, or if the baby boomers had, I don't know. I 00:09:25.954 --> 00:09:30.050 don't know. What I do know is that our heavenly Father knows 00:09:30.118 --> 00:09:34.488 the right way, and He will help us as we turn to Him and we seek 00:09:34.556 --> 00:09:38.857 knowledge, and we try to humble ourselves, and we try to become 00:09:38.925 --> 00:09:43.158 closer to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:09:43.226 --> 00:09:47.527 I am not a perfect mom, and 10 of those 11 things that I listed 00:09:47.595 --> 00:09:51.623 off, I have a lot of work to do on. At least 10 of those 11 00:09:51.692 --> 00:09:55.720 things. Don't let this long list of things be discouraging. 00:09:57.100 --> 00:10:00.660 It's not meant to be discouraging. We. Are not meant 00:10:00.660 --> 00:10:04.500 to become perfect in this life. We are meant to learn everything 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:08.340 that we can so that we can have the opportunity to become 00:10:08.340 --> 00:10:12.960 perfect in the next life. And I'm telling you all of this 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.480 stuff because we are going to work hard and we are going to 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:18.780 try hard, and our kids are still going to do dumb things and make 00:10:18.780 --> 00:10:22.340 dumb choices. We are still going to do dumb things and make dumb 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:26.840 choices. That is what this life is for. It's for us to try our 00:10:26.840 --> 00:10:32.360 best, make mistakes, make some course corrections, fail again, 00:10:32.900 --> 00:10:36.080 make some more course corrections, maybe even fail 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:40.520 again, maybe succeed. All of those little course corrections, 00:10:40.880 --> 00:10:44.920 those are all helping us become closer and closer and more like 00:10:44.920 --> 00:10:50.260 our Savior, Jesus Christ, President Nelson, said, Elder 00:10:50.260 --> 00:10:55.480 Nelson, our family is the focus of our greatest work and joy in 00:10:55.480 --> 00:11:00.840 this life. Our family is our focus as we focus on the family, 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:05.160 that is how we strengthen our family. Having an eternal 00:11:05.160 --> 00:11:08.100 perspective and being able to think celestial that's what will 00:11:08.100 --> 00:11:12.900 help us the most when all of these other crazy things are 00:11:12.900 --> 00:11:16.440 happening all over the place, we just have to keep trying. We 00:11:16.440 --> 00:11:19.380 have to keep trying. We have to keep doing our best. On that 00:11:19.380 --> 00:11:24.560 note, keep learning, keep growing, keep pushing and be of 00:11:24.560 --> 00:11:26.480 good cheer until next time you.