It’s just as important for families to clearly understand the why behind those traditions

 Doesn’t it seem reasonable to hope that if we keep the commandments and are sealed in the temple, we will be blessed with a large, happy family with bright, obedient children, all of whom stay active in the Church, serve missions, sing in the ward choir, and volunteer to help clean the meetinghouse every Saturday morning?

I certainly hope that all of us will see this in our lives. But what if it doesn’t happen? Will we stay bound to the Savior regardless of circumstances—trusting Him and His timing?

We must ask ourselves: Is my testimony based on what I hope to happen in my life? Is it dependent on the actions or attitudes of others? Or is it firmly founded on Jesus Christ, “rooted and built up in him,” regardless of life’s changing circumstances?

The Book of Mormon tells of a people who “were strict in observing the ordinances of God.” But then a skeptic named Korihor came along, mocking the Savior’s gospel, calling it the “foolish” and “silly traditions of their fathers.” Korihor led “away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness.” But others he could not deceive, because to them, the gospel of Jesus Christ was much more than a tradition....Interestingly, Korihor’s arguments were entirely unpersuasive among the recently converted Lamanites, the people of Ammon (see Alma 30:19–20), who were following Christ not because of the tradition of their fathers. By contrast, the Book of Mormon also tells of a generation of young people who separated themselves from the Lord’s Church because “they did not believe the tradition of their fathers” (see Mosiah 26:1–4). It’s good for families to establish righteous traditions. But it’s just as important for families to clearly understand the why behind those traditions. Why do we pray every morning and night? Why do we have family scripture study? Why do we hold weekly home evening, family activities and service projects, and so on? If our children understand how these traditions draw us closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, they’ll be more likely to continue them—and improve on them—in their own families.

Nourish the Roots, and the Branches Will Grow

October 2024

General Conference

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2024/10/51uchtdorf?lang=eng&verse=#p

Make your first allegiance your membership in the Church of Jesus Christ.

 I testify that you will remove barriers to happiness and find greater peace as you make your first allegiance your membership in the Church of Jesus Christ, and His teachings the foundation of your life. Where family or national traditions or customs conflict with the teachings of God, set them aside. Where traditions and customs are in harmony with His teachings, they should be cherished and followed to preserve your culture and heritage. There is one heritage that you need never change. It is that heritage that comes from your being a daughter or son of Father in Heaven.

Removing Barriers to Happiness, Richard G. Scott, April 1998 General Conference

we have a sacred duty to awaken within our children passion and commitment

As parents in Zion, we have a sacred duty to awaken within our children passion and commitment to the joy, light, and truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. While raising our children, we establish traditions within our home and we build patterns of communication and behavior within our family relationships. In doing so, the traditions we establish should ingrain strong, unwavering characteristics of goodness in our children that will infuse them with strength to confront the challenges of life....Consistent, wholesome family traditions that include prayer, scripture reading, family home evening, and attendance at Church meetings, though seemingly small and simple, create a culture of love, respect, unity, and security. In the spirit that accompanies these efforts, our children become protected from the fiery darts of the adversary so embedded in the worldly culture of our day.

Laying the Foundation of a Great Work, October 2018 General Conference, Steven R. Bangerter

Upholding the Law of Chasitiy & Political Correctness

What other priorities are being “served” ahead of God by persons—even religious persons—in our day? Consider these possibilities, all common in our world:

• • 
  Cultural and family traditions
• • 
  Political correctness
• • 
  Career aspirations
• • 
  Material possessions
• • 
  Recreational pursuits
• • 
  Power, prominence, and prestige

If none of these examples seems to apply to any one of us, we can probably suggest others that do. The principle is more important than individual examples. The principle is not whether we have other priorities. The question posed by the second commandment is “What is our ultimate priority?” Are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the God we profess to worship? Have we forgotten to follow the Savior who taught that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments? (see John 14:15). If so, our priorities have been turned upside down by the spiritual apathy and undisciplined appetites so common in our day.

....

The importance we attach to the law of chastity explains our commitment to the pattern of marriage that originated with Adam and Eve and has continued through the ages as God’s pattern for the procreative relationship between His sons and daughters and for the nurturing of His children.

....

Our understanding of God’s plan and His doctrine gives us an eternal perspective that does not allow us to condone such behaviors or to find justification in the laws that permit them. And, unlike other organizations that can change their policies and even their doctrines, our policies are determined by the truths God has identified as unchangeable.

Our twelfth article of faith states our belief in being subject to civil authority and “in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” But man’s laws cannot make moral what God has declared immoral. Commitment to our highest priority—to love and serve God—requires that we look to His law for our standard of behavior. For example, we remain under divine command not to commit adultery or fornication even when those acts are no longer crimes under the laws of the states or countries where we reside. Similarly, laws legalizing so-called “same-sex marriage” do not change God’s law of marriage or His commandments and our standards concerning it. We remain under covenant to love God and keep His commandments and to refrain from serving other gods and priorities—even those becoming popular in our particular time and place.

In this determination we may be misunderstood, and we may incur accusations of bigotry, suffer discrimination, or have to withstand invasions of our free exercise of religion. If so, I think we should remember our first priority—to serve God—and, like our pioneer predecessors, push our personal handcarts forward with the same fortitude they exhibited.

A teaching of President Thomas S. Monson applies to this circumstance. At this conference 27 years ago, he boldly declared: “Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but as the determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.”¹¹

I pray that we will not let the temporary challenges of mortality cause us to forget the great commandments and priorities we have been given by our Creator and our Savior. We must not set our hearts so much on the things of the world and aspire to the honors of men (see D&C 121:35) that we stop trying to achieve our eternal destiny. We who know God’s plan for His children—we who have made covenants to participate in it—have a clear responsibility. 

 October 2013 General Conference - No Other Gods - Dallin H. Oaks