please resist any type of evil speaking or activism toward the Church or its leaders. These lesser, secular approaches are beneath you and can be lethal to the long-term faithfulness of your child.

 Parents, if your child struggles with a gospel principle or prophetic teaching, please resist any type of evil speaking or activism toward the Church or its leaders. These lesser, secular approaches are beneath you and can be lethal to the long-term faithfulness of your child. It speaks so well of you that you would protect or advocate for your precious child or show signs of solidarity with him or her. But my wife, Jayne, and I know from personal experience that teaching your beloved child why we all desperately need Jesus Christ and how to apply His joyful doctrine is what will strengthen and heal him or her. Let us turn them to Jesus, who is their true advocate with the Father. The Apostle John taught, “Whosoever … abideth in the doctrine of Christ … hath both the Father and the Son.” He then warns us to beware “if there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine.”

Do You Know Why I as a Christian Believe in Christ?

April 2023

Relief Society and Elders Quorum

Ahmad S. Corbitt

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/56corbitt?lang=eng&verse=#p

Virtue of the Word of God

 Perhaps you are feeling as though you were in the midst of darkness. Does your soul ache for illumination? If so, please try the virtue of the word of God....Brothers and sisters, there are so many among us who are yearning for someone we love to be brought to sing redeeming love. In all our efforts, let us remember to try the virtue of the word of God, which is in us....Are you seeking to cut through all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil so prevalent in the philosophies of our day? Do you desire to disperse the clouds of confusion caused by an overabundance of information in order to focus more singularly on the covenant path? Please try the virtue of the word of God.

The Virtue of the Word

October 2022

General Conference

Mark D. Eddy

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/54eddy?lang=eng&verse=#p

Faith [In Jesus Christ] is more likely to bring repentance than your preaching against each symptom of spiritual decline.

Wise parents will be alert enough to notice those symptoms when they appear among their family members. They will, of course, be concerned. But they will know that the underlying cause is the influence of Satan trying to lead good people down a path to sin and thus to lose the influence of the Holy Ghost. So the wise parent will see that opportunity lies in leading each child, and themselves, to accept more fully the Lord’s invitation to come unto Him....So building faith in Jesus Christ is the beginning of reversing spiritual decline in your family and in your home. That faith is more likely to bring repentance than your preaching against each symptom of spiritual decline.

You will best lead by example. Family members and others must see you growing in your own faith in Jesus Christ and in His gospel. You have recently been provided great help. Parents in the Church have been blessed with an inspired curriculum for families and individuals. As you use it, you will build your faith and the faith of your children in the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Home Where the Spirit of the Lord Dwells

April 2019

General Conference

Henry B. Eyring

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/16eyring?lang=eng&verse=#p

Time and truth are on your side...Your testimony will never leave your children

Although there may be times when a child does not listen with a believing heart, your testimony of Jesus will remain in his or her mind and soul. Do you remember the story of Alma, who had chosen the wrong path? Returning, he said:

“I remembered … my father [speaking] … concerning the coming of … Jesus Christ … to atone for the sins of the world.

“As my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me.”

If a child is not listening, don’t despair. Time and truth are on your side. At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself. Your testimony will never leave your children.

As you reverently speak about the Savior—in the car, on the bus, at the dinner table, as you kneel in prayer, during scripture study, or in late-night conversations—the Spirit of the Lord will accompany your words.

As you do your best, the testimony of Jesus will gently distill upon your children’s hearts.


Neil L. Andersen, "Tell Me the Stories of Jesus", Ensign, May 2010, 108–12

Our Youth! They Are Not Bad!

[O]ur youth! They are not bad; they do not even intend to do wrong; but they are impulsive, full of life, full of curiosity, and they long to do something. They too are [restless] under restraint, but if they are kept busy, guided carefully and rightly, they prove to be responsive and capable; if left to wander unguided, they all too frequently violate principles of right, which often leads to snares of evil, disaster, and even death.

David O. McKay, Ensign March 2017, A Lesson from Dandy

Sometimes It Is Only By Their Own Life's Experience That Those Sacred Feelings to Follow the Savior Are Awakened Again

The scriptures tell us that when some of Heavenly Father’s spirit children chose not to follow His plan, the heavens wept.12 Some parents who have loved and taught their children also weep when their grown children choose not to follow the Lord’s plan. What can parents do? We cannot pray away another’s agency. Remember the father of the prodigal son, who patiently waited for his son to “[come] to himself,” all the while watching for him. And “when he was yet a great way off,” he ran to him.13 We can pray for guidance about when to speak, what to say, and yes, on some occasions, when to be still. Remember, our children and family members already chose to follow the Savior in their premortal realm. Sometimes it is only by their own life’s experiences that those sacred feelings are awakened again. Ultimately, the choice to love and follow the Lord has to be their own.

"'Come, Follow Me' by Practicing Christian Love and Service",  Elder Robert D. Hales, October 2016 General Conference

Two Things Faith Cannot Do

Sometimes it’s not easy to develop faith in spiritual things while living in a physical world. But it is worth the effort because the power of faith in our lives can be profound. The scriptures teach us that through faith the worlds were framed, waters were parted, dead were raised, and rivers and mountains were moved from their course.5

Yet some might ask, “If faith is so powerful, why can’t I receive an answer to a heartfelt prayer? I don’t need a sea to part or a mountain to move. I just need my illness to go away or my parents to forgive each other or an eternal companion to appear on my doorstep with a bouquet of flowers in one hand and an engagement ring in the other. Why can’t my faith accomplish that?”

Faith is powerful, and often it does result in miracles. But no matter how much faith we have, there are two things faith cannot do. For one, it cannot violate another person’s agency.

One woman prayed for years that her wayward daughter would return to the fold of Christ and felt discouraged that her prayers had seemingly gone unanswered. This was especially painful when she heard stories of other prodigal children who had repented of their ways.

The problem was not a lack of prayers or a shortage of faith. She needed only to understand that, as painful as it might be for our Father in Heaven, He will not force anyone to choose the path of righteousness. God did not force His own children to follow Him in the premortal world. How much less will He force us now as we journey through this mortal life?

God will invite, persuade. God will reach out tirelessly with love and inspiration and encouragement. But God will never compel—that would undermine His great plan for our eternal growth.

The second thing faith cannot do is force our will upon God. We cannot force God to comply with our desires—no matter how right we think we are or how sincerely we pray. Consider the experience of Paul, who pleaded with the Lord multiple times for relief from a personal trial—what he called “a thorn in the flesh.” But that was not God’s will. Eventually, Paul realized that his trial was a blessing, and he thanked God for not answering his prayers the way he had hoped.6

No, the purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust—trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not.7 Sometimes, trusting our own vision and judgment is not enough.

"Fourth Floor, Last Door" , Dieter F. Uchtdorf, General Conference October 2016

Faithful Parents and Wayward Children

This entire article is a clarifying resource on the doctrine taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith,

A similar teaching, apparently based on the statement by the Prophet Joseph, was made by Elder Orson F. Whitney (1855–1906) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in 1929: “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 their sins; 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.

"Faithful Parents and Wayward Children: Sustaining Hope While Overcoming Misunderstanding", DAVID A. BEDNAR, March 2014 Ensign

I Gave Him To You Because I Knew You Could and Would Love Him No Matter What He Did

Years ago a friend of mine spoke of his grandmother. She had lived a full life, always faithful to the Lord and to His Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime. He was finally sentenced to prison. My friend recalled that his grandmother, as she drove along a highway to visit her grandson in prison, had tears in her eyes as she prayed with anguish, “I’ve tried to live a good life. Why, why do I have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed his life?”

The answer came to her mind in these words: “I gave him to you because I knew you could and would love him no matter what he did.”

There is a wonderful lesson for us all. The way for loving parents and grandparents and all of God’s servants will not be easy in a decaying world. 

October 2013 General Conference - To My Grandchildren - Henry B. Eyring

I Care Not Where Those Children Go, They Are Bound Up To Their Parents By An Everlasting Tie, And No Power Of Earth Or Hell Can Separate Them From Their Parents In Eternity; They Will Return Again To The Fountain From Whence They Sprang

Let the father and mother, who are members of this Church and Kingdom, take a righteous course, and strive with all their might never to do a wrong, but to do good all their lives; if they have one child or one hundred children, if they conduct themselves towards them as they should, binding them to the Lord by their faith and prayers, I care not where those children go, they are bound up to their parents by an everlasting tie, and no power of earth or hell can separate them from their parents in eternity; they will return again to the fountain from whence they sprang (DBY, 208).

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, (1997), 163–69