Week 2 Take the Time

“ …only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.”

My kids often ask me how they think life will be when they start to have families. Do I think it will be harder to raise a righteous family in the increasingly wicked world? The family is the central unit to God's plan, so therefore we need to know that Satan has it under attack. However, if we understand this and wholeheartedly fight back with God on our side, the family will overcome the evil.

A wife and husband’s role in the family plays such an essential part in making the family a success. “The Proclamation to the Family” teaches of these responsibilities. It says ” Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.” We, as mothers and fathers, need to take these responsibilities seriously because this is where the fight against Satan comes into play. If we fail to do these things, Satan will wiggle his way in and begin to destroy our families.

The most important things for families to do during this time is to stick together. I believe in the saying, "In a family, Love is spelled TIME". To build strong relationships within the family takes time and effort. Families need to make family time a priority, and then choose righteous uplifting activities to do together. If we begin to lose focus, Satan will slowly begin to weasel his way into our lives and take that time away from us. One example of family time that is being encroached upon is regular family meal time. In the 2007 General Conference talk “­Good, Better, Best”, President Dallin H. Oaks says “The number of those who report that their ‘whole family usually eats dinner together’ has declined by 33 percent.” What is the evil that has begun to take our focus away from the family? It is called overscheduling our lives. President Oaks continues to say, “Among many measures of the disturbing trend of the ‘overscheduling of children’ are the reports that structured sports time has doubled, but children’s free time has declined by 12 hours per week, and unstructured outdoor activities have fallen by 50 percent.” Overscheduling ourselves is sneaky because most people do not consider this an evil because these activities are good. However, there must be a balance. If our lives are so busy, we can’t even eat together then what else is being sacrificed?

It is important for us to make the family a priority in allowing ample time to be together in play activities, as well as gospel centered activities. Studies show that family dinners are more beneficial in building our children mentally, physically, and spiritually. As we make decisions regarding our families, we need to remember what the best choices are. We can’t lose focus because we want our kids to be the best at everything, or because we want to be super moms and dads. We need to stay focused on keeping the family together and providing opportunities to share, bond, and develop eternal relationships.