NURTURER’S NEEDED
Be the one who nurtures and
builds. Be the one who has an
understanding and forgiving heart, one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them. Marvin J. Ashton.
Our
Responsibility to Nurture the Rising Generation
Without nurturing, our rising generation could
be in danger of becoming like the one described in Mosiah 26. Many youth didn’t believe the traditions of
their fathers and became a separate people as to their faith, remaining so ever
after. Our rising generation could likewise be led away if they don’t
understand their part in Heavenly Father’s plan.
So what is it that will keep the rising
generation safe? In the Church, we teach saving principles, and those
principles are family principles, the principles that will help the rising generation
to form a family, teach that family, and prepare that family for ordinances and
covenants—and then the next generation will teach the next and so on.
As parents, leaders, and Church members, we are
preparing this generation for the blessings of Abraham, for the temple. We have
the responsibility to be very clear on key points of doctrine found in the
proclamation on the family. Motherhood and fatherhood are eternal roles and
responsibilities. Each of us carries the responsibility for either the male or
the female half of the plan.
We can teach this doctrine in any setting. We
must speak respectfully of marriage and family. And from our example, the
rising generation can gain great hope and understanding—not just from the words
we speak but from the way we feel and emanate the spirit of family. (Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General
President)
Husbands and
wives need to nurture their love for one another.
A husband and wife must continue to court one
another and nurture their friendship throughout their lives. As they do this, they
will find that their love for each other grows stronger.
Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the Seventy
observed: “Friendship is … a vital and wonderful part of courtship and
marriage. A relationship between a man and a woman that begins with friendship
and then ripens into romance and eventually marriage will usually become an
enduring, eternal friendship. Nothing is more inspiring in today’s world of
easily dissolved marriages than to observe a husband and wife quietly
appreciating and enjoying each other’s friendship year in and year out as they
experience together the blessings and trials of mortality” (in CR, Apr. 1999,
81; or Ensign, May 1999, 64).
While serving in the Seventy, Elder
James E. Faust said that one of the less obvious but more significant reasons
for divorce is “the lack of a constant enrichment in marriage, … an absence of
that something extra which makes it precious, special, and wonderful, when it
is also drudgery, difficult, and dull.” He counseled: “In the enriching of
marriage the big things are the little things. It is a constant appreciation
for each other and a thoughtful demonstration of gratitude. It is the
encouraging and the helping of each other to grow. Marriage is a joint quest
for the good, the beautiful, and the divine” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1977,
13–14; or Ensign, Nov. 1977, 10–11).
“[Love in marriage] is deep, inclusive,
comprehensive. It is not like that association of the world which has misnamed
love, but which is mostly physical attraction. When marriage is based on this
only, the parties soon tire of one another. … The love of which the Lord speaks
is not only physical attraction, but spiritual attraction as well. It is faith
and confidence in, and understanding of, one another. It is a total
partnership. It is companionship with common ideals and standards. It is
unselfishness toward and sacrifice for one another. It is cleanliness of
thought and action and faith in God and his program. It is parenthood in
mortality ever looking toward godhood and creationship, and parenthood of
spirits. It is vast, all-inclusive, and limitless. This kind of love never
tires or wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and
privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and
eternity” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 130–31).
Husbands and wives must nurture their love and friendship. They
need to keep their love alive by continuing to do little things that show
affection and kindness. They should be sensitive to each other’s spiritual,
physical, and emotional needs as they share the joys and burdens of life
together. They must resolve never to do anything to destroy the love that is
essential in a marriage relationship. And they should “pray unto the Father
with all the energy of heart, that [they] may be filled with [charity]” (Moroni 7:48). As marriage partners continue to have a total
commitment to each other, their love for each other will increase over the
years. They will find that they are developing love that is truly Christlike.
Nurture through Compassionate
Service
Moroni
7:48: “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may
be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true
followers of his Son, Jesus Christ.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the
First Presidency: “Disciples of Christ throughout all ages of the world have been
distinguished by their compassion. … In the end, the number of prayers we say
may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of
even greater importance. Let us open our eyes and see the heavy hearts, notice
the loneliness and despair; let us feel the silent prayers of others around us,
and let us be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to answer those prayers”
(“Happiness, Your Heritage,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2008, 119, 120).
Barbara Thompson, second counselor in the Relief Society general
presidency: “We
need to rescue ‘all that is finest down deep inside of [us]’ so that as
daughters of God we can do our part to build the kingdom of God. We will have
help to do this. As Joseph declared, ‘If you live up to your privileges, the
angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.’
“Let us bear one another’s burdens, mourn with those who mourn,
comfort those who stand in need of comfort, and thus keep the covenants we have
made [see Mosiah 18:8–10]” (“Now Let Us Rejoice,” Liahona and Ensign,
Nov. 2008, 116).
Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles: “The Good Shepherd said, ‘Feed my lambs.’ (John 21:15.) So a woman feeds her loved ones, providing
succor and sustenance just as the Savior would do. Her divine gift is to
nurture, to help the young, to care for the poor, to lift the brokenhearted.
“The Lord said, ‘My work and my glory [is] to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’
(Moses 1:39.) So His devoted daughter-disciple may truly
say, ‘My work and my glory is to help my loved ones reach that heavenly goal.’
“To help another human being reach one’s celestial potential is
part of the divine mission of woman. As mother, teacher, or nurturing saint,
she molds living clay to the shape of her hopes. In partnership with God, her
divine mission is to help spirits live and souls be lifted. This is the measure
of her creation. It is ennobling, edifying, and exalting” (“Woman—Of Infinite
Worth,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 22).
Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the Relief Society
general presidency: “The Lord has blessed women with divine attributes of love,
compassion, kindness, and charity. Through our monthly visits as visiting
teachers, we have the power to bless each sister as we extend our arms of love
and kindness and give the gifts of compassion and charity. … It is my prayer
that we will pledge an increased commitment to extend our arms of love and
compassion to bless, help, and strengthen each other as we go about doing our
visiting teaching with a willing and joyful heart” (“Feed My Sheep,” Liahona and
Ensign, Nov. 2007, 113, 115).
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