We welcome you today as we gather here in the Relief Society Building. I want to introduce you to Sister Linda K. Burton, the Relief Society general president, and Sister Elaine S. Dalton, the Young Women general president. I'm Rosemary Wixom, the Primary general president. And with us is Sister Barbara Christianson, Sister Melody Malacio, and Sister Michelle Christianson. As I look around this circle, I see that we all have one thing in common; that is that we're mothers. Well, there's no greater thing than being a mother, unless it's being a grandmother or a great-grandmother. As we think about the blessings of the priesthood, all of us want our children to understand and value the covenant path that they are walking on--baptism, priesthood, temple covenants-- because the covenants are everything. If we don't make those promises, we really don't have much of anything. And so it's just very vital. I two weeks ago attended a blessing of a baby granddaughter. I was so emotional to know that in a world that's difficult and challenging that that little girl would receive all the blessings and the power of the priesthood in her life as she stayed on that path. To see the mother hand off that baby to the father to take it up to that circle and feel that love all the way around, it's just a sweet opportunity to see how it all fits together, the complementary roles. We're the closest thing to our Heavenly Father for them, so we have a huge responsibility to love that way, to teach that way. And I remember in a frustrated moment I told my four-year-old, "I don't know what else to do or to say to you." And he said, "We could sing 'I'm a Child of God.'" And I thought, we could, and that might remind me who you are. It reminds me of Elder Packer's statement that we learn more from our children sometimes than what we teach them, which is I think one of the reasons Heavenly Father wants us to bring these children into this world, because then we really start to understand His love for us. I think that's one of the main things we can make them feel is what they mean to us, how wonderful they are, and that they're so precious. What is the role of the priesthood in all of this, in teaching spiritual priorities? It says in the handbook each husband and father leads the family in regular prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. He works with his wife to teach their children and help them prepare to receive the ordinances of salvation. So we work together. Our husbands and the priesthood leadership in our home is influenced by how we elevate it and talk about it and refer to it through our children and through our prayers. We too are spiritual leaders. I think you brought that out too. We are expected to be a full partner in this marriage. And I think that's exactly what you're saying. We have that partnership, and we need to remember who we are in our roles so that we can help support and sustain. Right soon after I got married I got pregnant with the twins, and we had a fast-paced learning experience. The family proclamation helped us understand what both of our roles were. And I'm learning to say things sweeter, I am, to encourage him and love him and support him in his priesthood responsibilities. As a single mother, how do I access those priesthood blessings, or teach my children about the priesthood without having a father figure as the priesthood holder in the house? You're already doing it. You're keeping your covenants. I bet your children sense it more than you even sense what you have yourself. I look at examples from the past. I think of Elder Oaks talking about his mother in much your same situation or Joseph F. Smith, whose mother was a single mom raising her children. And as they talk about how they felt about their mothers and remembering watching them pray and so on, I bet you're having a bigger impact than you even imagine that you are. President Spencer W. Kimball said, "And we-- --We should not overlook the fact that particularly in the absence of the father, a mother may pray with her children and call down the Lord's blessings upon them. She does not have the virtue of the priesthood conferred upon her, but by virtue of her God-given responsibility to govern her household in righteousness. And that's what you're doing. After my father passed away, I watched my mother be magnified as she kept the covenants that she had made. She was led by the promptings of the Holy Ghost. She could discern things, even our feelings or things that we were doing or not doing. But I was just always constantly amazed at that. So those blessings are real, aren't they? You have a deacon. I do. What have you done to prepare him to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, as a mom? You know, this is something that I've struggled a little bit with, is wondering how I can first of all teach my sons about their responsibilities that they will have as priesthood holders. And we rely so much on the bishop and our home teachers. And even the strength of his deacons quorum advisers has been amazing to me. And watching them teach him and watching them be examples to him has taught me so much more about the priesthood and helped me to know the things that I should teach him. We have wonderful home teachers who come every month, very diligent. And sometimes when I don't even know that I need things, there they are with their bucket of stain to stain a fence that I didn't know needed to be stained before winter comes. We were just visited by our home teachers yesterday, as a matter of fact. And they ended our visit by asking my sons about their responsibilities that they will have as priesthood holders. And I could kind of see my oldest son sit up a little bit straighter. And he really felt like he had this responsibility now as a priesthood holder. You know, it just reminds me of the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 109, verse 8. And it says, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing, and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning"--I love this one--"a house of glory, a house of order." We're all working on that one, aren't we? Have you got that one down yet, Sister Christianson? Give us hope. Give us hope. [INAUDIBLE] And "a house of God," a home of God. I think one of the things you're alluding to is that our houses are-- next to temples, it's the most sacred place on the earth. And so I love the way you brought out that really the temple's the pattern. It's what we're striving for. That's the ideal as we try and establish a home. And it's not always perfect. But we have our lifetime to keep trying and keep doing step by step, progressing. I had a friend. She has four little kids and she's pregnant with her fifth. And she showed them her two hands and said, "I only have two hands, and we have this whole house," and had them all put their hands in the middle. And it was like they were on this journey to go and help Mom. But it was also like, we created this home-- not Mom, not just Dad, but everybody was able to. Exciting. Ownership and counseling together. Yes. Yes. Ezra Taft Benson said this. And this is a great one. "The most important-- --important teachings in the home are spiritual. Parents are commanded to prepare their sons and daughters for the ordinances of the gospel--baptism, confirmation, priesthood ordinations, and temple marriage. They are to teach them to respect and honor the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Most importantly, parents are to instill within their children a desire for eternal life and to earnestly seek for that goal above all else. So the priorities we establish in our home, if we can keep in mind the most important things we do there, are spiritual teachings.

This is the sure foundation that we read about in Helaman, when it says in Helaman chapter 5, verse 12, "And now my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Well, as she read that--and would it be OK if I borrowed your scriptures, Sister Wixom? As she was reading that, I remembered reading the scriptures soon after my husband did pass away. And at that time, I remember feeling like these are the mighty winds. It was maybe about a week after he passed away. And I remember feeling, OK. We've made it through a week. We've made it a week. I think I can make it another week, because of this rock, the foundation that my husband and myself, through the covenants we made in the temple, we were able to build that foundation for our family. As we center our lives around Christ, I think everything keeps falling into place perfectly even though the chaotic days sometimes don't seem that way. And the Savior's Atonement has made it all possible for us. So for that, I'm just very, very grateful, because we all make mistakes and we all need to repent and do better. And for that I'm very, very grateful. The enabling power of the Atonement is real. And it enables us to change and to repent. But it also gives us strength. And I think as mothers, as women, that is a gift that will give us the ability to do anything in His strength. The Savior's at the apex in a temple marriage, the father and the mother are on either side. And the more they keep their covenants, the closer they become to Christ and the stronger that marriage becomes, because both are working towards that. But they're also becoming closer together the closer they come to Christ.