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Family

“Family,” Topics and Questions (2023)

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family kneeling in prayer

Gospel Study Guide

Family

God’s creation for our greatest happiness

Before we were born, we lived with our heavenly parents. The family is central to Heavenly Father’s plan for our eternal destiny and happiness. Family is where we can find some of our greatest joys in this life and in the eternities. And being in families can help us learn some of life’s most important lessons—lessons like serving God and others.

We are blessed as we dedicate our time to building strong relationships with our families. Our possessions and job titles won’t follow us into the next life, but if we do our best to follow God and keep our covenants with Him, we have the potential of being with our families for eternity. Elder L. Tom Perry taught, “In a world of turmoil and uncertainty, it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities.” Even though no family is perfect, we can learn and improve as we do our best to love our families and grow together to become more like God.

What Is Family?

Here on earth, there are many types of families. A family can be parents and their child or children. But a family can also be a couple, a single parent with children, or a group of siblings. Extended family includes grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews, and more. Sometimes we might consider our close friends to be like family even though we are not related to them. In the broadest sense, we are all the family of God.

Topic overview: Family

Related gospel study guides: Everlasting Covenant, Eternal Life, Marriage, Participating in Temple and Family History Work, Temple Endowment and Temple Sealing

Section 1

Family Is Essential in God’s Plan of Happiness

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family gathered at home

The family is central to God’s plan for our eternal destiny. We lived with our heavenly parents before we came to earth, and our families here follow that God-given pattern.

One reason we come to earth in families is so parents can teach their children the gospel and help them have happy and meaningful lives. This helps accomplish our Heavenly Father’s plan to give us opportunities to learn and grow and become more like Him.

Things to think about

  • Read and ponder Moses 5:12. Consider the important truths and lessons these parents might have taught to their children. Sister Tamara W. Runia taught that “families are a God-given laboratory where we’re figuring things out, so missteps and miscalculations are not just possible but probable. And wouldn’t it be interesting if, at the end of our lives, we could see that those relationships, even those challenging moments, were the very things that helped us to become more like our Savior? … Family relationships [are] a powerful vehicle to teach us the lessons we came here to learn.” Why do you think families are essential to God’s plan? How have your experiences in your family helped you grow and become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? How can thinking of your family life like a “laboratory” affect the way you view your family’s imperfections?

Activity for learning with others

  • President Gordon B. Hinckley gave this counsel: “The Lord has ordained that we should marry, that we shall live together in love and peace and harmony, that we shall have children and rear them in His holy ways. … When all is said and done, this is what the gospel is about. The family is a creation of God. It is the basic creation. The way to strengthen the nation is to strengthen the homes of the people.” Discuss why God sent us to earth in families and how that helps fulfill His plan. How can strengthening our homes help strengthen our communities? To illustrate this idea, you could play a game that requires working together. For example, you could form a human knot (form a circle and have everybody grab two different people’s hands) and work together to get untangled without letting go. Or you could organize yourselves in a line based on some characteristic without talking (such as your birth month order, eye color, or height). Then talk about how working together as a family helps accomplish Heavenly Father’s purposes for His children.

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Section 2

God Has Given Parents Important Responsibilities

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family reading scriptures

Heavenly Father has given parents responsibility for His beloved spirit children while they are here on the earth. He has commanded parents to bring up their children “in light and truth” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:40). Prophets have also said, “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs.” When families are unable to provide all that is needed, the Church can step in and help (see Doctrine and Covenants 52:40; 83:1–6; 136:8).

As loving parents raise their children together, they have the best opportunity to provide for and nurture those children physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Parents and children are blessed as parents teach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the home (see Doctrine and Covenants 68:25–28). Sometimes parents are unable to raise their children together; in such cases, the Lord will bless them as they do their best to keep their covenants and follow His will.

Things to think about

  • Read the following accounts of parents who taught their children: Mosiah 1:2–8; Helaman 5:4–12. (You could also read Deuteronomy 6:4–7; 11:19–21; Isaiah 54:13; 2 Nephi 25:26 for additional insights about parenting.) What gospel principles did these parents teach? Why are those principles important for children to learn today? How can you help your children or other loved ones learn and live those truths? You could also think about other exemplary parents you know. What do you learn from them about how righteous parents teach God’s children?

  • President Russell M. Nelson has counseled: “Do not try to control your children. Instead, listen to them, help them to learn the gospel, inspire them, and lead them toward eternal life. You are God’s agents in the care of children He has entrusted to you. Let His divine influence remain in your hearts as you teach and persuade.” How can you honor God’s trust in you by diligently teaching your children the gospel? How can you respect your children’s agency as you lead them toward eternal life? Consider how you could let His influence guide you each day in your efforts.

Activities for learning with others

  • Read together Moses 3:21–24. Then read this thought by Elder Neil L. Andersen: “In the very beginning, God initiated marriage between a man and a woman—Adam and Eve. He designated the purposes of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults to, more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared, and nurtured. Families are the treasure of heaven.” You could use a treasure box or look at the accompanying image as you talk about the scripture passage and the statement by Elder Andersen. You could then write down one thing that could help create an ideal environment for children to learn and grow in the gospel.

  • Look at the accompanying image and talk about why the foundation of a home is so important. Elder Tad R. Callister has taught: “As parents, we are to be the prime gospel teachers and examples for our children—not the bishop, the Sunday School, the Young Women or Young Men, but the parents. As their prime gospel teachers, we can teach them the power and reality of the Atonement—of their identity and divine destiny—and in so doing give them a rock foundation upon which to build. When all is said and done, the home is the ideal forum for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.” You could talk about the importance of structured gospel-teaching opportunities, but also discuss how teaching our children often happens naturally as we go about our daily activities. Share experiences you’ve had with informal teaching moments and what you have learned from these experiences. How can these regular, natural conversations help ensure that children and youth have a solid gospel foundation to build their testimonies on? Record your ideas, and act on any impressions you receive.

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Section 3

God Provides Us a Way to Unite Families for Eternity

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family walking outside of the temple

One of the greatest blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that if we remain faithful to the covenants we make, our family relationships can continue after this life—even for eternity. President Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “The restored gospel assures us that the Resurrection can include the opportunity to be with our family members—husband, wife, children, and parents. This is a powerful encouragement for us to fulfill our family responsibilities in mortality. It helps us live together in love in this life in anticipation of joyful reunions and associations in the next.”

If we keep the Lord’s commands and our families are sealed in His holy temple, He promises that we can have eternal life with our families. We can receive this ultimate blessing even if we are not currently married or do not have children or our family members did not have the opportunity to accept the gospel during their lifetime. None of God’s blessings will be withheld from those who are worthy of them.

Things to think about

  • President Nelson has promised: “Under God’s great plan of happiness, families can be sealed in temples and be prepared to return to dwell in His holy presence forever. That is eternal life! It fulfills the deepest longings of the human soul—the natural yearning for endless association with beloved members of one’s family.” Consider the joy you could have with “endless association” with your family. Where are you on the path to be able to achieve this goal? What is your family’s next step on that path? If you have a difficult family situation where an “endless association” with someone may feel less than ideal right now, how might you invite the Savior’s power to help heal your family relationships?

Activity for learning with others

  • You could watch together the video “Families Can Be Together Forever” (3:10). Talk about President Henry B. Eyring’s counsel about love within a family. What do President Eyring’s final words in the video remind us? Then read this teaching by President Nelson: “This life is the time to prepare for salvation and exaltation. In God’s eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter.” You could have fun preparing something together, like making a favorite treat or preparing a favorite meal. You could then talk about why preparing spiritually is crucial to receiving exaltation and being together forever as a family.

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