“Bringing the Blessings of the Priesthood into Your Home,” New Era, Apr. 2014, 10–11

Bringing the Blessings of the Priesthood into Your Home

By Bonnie L. Oscarson

Young Women General President

As you keep your covenants, you draw upon priesthood power to bless your home and family.

How can you as a young man or a young woman, no matter your family circumstances, draw upon the power of the priesthood covenants you made at baptism to strengthen your homes and families? Understanding the role and importance of our families in the Lord’s plan can inspire us to honor the promises we have made by seeing that our best and most enthusiastic service is done within our own homes. Let’s look at some of the ways we draw upon the power of our covenants to strengthen and serve those who mean the most to us.

How Would You Respond?

It’s Monday night, and you have a ton of homework. You hear your father calling the family to gather for family home evening. What do you do?

Choice A: You respond, “Ah, Dad, I don’t have time for that tonight! I’ve got to study!”

Choice B: You quickly help gather your siblings and cheerfully participate in the prayers, music, and message.

When There’s Priesthood Leadership at Home

Supporting your parents by willingly participating in family home evening, family prayer, and family scripture study are some ways to strengthen priesthood leadership in your home. There are many other ways, such as:

Pray for your parents. (They almost certainly pray for you each day.)
Support your parents in their Church callings and offer to help around the house, especially when they are busy with special assignments.
Help your parents welcome the home teachers when they come, and then courteously listen to their message.
If there is a temple in your area, offer to babysit younger siblings so that your parents can go to the temple and participate in priesthood ordinances.

Remember that it is not just parents who are responsible for inviting and maintaining the Spirit in your home. There is much you can do to invite the Spirit through your actions and attitude. Are you doing your part to invite the influence of the Spirit in your home?

When There’s No Priesthood Leadership at Home

Families do not all look or function the same way. You may be in a single-parent family or not have a priesthood holder who presides in your home. There are still many ways to invite priesthood power to strengthen you and your family. These are things we should all be doing, regardless of our circumstances:

Have personal prayer, study the scriptures, and fast. These efforts will help you be spiritually strong and invite the Spirit into your life and into your sphere of influence.
Take time to magnify your callings or Church assignments and be prepared for Sunday lessons. Doing so helps you have confidence in yourself and shows support for priesthood programs.
Show respect for all members of your family and support their wholesome activities. These choices help strengthen the whole family.
Share with your family the things you learn and do in your Church classes and quorums. It is a way to bring gospel teachings into the home.
Find ways to serve those around you through simple acts of kindness.
Help around the house by doing chores or helping a brother or sister.
Show Christlike love to your family—it will have a bigger impact on building strong family ties than almost anything else you can do.

Honoring Your Covenants

By serving, loving, and strengthening our families, we are being true to the covenants we made at baptism to stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and strengthen those around us. We can draw upon the strength of priesthood covenants to be a blessing to and help in our homes and families. Priesthood, service, and home are words that should be eternally connected in our minds. The members of our own families should be the number-one priority as we find ways to participate in the work of salvation. When we strengthen our families, we also strengthen the Church, our communities, and the world.