We cannot control what others choose to do, and so we cannot force our children to heaven, but we can determine what we will do. And we can decide that we will do all we can to bring down the powers of heaven into that family we want so much to have forever.
Interpretation
We can't control others' choices, but we can influence our own actions to create a loving family environment.
This quote speaks to the limitations of parental control, emphasizing that while we cannot dictate the choices of others, especially our children, we do have the power to shape our own actions and intentions. By focusing on our own decisions and striving to infuse our family life with love and support, we can create an atmosphere that nurtures growth and connection, ultimately striving for a lasting family bond that embodies the ideals of heaven and harmony.
In practice
During a family gathering to emphasize the importance of family unity.
My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.
Increased spiritual strength is a gift from God which He can give when we push in His service to our limits. Through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our natures can be changed. Then our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough to compensate for the increased service we will be asked to give.
Whether or not you choose to keep your covenant to always remember Him, He always remembers you.
What all of us long for in our hearts, at Christmastime and always, is to feel bound together in love with the sweet assurance that it can last forever.
It is serving God and others persistently with full heart and soul that turns testimony of truth into unbreakable spiritual strength.
It is hard to know when we have done enough for the Atonement to change our natures and so qualify us for eternal life. And we don't know how many days we will have to give the service necessary for that mighty change to come. But we know that we will have days enough if only we don't waste them.
I love my kids as individuals, not as a herd, and I do have a herd of children: I have seven kids.
If I were to give advice to young people, high-achieving young people for example, I’d have to say, don’t neglect your family. Politics is important, sitting at the head table is glamorous. Traveling around the world, trying to do something for world peace was wonderful. But family and friends and faith are what really matter in life. And I know that. I see it so clearly now.
I barely saw my mother, and the mom I saw was often angry and unhappy. The mother I grew up with is not the mother I know now. It's not the mother she became after my father died, and that's been the greatest prize of my life.
Heaven lieth at the feet of mothers.
My mother, she killed me, My father, he ate me, My sister Marlene, Gathered all my bones, Tied them in a silken scarf, Laid them beneath the juniper tree, Tweet, tweet, what a beautiful bird am I.
The great thing about all my siblings is we all agree we had a horrendous childhood. It's not like it doesn't affect us now; it affects us every day, in everything we do.
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