Families as to location, size and makeup are as diversified as are members of the Church, but that does not lessen the desire for the ideal home, Elder LeGrand R. Curtis said Saturday morning.

"Home should be a happy place because all work to keep it that way. It is said that happiness is homemade, and we should endeavor to make our homes happy and pleasant places for us and our children," said Elder Curtis, who was sustained a member of the Seventy last April."A happy home is one centered around the teachings of the gospel. This takes constant, careful effort by all concerned."

Elder Curtis explained some of the circumstances that help create a happy home:

- Perhaps the best gift parents can give children is to love each other . . . and [to] demonstrate their love by the manner in which they talk to each other.

- Children should be given every possible opportunity to develop their own personalities without too much domination.

- Homes should abound with absolute truth. "We should expect complete honesty from our children as well as from us as parents," he added.

- Hospitality should be exhibited in homes and friends should be made welcome.

- Sunday should be the happiest day of the week. "Around the kitchen table at dinner time would be an excellent opportunity to have both parents and children tell about what they learned in their Sunday School classes and other meetings. How we observe the Sabbath indicates our feelings toward our Father in Heaven."

- Fathers and mothers should find time to keep informed on current events and to read good books.

- Families should kneel together in prayer. "Our family has always needed to be strengthened - and still does - and kneeling in prayer daily certainly helps," he said, emphasizing the point with his index finger.

- Mothers and daughters should be ladies and be modest, while fathers and sons should act gentlemanly and kind.

- Families need to observe the Word of Wisdom.

- Family members need the experience of bearing their testimonies and expressing their love for Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. "Testimony bearing is not restricted to the chapel," he said. "Happy memories are made by appointment, and parents need to plan special spiritual events to create spiritual memories in their homes."

- Children need to know their parents love them enough to teach them the gospel."What better could we discuss with our children than the scriptures and our love for them," he explained.

Elder Curtis said it's not easy teaching children and grandchildren the principles of the gospel, "but we also know that we all must try."