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25 years ago
Faith and strong families are pillars of freedom, President Ezra Taft Benson said while speaking at the National Cattlemen's Association prayer breakfast on Jan. 24, 1979, according to the Feb. 3, 1979, Church News.
President Benson, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve, addressed the group at the Bartle Convention Complex in Kansas City, Mo.
The article quoted President Benson: "I believe personally that there is a strong relationship between a strong, prosperous nation and the faith and righteousness of its people."
He said one pillar of freedom "is faith in God and in the universal brotherhood of mankind."
Speaking of another pillar of freedom, he said, "No nation will rise above its homes, and no nation will long endure when the family unit is weakened or destroyed."
He suggested, according to the article, ways in which the family could be strengthened. They included: "Increasing the time that parents are in the home. . . . Maintaining the practice of devotion in the home. . . . Giving more parental instruction on life's problems; this includes the responsibility of parents to teach teenagers their proper relationships with others. . . . Holding family recreational and cultural activities together, which may involve a reduction of time by either parent spent in men's and women's clubs. . . . Developing a closer parent-child relationship, where each child has companionship with each parent."
