Building a home and family

We are often reminded by song and the spoken word that the family is the basis of a righteous life, and no other institution can take its place or fulfill its essential functions (President David O. McKay, Family Home Evening Manual, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1965, p. iii).

A house is built of wood, stone or brick. A family is made of love, sacrifice and respect. And a house can be a shelter when it shelters a family. The family may be large or small, young or old. It may be in excellent condition, or it may show signs of wear, neglect or deterioration. It may consist of mother, father, sons and daughters all at home, or of only a single individual. But always, the family continues, for families are forever.

Whether we are preparing to establish our own family or simply considering how to bring heaven closer to our present home, we can all learn from the Lord. He is the Master Architect. He has taught how we must build.

When Jesus walked the dusty pathways of towns and villages that we now reverently call the Holy Land and taught His disciples by beautiful Galilee, He often spoke in parables, in language the people understood best. Frequently He referred to home building. He declared, "Every ... house divided against itself shall not stand" (Matthew 12:25). Later He cautioned, "Behold, mine house is a house of order ... and not a house of confusion" (Doctrine and Covenants 132:8).

In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, 27 December 1832, the Master counseled, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119).

Where could any of us locate a more suitable blueprint whereby he could wisely and properly build? Such a house would be the kind of house Matthew described, even a house built "upon a rock," a house capable of withstanding the rains of adversity, the floods of opposition, and the winds of doubt everywhere present in our challenging world (see Matthew 7:24-25).

Some might question, "But that revelation was to provide guidance for the construction of a temple. Is it relevant to family life?"

I would respond, "Did not the Apostle Paul declare, 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' " (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Let the Lord be the Master Architect for the family — even the home — we build. Then each of us are the builders. ...

Kneel down to pray. Step up to serve. Reach out to rescue. Each is a vital page of God's blueprint to make a house a home, and a home a heaven.

Let us build with skill, take no shortcuts and follow His blueprint. Then the Lord, even our building inspector, may say to us, as He said when He appeared to Solomon, a builder of another day: "I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually" (1 Kings 9:3). We will then have heavenly homes and forever families." — "Heavenly Homes — Forever Families," Liahona, February 1988

Happiness is found at home.

All of us remember the home of our childhood. Interestingly, our thoughts do not dwell on whether the house was large or small, the neighborhood fashionable or downtrodden. Rather, we delight in the experiences we shared as a family. The home is the laboratory of our lives, and what we learn there largely determines what we do when we leave there. ...

"Home is where the heart is." It does take "a heap o'livin" to make a house a home. ... We contemplate parents gone, family grown, childhood vanished. Slowly but surely we face the truth that we are responsible for the home we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm wind, sunlight and shadows, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live influence not only the success of our earthly journey; they mark the way to our eternal goals." — "Hallmarks of a Happy Home," Ensign, October 2001