Parenthood

As a couple one of the most important and meaningful conversations you can have is how you are going to distribute responsibilities and roles within your family unit. This should be a thoughtful conversation with the needs of each other and your children in mind. Questions like “Who is going to work and where?”, “Who will be in charge of the finances?”, “How will we divvy up housework?”, and “Will Mom need to work?”  The list can go on and on.

Since the beginning of time, starting with Adam and Eve, people have used the resources of the land to make family life enjoyable. Families were always together, sharing roles of homemaker, and worker. The whole family shared in chores, and working in the fields outside. Family time was important to the whole family. It wasn’t until the 1800’s when the industrial revolution started, where families started to separate from the home being the center of family life. Father’s started working outside of the home in factories. As time progressed children went off to school, which left the Mother at home by herself to do all the housework by herself. Fast forwarding a little more, some mother’s started to enter the work force, and suddenly, the once recognizable family was now scattered all over the place.

For a second, I would like to speak to the stay-at-home-moms. THANK YOU!!! In a world where we are constantly told that women should not be in the home, I applaud you for fulfilling your God given responsibility to nurture you children in the home. Now, I understand that under certain circumstances mothers need to work. I applaud those women for being able to provide for your family and nurture your little ones. That is hard work. I encourage all women to continue in their education, it is of significant value to you and to your family. For all those mothers out there, here is the impact you make on your children: “A mother’s implementation of ordinary, daily practices of health and safety make her the central influence in preserving and nurturing life. A mother’s use of language in ordinary interactions expressing, explaining, and questioning make her the most significant influence in a child’s cognitive development. And a mother’s sensitivity and responsiveness to emotion make her the foundation of a child’s social-emotional strength. That is why her education matters so much.” (Jenet Jacob Erickson) http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865587127/A-womans-education-is-not-wasted-in-the-home.html

Now I would like to speak to all the hard working Dads out there. THANK YOU!!! In the world where the media portrays Father’s as dumb, stupid, drunk, or just simply not there, I applaud you for fulfilling your God giving responsibilities to preside, provide, and protect your family. I encourage you to continue to strive to be like our Father in Heaven as you and your wife raise you children in this fallen world. Elder Christofferson has taught: “The perfect, divine expression of fatherhood is our Heavenly Father. His character and attributes include abundant goodness and perfect love. His work and glory are the development, happiness, and eternal life of His children. Fathers in this fallen world can claim nothing comparable to the Majesty on High, but at their best, they are striving to emulate Him, and they indeed labor in His work. They are honored with a remarkable and sobering trust.” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/04/fathers?lang=eng

“The Family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” This statement in the proclamation to the world: the family, is important to understand the need for families. The family is the structure we were in while we were in heaven. It is the structure that works. It is the only structure that brings us happiness and can lead us back home to our heavenly family. Within the family unit there is a lot of learning to be had. The most important lesson you can learn in a family is work. In the article “family work” by Kathleen Slaugh Bahr and Cheri A. Loveless, they state: “Helping one another nurture children, care for the land, prepare food, and clean homes can bind lives together. This is the power of family work, and it is this power, available in every home, no matter how troubled, that can end the turmoil of the family, begin to change the world, and bring again Zion.” https://magazine.byu.edu/article/family-work/ It is in the family where we learn to work to become one.