Relief Society
July 17, 2011
Family Responsibilities
Chapter 37, pg. 213
Husbands and wives share responsibilities in raising their children. Each person in the family has the responsibility to make their home a refuge from the temporal world. In 1995 the Church presidency issued a document titled, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" (see Ensign, Nov. 1995). In it we learn essential responsibilities of parents and individuals. We are to work together to provide for the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and physical needs of the family.
Roles shared by parents include: teaching the gospel of faith, repentence and baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and how to pray. Parents should also teach not only the value of work but how to work. Both parents are responsible for discipline. They are to teach by example, create a home that is organized, and create an atmosphere of calm with a loving spirit.
We are not to give up when a child misbehaves, or strays from gospel principles. Fasting and prayer are important for a parent's spiritual guidance. The account in the Book of Mormon of Alma and his son Alma the Younger show how the prayers of a righteous parent can bring about mighty changes in the heart of a wayward child (Mosiah 27: 8-32).
Fathers can support the family by honoring their priesthood and interacting with their spouse in a loving way. They should value their spouse and her contributions. Their responsibilities include providing for the family. If both parents work outside the home, they do not relinquish their duty to provide. They are to protect, give blessings when sick, give father's blessings, play with their children, and set aside one-on-one time which may include counseling.
Mothers have the responsibility to nurture their children, teach, discipline in a loving manner, and support their husbands. She must teach them how to make thier home a pleasant place to be, and help them feel good about themselves.
