But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.
— Doctrine and Covenants 93:40
"Parents and teachers should see beyond the little girl in pigtails and should not be misled by the ragged little boy with a dirty face and holes in the knees of his pants," said Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve during the April 1991 general conference. "True teachers and leaders see children as they may become. They see the valiant missionary who will one day share his testimony with the world and later become a righteous father who honors his priesthood. The inspired teacher sees pure and beautiful mothers and future presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary, even though today they may be girls who giggle and chatter on the back row in the classroom."