"Strengthening Families in a Troubled World," was the title of this year's BYU Conference on Family Life, a one-day event held in the BYU Conference Center on March 28.
Presenting their research through PowerPoints, video clips and latter-day scripture, professors from the School of Family Life tackled a variety of subjects, bringing to light the vices facing today's families.
Putting the conference in the context of an eternal perspective, Elder Merrill J. Bateman, emeritus member of the Seventy, presented the keynote address on "The Fulness of the Priesthood."
He urged his audience to keep their temple covenants, explaining that doctrines associated with the temple and eternal families were revealed to Joseph Smith from Moroni's first visit in 1823 to the revelation on the eternity of marriage given in 1843.
If the Aaronic Priesthood was revealed by John the Baptist, and the Melchizedek Priesthood by Peter, James and John a month or so later, Elder Bateman asked, "what was the purpose of Elijah's mission with respect to the priesthood?"
He said the Prophet Elijah returned the sealing keys that authorize and administer the ordinances of the temple. What he came to restore constitutes the "fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood" for two reasons: "First, the power and authority restored by Elijah has the right to administer in all ordinances from baptism to sealings. Second, the sealing keys administer ordinances for both the living and the dead....
"I can think of no better way to strengthen a family than for the parents to have entered into temple covenants and then to model their personal home after the Savior's example," Elder Bateman said, referring to temples.
A few things to model, he said, are, "people speak in quiet voices in the temple. Harsh, shrill voices are inconsistent with the Spirit.
"It is a house of learning. When a new worker joins, he or she is assigned one or more experienced workers to teach the ordinances to them.
"The ideal home is one in which the parents take the time to teach and train ... and the children are assigned responsibilities.
"The final characteristic ... is the quality of order. Frequently, I take the opportunity early in the morning to walk through the temple. It is a privilege to see the order and beauty that abounds. Likewise, our homes can be clean and orderly."
Elder Bateman said the directive by the Lord to "... 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 109:8)"' also applies to our homes.
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