The visiting teaching message for December 2016 includes quotes from President Nelson, Elder Scott, and President Eyring about how living righteously improves our joy in family life.
"God 'established families to bring us happiness, to help us learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and to prepare us for eternal life.' Of God's 'great plan of happiness' (Alma 42:8), President Russell M. Nelson, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said: 'His plan declares that men and women are 'that they might have joy' [2 Nephi 2:25]. That joy comes when we choose to live in harmony with God’s eternal plan.'
"A Christ-centered home provides the greatest opportunities for success. Elder Richard G. Scott (1928–2015) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles describes it as a place 'where the gospel is taught, covenants are kept, and love abounds,' where families can live 'an obedient life' and become 'firmly rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ.'
"President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, said: 'We can decide that we will do all we can to bring down the powers of heaven into [our] family.' And we're most likely to promote love, service, obedience, and happiness in our homes by '[our children’s] hearing the word of God and then trying it in faith. If they do, their natures will be changed in a way that produces the happiness they seek.'"
Read the full message at lds.org.
Supplemental Reading: In his April 2011 general conference address, "Establishing a Christ-Centered Home," Elder Richard J. Maynes of the Seventy spoke about how introducing our families to righteous principles may not seem effective all the time but makes an eternal difference.
"Recognizing that we have a heavenly family helps us understand the eternal nature of our earthly families. The Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that the family is fundamental to the order of heaven: 'And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory.' . . .
"Sister Maynes and I learned some important principles as we began the process of establishing a Christ-centered home early in our marriage. We started by following the counsel of our Church leaders. We brought our children together and held weekly family home evenings as well as daily prayer and scripture study. It was not always easy, convenient, or successful, but over time these simple gatherings became treasured family traditions.
"We learned that our children might not remember everything about the family home evening lesson later in the week, but they would remember that we held it. We learned that later in the day at school they would probably not remember the exact words of the scriptures or the prayer, but they would remember that we did read scriptures and we did have prayer. Brothers and sisters, there is great power and protection for us and our youth in establishing celestial traditions in the home."
Read the full message at lds.org.