Teachings of George Albert Smith 15: Advancing the Work of the Lord

Excerpt from "Was It Worth It?" by David F. Evans

Note: As the Church has said, the manual has been prepared as the primary source of lesson material. This supplement, from a general conference address, is only meant as a complement to your study on this lesson’s topic.

Excerpt from "Was It Worth It?," by Elder David F. Evans, April 2012 General Conference:

During this conference and in other recent meetings,1 many of us have wondered, what can I do to help build up the Lord’s Church and see real growth where I live?

In this and every other important endeavor, our most important work is always within our own home and family.2 It is within families that the Church is established and real growth occurs.3 We are to teach our children the principles and doctrines of the gospel. We need to help them have faith in Jesus Christ and prepare them for baptism when they are eight years old.4 We must be faithful ourselves so that they can see our example of love for the Lord and His Church. This helps our children feel joy in keeping the commandments, happiness in families, and gratitude in service to others. Within our homes we should follow the pattern given by Nephi when he said:

“We labor diligently … to persuade our children … to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God. …

“… We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”5

We labor diligently to bring these blessings to our children by attending church with them, holding family home evening, and reading the scriptures together. We pray daily with our family, accept callings, visit the sick and the lonely, and do other things that let our children know that we love them and that we love our Heavenly Father, His Son, and Their Church.

Read the full talk.

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