Sam's Sacrament Meeting Talk 3-17-2019

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. And as they say in Ireland, “Top of the morning to ya.” Actually, my mom who served her mission in Ireland told that they do not say that.

My name is Sam Christensen. I’ve been in this ward for nearly 4 years but after a stint in the Stake Young Women’s Presidency and now nearly a year serving in the primary, there are many faces that I do not know in the congregation. So, I’ll briefly introduce myself and my family.

          My husband Sean and I both grew up in Washington, on opposite sides of the Snohomish valley. Snohomish is about 30 miles north east of Seattle. Sean and I met at a stake dance when I asked him to dance. We dated in high school and I waited for him while he was on his mission. Six months after his mission to Peru, Sean and I were married in the Seattle Temple. In a few weeks, we will be celebrating our 12^th wedding anniversary.

          Sean and I received our bachelor’s degrees at BYU-Idaho. Sean studied accounting. He now works in Salt Lake as a senior auditor for the Department of Defense. I studied child development and am now a stay-at-home mom. We have five children. Lexi is 10, Avery is 8, Eli is 6, Ruby is 4, and Ty will be 2 in less than 2 months. Sean is a primary teacher and I am the primary secretary, so our family dominates the primary.

Our house is always loud and there are always finger prints on the walls and windows and toys and crumbs on the floor. But I have lots of little people to snuggle with and be my friend. I am grateful for my family.

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Heavenly Father has organized us into families to help us successfully meet the trials and challenges of life. The home also exists to bless us with the joys and privileges of family associations. Our family and home are our safe place, our support network, our sanctuary, and our salvation. Our homes should be the strong place to which children can come for the anchor they need in this day of trouble and turmoil.

President Joseph F. Smith said, “There is no substitute for the home. Its foundation is as ancient as the world, and its mission has been ordained of God from the earliest times.”

Today, evil forces are challenging the home as never before. If our homes are to endure, parents and children must dedicate themselves to the gospel ideals that ensure preservation of home and family. Families aren’t failing, but we are failing the family because we have not learned how to put family life first in our world. There can only be one number one. “Is it your family?” If your family does not come first, your family will not last.

In homes where high ideals and gospel values are maintained, it is parents, not teachers, who lay the foundation of character and faith in the hearts of their children. If the training a child should receive in the home is neglected, neither the Church nor the school can compensate for the loss.

Following President McKay’s well-known statement “No other success can compensate for failure in the home,” he went on to say: “The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches. In such a home God can work miracles and will work miracles.”

I’d like to share with you a few quotes about the family…

Harold B. Lee said, “The most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes.”

Ezra Taft Benson stated, “There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home. The sweetest influences and associations of life are there.”

Joseph Fielding Smith declared, “The primary function of a Latter-day Saint home is to insure that every member of the family works to create the climate and conditions in which all can grow toward perfection.”

Joseph F. Smith said, “We are living for eternity and not merely for the moment. Death does not part us from one another, if we have entered into sacred relationships with each other by the virtue of the authority that God has revealed to the children of men. Our relationships are formed for eternity.”

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I believe that we came to this life to become families and to learn to have an eye single to the glory of God. Heavenly Father wants to see if we’ll choose Him and His path. Latter-day Saints whose eyes are single to God’s glory see life from a vastly different perspective than those whose attention is directed elsewhere.

When we’re filled with the light of the gospel and the love of the Savior, the most natural desire is to share it with all those around us.

I really do believe that the spreading of the gospel and building up of the kingdom on earth today is a marvelous work. And how wonderful it is that we can witness the rolling forth of the gospel. It’s not enough to just witness the work of God. We need to be doers of the work. The best place to start is within the walls of our own homes. Our homes need to be missionary training centers.

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          I believe that this is why the two hour block and the new home church Come Follow Me has been introduced. Our homes are to be second to the temple in sacredness. By studying the Come Follow Me lessons at home each week we have another opportunity to have the spirit in our homes.

The Come Follow Me program has blessed my family. And to be honest, I feel like preparing for this talk has been more for me than anyone else. I have really enjoyed the new home church curriculum but we have been struggling implementing it the past few weeks. I was getting discouraged when my family looked nothing like those you’d find in the Ensign. Not all of my children are as interested in studying the manual as I am. And believe it or not they don’t always sit still or pay attention. Lately, I’ve found myself getting discouraged. I feel like preparing for this talk has been Heavenly Father’s way of gently nudging me back on the path.

          What I really love about the Come Follow Me program is that it stream lines everyone’s gospel education. I love that it gives all of my family something to focus on and to study together. And I love that what we study at home each week is reinforced and added upon every week at church.     

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I’d like to share some teachings from Elder Robert D. Hales October 2016 General Conference address titled, “Come Follow Me by Practicing Christian Love and Service.”

Elder Hales taught that our Christian love and service naturally begin in the home. He reminded parents that we are called to be loving teachers and missionaries to our children. They are our investigators. We bear the responsibility to help them become converted.

In truth, all of us are seeking to be converted—which means being filled with our Savior’s love. As we follow Jesus Christ, His love motivates us to support each other on our mortal journey. We cannot do it alone. There is a Quaker proverb that states: Thee lift me, I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together eternally.

Teaching one another the doctrine of the kingdom is a way to love and serve each other. Sometimes as adults, we tend to worry about the state of the world—that schools are not teaching moral character. But there is so much we can do. We can take advantage of the teaching moments in our own families. We are being given another opportunity to share our thoughts about the gospel and the lessons of life, stop everything, sit down, and talk with our families.

We should not worry that we are not professionally trained gospel teachers. No training or manual is as helpful as personally studying our scriptures, praying, pondering, and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will lead you along. The calling to be a parent includes the gift to teach in the ways that are right for you and for your children.

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For more than a hundred years, church leaders have called us to set aside uninterrupted time each week and hold Family Home Evening. But many of us are still missing the blessings. I believe that this is one of the main reasons that President Nelson has shortened our Sunday church meetings and introduced the Come Follow Me home church program. We are being given another opportunity to learn the gospel together with our families.

Some of our most impactful Christian service is given by holding family scripture study, family prayer and studying the weekly Come Follow Me lessons. It is our family time to share simple spiritual concepts and experiences, to help our children learn to care and share, have fun together, bear testimony together, and grow and progress together. As we do these things each week, our love for one another will grow stronger.

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Elder Neil L. Anderson taught us in his October 2015 conference address titled, “Faith is not by Chance, but by Choice.” He taught that faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it. Your faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker. Faith is a principle of power, important not only in this life but also in our progression beyond the veil. By the grace of Christ, we will one day be saved through faith on His name. The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice. Be relentless in protecting your faith.

Although your beginning fire of faith may be small, righteous choices bring greater confidence in God, and your faith grows. The difficulties of mortality blow against you, and evil forces lurk in the darkness, hoping to extinguish your faith. But as you continue to make good choices, trust in God, and follow His Son, the Lord sends increased light and knowledge, and your faith becomes settled and unwavering. President Thomas S. Monson said: “Fear not. … The future is as bright as your faith.”

    The purpose of the Come Follow Me program is to increase our faith, expand our gospel knowledge and to strengthen our families at the same time.

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Elder Claudio R. M. Costa address us in the October 2007 general conference. He talk was titled, “Don’t Leave for Tomorrow What You Can Do Today.” He stated… Our Father has taught us that parents are obligated to teach the gospel to their children. The Lord instructed us how to take care of our families when He told us through His prophets in the proclamation to the world, “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.”

We know God has taught us for centuries how to protect and take care of our families. We also know and can see that the adversary has been attacking the family. Now is the time to use all those teachings. Now is the time to perform our God-given duties concerning the family.

President James E. Faust gave us three key things we can do to protect and strengthen our families:

          -Family prayer. Parents must teach their children that they are God’s children and therefore need to pray to Him daily.

-Family home evening. As President Faust taught us, family home evening is for all of us no matter what stage of life we are in. We must have Monday nights free of all other activities that might keep us from gathering as a family.

-Personal and family scripture study. We need to help our children strengthen their faith and testimony through this basic habit.

It is in the home that the family learns and applies gospel principles. Great love is necessary in order to teach and guide a family. Loving fathers and mothers will teach their children to worship God in their home. When a worshiping spirit permeates the home, that spirit is extended into the life of each family member. This will prepare them to make whatever sacrifice is necessary to be able to return to God’s presence and stay together as a family for all eternity.