November 2013 Liahona

SUNDAY MORNING SESSION | October 6, 2013By President Henry B. EyringFirst Counselor in the First PresidencyTo My GrandchildrenThere is one overarching commandment that will help us tomeet the challenges and lead to the heart of a happy family life.This year our first two grandchildrenwill be married. Within a fewyears as many as 10 of their cousinsare likely to reach a point in theirlives where they will follow into thewonderful world of family creation.That happy prospect has causedme deep contemplation as they haveasked me for advice. Essentially theyhave asked, “What choices could Imake that will lead me to happiness?”And on the other hand, “What choicesare likely to lead me to unhappiness?”Heavenly Father has made each ofus unique. No two of us have exactlythe same experiences. No two familiesare alike. So it is not surprising thatadvice about how to choose happinessin family life is hard to give.Yet a loving Heavenly Father has setthe same path to happiness for all ofHis children. Whatever our personalcharacteristics or whatever will be ourexperiences, there is but one plan ofhappiness. That plan is to follow allthe commandments of God.For all of us, including my grandchildrencontemplating marriage, thereis one overarching commandment thatwill help us to meet the challengesand lead to the heart of a happy familylife. It applies to all relationshipsregardless of circumstances. It isrepeated throughout the scripturesand in the teachings of the prophetsin our day. Here is the Bible wordingof the Lord’s advice to all whowant to live together forever in lovinghappiness:“Then one of them, which was alawyer, asked him a question, temptinghim, and saying,“Master, which is the great commandmentin the law?“Jesus said unto him, Thou shaltlove the Lord thy God with all thyheart, and with all thy soul, and withall thy mind.“This is the first and greatcommandment.“And the second is like unto it,Thou shalt love thy neighbour asthyself.“On these two commandmentshang all the law and the prophets.” 1From that simple statement it is nothard to summarize all I have learnedabout what choices lead to happinessin families. I start with the question,“What choices have led me towardloving the Lord with all my heart andsoul and with all my mind?” For meit has been to choose to put myselfwhere I felt the joy of forgivenessthrough the Lord’s Atonement.Years ago I baptized a young manin Albuquerque, New Mexico, whommy missionary companion and I hadtaught. I put the young man downinto the water and brought him up. Hemust have been nearly as tall as mebecause he spoke directly into my ear.With water from the font and tears runningdown his face and with joy in hisvoice, he said, “I’m clean, I’m clean.”I have seen those same tears ofhappiness in the eyes of someonewho recounted the words of anApostle of God. He had said to her,after a searching and tender interview,“I forgive you in the name of the Lord.He will give you the assurance of Hisforgiveness in His own time and in Hisown way.” And He did.I have seen why the Lord can saythat when sins are forgiven, He canremember them no more. By thepower of the Atonement, people Iknow well and love became new, andthe effects of sin were wiped away. Myheart has been filled with love for theSavior and the loving Father who sentHim.That great blessing has come byencouraging people I care for to go tothe Savior for relief from pain, a reliefonly He can give. That is why I urgethose I love to accept and to magnifyevery calling offered them in theChurch. That choice is one of the greatkeys to family happiness.The pressures at every stage oflife can tempt us to reject or neglectcalls to serve the Savior. That can putus in spiritual peril for ourselves, ourspouse, and our families. Some ofthose calls may seem unimportant, butmy life, and my family, was changedfor the better by my accepting a callto teach a deacons quorum. I felt thelove of those deacons for the Saviorand His love for them.November 201369