To My Grandchildren
by President Henry B. Eyring
Sometimes during Conference there are certain talks that speak louder than others. This was one of those for me. I felt like President Eyring wrote this talk just for me.
Elder Eyring begins by sharing with us the advice he gives his grandchildren who come to him and essentially asked, "What choices could I make that will lead me to happiness?"
What advice would you give?
Elder Eyring continues, "Heavenly Father has made each of us unique. No two of us have exactly the same experiences. No two families are alike. . . Yet a loving Heavenly Father has set the same path to happiness for all of His children. Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever will be our experiences, there is but one plan of happiness. That plan is to follow ALL of the commandments of God."
"There is one overarching commandment that will help us to meet the challenges and lead to the heart of a happy family life." Elder Eyring then quotes from Matthew 22:35-40 - Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and Love thy neighbour as thyself. "From that simple statement it is not hard to summarize all I have learned about what choices lead to happiness in families."
"What choices have led me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and soul and with all my mind?"
-Choose to put yourself where you feel the joy of forgiveness
-Accept and magnify every calling you are offered in the Church
"That choice is one of the great keys to family happiness. The pressures at every stage of life can tempt us to reject or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families."
-Plead for the companionship of the Holy Ghost.
"It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage free of discord."
Do you recall me telling you how a week before General Conference, I wrote down three things that were bothering me or that I had questions about on a piece of paper. And then I asked each of those three questions during every one of my personal prayers that week, and by the end of Conference, all three of my questions were answered? This talk was one of those answers.
My question was this:
Heavenly Father you know I am having a hard time dealing and coping with ______________(the name one of my children) and the choices this child is making. What would thou have me do about/with/or for this child?
Here was my answer:
"Heavenly Father has perfect foresight, knows each of us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we will pass through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He would know how to succor us in all our trials."
"We know that Heavenly Father has spirit children in this world who sometimes choose sin and great unhappiness. That is why He sent His Firstborn to be our Redeemer, the greatest act of love in all creation. That is why we must expect that it will take the help of God and time to polish us for eternal life, to live with our Father. "
"Life in families will test us." Oh, yes it will! "We will find great joy and great sorrow and challenges which may at times seem beyond our power to endure them."
"We are the children of God, and that He has actually given His angels -invisible beings of power and might- charge concerning us, and they watch over us and have us in their keeping." I have felt such angels in my life. I know they are there helping me and my child during difficult times.
"God had devised means to save each (not some, but each) of His children."
Elder Eyring then shares an incident of a grandmother who was always faithful to the Lord and the Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime, and was sentenced to prison. As this grandmother drove to go visit her grandson in prison, with tears in her eyes she prayed, "I've tried to live a good life. Why, why do I have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed my life?" I've felt the same way with my child. The answer that came to her was my answer too, "I gave him to you because I knew you could and would love him no matter what he did."
Rachael, "I gave him to you because I knew you could and would love him no matter what he did."
"We cannot force God's children to choose the way to happiness", but we can love them no matter what they do, or how sad and disappointed or sometimes angry they make us feel.
It is comforting to know that "From before the world was, a loving Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son loved and worked with those who They knew would wander. . . They learned the plan of salvation from the teachings they received in the spirit world. . .With the help of the Holy Ghost, all truths will be brought [again] to our remembrance."
Remember:
