My Perfect Family... Talk :)

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday, When the bishop gave me the topic of strong family values, I started to laugh, I thought, Shouldn't you find someone a little more qualified....someone who comes from a normal family....doesn't yell at their kids....owns an apron???

And because I had no one to bribe with a milkshake , I wrote the talk myself :) Instead of copying the whole talk here (which nobody wold read any way) I'll post two things, the Cole's notes version....


My favourite quote is by Elder Joseph B Wirthlin.....

“The church is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, or have perfect thoughts, or have perfect feelings. The Church is a place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and service to each other as we press on in our journey to return to our Heavenly Father.”

I would like to take slight literary licence here and change two words…reading the quote again…..

“The FAMILY is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, or have perfect thoughts, or have perfect feelings. The FAMILY is a place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and service to each other as we press on in our journey to return to our Heavenly Father.”

In The Family A Proclamation to the World: it says…

Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

Successful families….not perfect families….

I also shared a fb message I had received from my sister the night before...

"Just got a call from Dad's Home Teacher...."

What?? Home Teachers?! My Dad has not been active in the church in more than six decades...But some how his ward in Southern California (the same ward, my sister and I had left 25 years ago) had tracked him down. For the last five or so months his Home Teachers had visited him frequently. These home teachers were able to relay valuable information to my sister about my Dad's last few months in California....these men provided watch care for my Dad, that no one else had been able to do....

Our prayers for help were being answered long before we knew, Never underestimate the value of the work we do as Home Teachers, Visiting Teachers, and as a Ward Family....


At least I'll be off the hook for speaking in Church for six months :)