Good Families

What is it about good food that often eases tensions, encourages conversation or otherwise adds pleasantness to life?  On road trips with teen agers we discovered we eliminated bickering by stopping for a meal; snacks didn't do it.  We found that breakfast, after watching a movie together the night before, was a good time to ...

At times as a parent I became overwhelmed with the challenges.  As a grandparent its not as frequent, but the remedy is the same.  The one thing that I could always rely upon was the promptings of the Spirit.  If I didn't know what to do, I learned to pause for thought.  Just stop.  Take ...

[The following letter was sent by Grandpa Russon in 2007 to local public school administrators in response to the question of setting up coffee bars in public schools.] Recently in the news there was an announcement of the proliferation of coffee bars in public schools across the country. I was surprised at the apparent absence of ...

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. We have the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Last fall I began reading the Book of Mormon with the prime objective of noting everything pertaining directly to Jesus Christ. I realized that the many times ...

One of the most difficult of trials that face families is the death of a loved one.  Anyone who has lost a family member or close friend has likely experienced the strong emotions and mentally asked the poignant questions that naturally follow the removal of someone whose existence has significantly impacted his own.  When a ...

When our youngest was just 18-months old, we built a house that bordered a river. During most of the year there is at least a 15 foot drop to the water and the edge of our property is bounded by lots of trees and shrubs. You can only hear the water from our house, not ...

In the fall of 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley introduced “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Before presenting  it he explained: “The world we are in is a world of turmoil, of shifting values. Shrill voices call out for one thing or another in betrayal of time-tested standards of behavior. … With so much ...

Many years ago, Joseph Smith, Jr., latter-day Mormon prophet, wrote a letter in answering questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  The letter contains 13 principles that summarize Mormon beliefs, The Articles of Faith.  The thirteenth article often reminds me of the variety of sources there are for inspiration and truth. "We believe ...

 September 9th – September 23rd LDS bloggers are participating in an event to celebrate The Family: A Proclamation to the World! We celebrate the proclamation every day on this site as a prophetically inspired document specifically for our day and are looking forward to spreading the news and learning more about creating strong families. To ...

A story from my great-uncle about a lesson my great-great-grandmother taught him: "One warm spring day when the desert was green with little flowers coaxed out of the dry ground with the hope of more rain, the kids in our 6th grade all decided to 'ditch' school. 'Ditch' meant to go out on the desert without ...