I have taken dance since I was about three. Over the years my mom has been my teacher and director a few times. She always used to say that a team is only as strong as its weakest dancer. She used this to talk to me about how important it is to give my all in class and make sure I was doing my best to help the team, remembering that everything I did or did not do affected the team. When I was asked to speak on strengthening our families I thought about these conversations with my mom and saw the similarities—a family is a team and it is only as strong as its weakest member. All of us have a responsibility to give our best and help the members of our family that are struggling—we will all have times when we are weak. The Lord has outlined in His gospel three areas that we need to work in and find balance between so that we can be our best self and contribute to our families: physically, mentally, and spiritually.

The Lord has shown us in the scriptures what a gift our physical bodies are and how we should take care of them. We have been told that our bodies are temples and in the scriptures the Lord states that He will not dwell in unholy temples. The best way we can ensure success in our families is to have the spirit in our own lives and in our families. We can see all around us the devastating effects that drug and alcohol abuse has on individuals and families. Elder Harold G. Hilliam in his talk entitled “Not for the Body” stated, “Each day brings more and more evidence showing how important it is to live the Lord’s law of health and how dangerous those forbidden substances are to our bodies.” Speaking on the Word of Wisdom, or the Lord’s law of health as he called it, he said: “The don’ts in the Word of Wisdom are clearly spelled out. But Church leaders and the scriptures, especially the Word of Wisdom, also talk about plenty of things you can do every day that will benefit your health. When we are more careful to obey the part of the Word of Wisdom that deals with the ‘do’s’ it might be easier to obey the ‘don’t’s’.” Some of the do’s are things like exercise, adequate sleep, and eating good foods. Elder Hilliam stated, “Spiritual well-being is vital, but how you feel physically is also significant. Directions for happiness and health are continually given to us by a very kind Heavenly Father. By using our agency we can conscientiously follow that inspiration, and by so doing bless our lives daily.” If we take care of our physical bodies we are better able to contribute to our families. Some members of our families may have physical illnesses and we should do our best to help them anyway we can. I am grateful for my healthy body and I want to keep it clean so that I can have the spirit with me to bless my family now and my future family.

The second area is mentally. Elder Russell M. Nelson said, “Leaders of the Church have repeatedly emphasized the importance of education. Not long after the pioneers began construction of their temple in Illinois, they established the University of the City of Nauvoo. The First Presidency proclaimed that this university ‘will enable us to teach our children wisdom, to instruct them in all the knowledge and learning, in the arts, sciences and learned professions.’” “Our Creator expects His children everywhere to educate themselves. He issued a commandment in Doctrine and Covenants Section 88 verse 118: “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” We can offer more to our own lives and to the lives of our families if we learn all we can here on earth and follow the guidance of the spirit. I can offer more to my family now and my future family by working hard in school and setting long-range educational goals.

The third and most important area is spiritually. What I do or do not do in this area will affect my family. It is important that we each work to strengthen ourselves spiritually through daily prayer, scripture study and making correct choices that help invite the spirit into our lives instead of drive it out. If I do these things and attend my church meetings and help my family have family prayer and family home evening, I know the spirit will be there and our home will be happier. Elder Robert D. Hales in his talk entitled “Strengthening Families: Our Sacred Duty” said: “The words of the living prophets are clear regarding our sacred duty to strengthen our families spiritually. In 1995 the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles issued a proclamation to the world, declaring that “the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. …Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. …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, and to observe the commandments of God.”

He continues, “The key to strengthening our families is have the Spirit of the Lord come into our homes. Countless things can be done within the walls of our homes to strengthen the family.” Elder Hales then offers some suggestions saying he “offers them in a spirit of encouragement, knowing that each family—and each family member—is unique.” A few of his suggestions are:

“Make home a safe place where each family member feel love and a sense of belonging. Realize that each child has varying gifts and abilities; each is an individual requiring special love and care.” I know this is true because my brother and sister and I are all so different. He also said, “Remember, ‘a soft answer turneth away wrath’ (Proverbs 15:1). When my sweetheart and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, Elder Harold B. Lee gave us wise counsel: “When you raise your voice in anger, the Spirit departs from your home.’ We must never, out of anger, lock the door of our home or our heart to our children.” We all have days in families where we are down or struggling and need love and support from each other. The prophet Joseph Smith said, “…When a man (or woman) is borne down with trouble, when he is perplexed with care and difficulty, if he can meet a smile instead of an argument or a murmur—if he can meet with mildness, it will calm down his soul and soothe his feelings; when the mind is going to despair, it needs a solace of affection and kindness.” We can best contribute to the spirit of our homes if we help each other with mildness, love and kindness.

I hope we can all strive to do our best and be a strong member of our family by taking care of our bodies, our minds and our spirits. And may we remember that everything we do or do not do to this end does greatly affect the strength of our families.

(Bear your testimony about family and the gospel.)

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.