"Boosting the Family's Faith" Philippines Area Presidency Devotional

[Music] [Music] our father has a family it's me it's you all other students we are his children he sent each one of us to earth god gave us families to help us become what he wants us to be this is how he shares his love for the families of god a father's place is [Music] the foreign [Music] this is [Music] is [Music] she teaches children [Music] god gave us [Music] is [Music] each family member [Music] remember god gave us to help us [Music] our dear loving gracious heavenly father we are so much grateful father for this opportunity that we have we are so much grateful father for all the blessings that we have received we are so grateful father for the son jesus christ for his atoning sacrifice and we are thankful father to us to be able to renew their covenant unto thee bless this day father bless this moment to celebrate the opening of the family week with our families bless our family's father with good happiness joy and everlasting love and father blessed is the father to us to be able to learn principles and to apply in our life and father bless those speakers today blessed and father with the spirit and all these things that we asked and pray in the name of this in jesus christ amen brothers and sisters i rejoice within the gospel of jesus christ i bring with me love from the philippines area presidency it is a delight to join you in celebrating this special week albeit virtually the family is sacred in the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints and is the most important social unit in time and eternity god has established familia to bring happiness to his children allow them to learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere and prepare them for eternal life in the philippines the family is the foundation of the nation the importance of families is written into the country's constitution the national family week has been observed annually since 1992 after the signing of proclamation 60 which declared every last week of september of every year as family week this declaration is in accordance with the philippines constitution which affirms that the state recognizes the filipino family as the foundation of the nation the church remains at the forefront since 1992 in supporting this proclamation this evening we are holding this special area presidency devotional to kick off our week-long celebration of national family week with the theme building forever families or bff we thank the monty mayo family sak miriam and sarah from emu stake for the beautiful rendition of the family is of god and brother jared abiera of the vowed stake for the invocation for this devotional it will be our privilege to first hear from elder stephen r bangladesh first counselling the area presidency and he will be followed by elder yoon won che second council in the area presidency hello benedict thank you elder wacolo for that enlightening introduction to the filipino latter-day saint tradition of celebrating national family week it is heartwarming to see how many homes have been blessed by this celebration focused on strengthening the family tonight i feel inspired to talk about something that has been around for 26 years a document that was released to the world more than two decades ago by a prophet of god and declares principles and values that are even more relevant in this day than ever before i am referring to the family a proclamation to the world the relief society organization of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints is the largest and oldest religious organization of women on earth on september 23 1995 during a worldwide broadcast to the sisters of the relief society president gordon b hinckley unveiled the proclamation on the family outlining the church's doctrine and principles on marriage and family life as the fifth such proclamation in the church's history it carried the signatures of each member of the first presidency and quorum of the twelve apostles the faith's highest governing bodies at that time the philippines government was making focused efforts to promote a growing tradition celebrating national family week the government was determined to make this celebration a deeply rooted tradition in his historic message president hinckley described the profound and increasing need to declare and clarify family-centered values and doctrine he stated with so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth with so much of deception concerning standards and values with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world we have felt to warn and forewarn in furtherance of this we of the first presidency and the council of the twelve apostles now issue a proclamation to the church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards doctrines and practices relative to the family which the prophet seers and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history and forewarn how truly prophetic the drafting of the proclamation was a revelatory process as witnessed by those who participated in the effort president russell m nelson said of that prophetic effort quote on that day in 1994 the quorum of the twelve apostles spent a day in their council room in the salt lake temple discussing issues surrounding the family they considered everything from the increasingly ubiquitous nature of pornography to potential anti-family legislation of various kinds that was not a new discussion but that day the entire agenda revolved around this one vital topic close quote the revelatory process was further described by president m russell ballard of the quorum of the twelve apostles in these words quote as we travel the world we see things both within the church and outside the church we were troubled by much of what we were seeing in the midst of all that was stirring on the subject in the world the first presidency and the quorum of twelve apostles could see the importance of declaring to the world the revealed true role of the family in the eternal plan of god we worked together through the divinely inspired council system that operates even at the highest levels of the church to craft a proclamation that would make the lord's position on the family so clear that it could not be misunderstood close quote and so for 26 years members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints the world over have been blessed by the wisdom and doctrinal clarity of the family a proclamation to the world it is a guide in our homes families and has the power to influence our communities for good the world over the proclamation has become one of the most influential declarations leaders of the church have ever made it proclaims foundational truths and brings together core doctrines of the gospel of jesus christ found throughout ancient and modern scripture president dallin h oaks has described the family proclamation as quote the basis of church teaching and practice close the proclamation reaffirms the church's core tenets regarding the sanctity of human life god's mandate of moral purity and fidelity in marriage and the eternal nature of the family unit moral purity and strict adherence to marital vows between a husband and a wife are central to the role and function of the family we read quote the first commandment that god gave to adam and eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife we declare that god's commandment for his children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force we further declare that god has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman lawfully wedded as husband and wife close quote regarding the sanctity of human life the proclamation states quote we declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed we affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in god's eternal plan close quote members of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints believe that god ordained the family as the fundamental source of love and strength where bonds of love transcend this life and enable families to be together through eternity the proclamation declares that god's divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of god and for families to be united eternally in raising our sons sister banger and i have sought guidance and inspiration from the family proclamation soon after its publication to the world sister bangeter printed a copy of the proclamation from the church's website she then framed the proclamation and with our children we gathered around and held a family home evening one by one each of us read a portion of the proclamation and we talked about its importance in our lives then together we found a prominent location on the wall of our home to hang it so that we would be able to see it and be reminded often of its important teachings we have lived in many locations since that first family home evening that we had and that first time we hung on our wall and each time we moved one of the first things we did was to hang this framed plot proclamation this includes when we moved here to the philippines two years ago we still have this wonderful document hanging prominently in our apartment today we are especially happy as parents as we now visit the homes of our children see it hanging in their homes and enjoy their teaching from the proclamation to our grandchildren the proclamation has become one of the foundations of our family life similar to the way we emphasize family prayer and scripture study family home evening and enjoying the great outdoors together in the concluding part of the proclamation there is a call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote these measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society the government-supported national committee on the filipino family has been doing just that for 29 years but there is still much more we can do as members of the church our participation in this week-long celebration is vitally important we share goodness on social media and use the hashtags nationalfamilyweek2021 and hashtag buildingfamiliesforever or hashtag bff we spotlight the importance of the family and open doors for meaningful discussion with those not of our faith when you post photos of family activities and invite your friends to participate in virtual home evening programs you allow them to feel the spirit and to share experiences that you would normally just talk about or post and others wouldn't see if you still have not developed the habit of holding weekly home evenings or family nights now is the best time to start we invite you to join us tomorrow here on facebook for a family home evening sampler with some members linking arms with full-time missionaries we hope the righteous family traditions you have will soon begin or will soon begin to have we'll continue to bless your lives and guide your journey on the covenant path holding fast to the teachings of the gospel and strengthening family relationships are the best things you can do as we all strive to face the challenges brought about by this pandemic i bear witness my dear brothers and sisters that this document the proclamation on the family is inspired of god i bear witness that as we teach our children to learn and follow its precepts we will be protected against the pain and the heartache that comes from broken and disintegrating relationships the family is ordained of god and it is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children i share this witness with you in a sacred name of our lord and savior jesus christ amen what a beautiful message about the family of proclamation to the world thank you elder bengal for providing a good framework upon which i can build a message i will share with you tonight as we celebrate the political tradition of national framework i am inspired to talk about the importance of the righteous family traditions the dictionary defines a tradition as an inherited established or customary patterns of the thought action or behavior such as religious practice or social custom in other words it is a fixed way of doing things something we learn from our parents teachers or community leaders about our society our faith system or our families in march 1986 each of the enzyme megazine the following quote was featured in their family handbook segment traditions include traditions influence the way we live and the way we look at life they may be practices or beliefs handed down from generation to generation or new habits for parents we establish in our own families some will be based on commandments and righteous principles others may evolve from our culture or national heritage end of quote family traditions may be very personal practices as simple as reading stories at bedtime or they may be more self-elaborate events like serving special food on the certain days in the chair family we have the following traditions we have daily family time with the prayer and scripture study i know there are many of you who have the same tradition we start this family time with the singing hymns family home evening is the highlight of the week for my family the favorite part of the family home evening is the activity time and refreshments one other tradition we have is that i go out with each child every month we call it date with daddy my wife does the same date with the mommy it is a fun time with individual child every month and my children like it very much now my sons have their own children and they do the same day with their children family tree is another tradition in our families we travel together as a family at least twice a year one time in summer and another time in winter just going out and spend time together is meaningful we do not always agree on the places to visit activities or food to eat but it is a great time to learn how to set aside our own desire in order to support and respect other family members long drives on camping or skiing trips are made more fun with the we sing loudly in the car sometimes even dance in the car and we keep eating my family's favorite snacks on the way there's always time for fun and bonding with the family when we travel together another tradition we have is keeping family records on tuesday i will be joined by sister chair for a special segment on family history we are excited to share with you more details about this beautiful tradition judging by the way we celebrate family week you can tell that the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints considers the family as the most important element of society church members are encouraged to have many family traditions so we'll learn to prioritize the family for us the family is not something you can give up when things are becoming difficult the family is for kids it doesn't have an expiration date it lasts forever that is why the church theme for the national family week is building forever families can you imagine yourself living in heaven aimed old glory but sad and alone our natural implants when we taste a delicious meal or before before the beautiful scenery is to share with sharing with our family the joy and satisfaction derived from the wonderful experience becomes more profound when you share it with the ones you love from the beginning of time adam and eve were commended by god to multiply and have a family children and parents were cancer to love and honor each other heavenly father believes that having an earthly family was so important that he prays jesus christ is one when he was sent down to save us being with our family and sharing meaningful righteous traditions with them will help us to progress in our journey on the covenant path it will lead us to the temple temporary ordinances are necessary to seal our families and allow us to be together forever there was no temple in korea when we were married in 1982. we were married in a chapter a year later we were indulged and sealed at la hawaii temple where we went to bio hawaii to study my first son was only two months old then it was a sweet moment that this little tiny baby was saved to us for eternity my parents did not have a chance to be sealed until they visited hawaii while we were there they were sealed in the la hawaii temple and i was one of the witnesses my younger brother and i were saved to our parents on the same day we always believed that families can be together forever but after we were sealed as an eternal family our knowledge was sure the covenant passed to the temple may have highlighted the lack of baptism confirmation receiving the priesthood serving a mission and tempered marriage but every little step on the path is taken as we keep righteous family traditions like a family home evening prayer scripture study church attendance and so much more feminine evening when joseph f smith was church priest president in 1915. he issued a letter establishing family home evening when his son joseph fielding smith was church present in 1970 monday night was designated as the preferred time for family home evening local church units were asked not to hold other churches later meetings or activities on that night our family evening activities were usually very childish because my youngest son was seven years younger than my second son and nine years younger than my first son those two older ones often complained that the activities were only fun for a little boy we as parents explained to them that we did the same thing when they were little the two older boys were generous enough to participate in little boy activities we all enjoy the activist activities like little boys as a family when i was called as general 3070 my youngest son was a teenager he said daddy is 70 when he is out but he is a 70 month old boy when he is at home what he meant was not that i was childish but that i did well playing with the young son that was a great compliment for me it means i did a good job being his friend with the pandemic we have to stay home at a lot but the church provides us great direction with the home center the church supported approach it's it is a great blessing the parents can still create a spiritual and joyous environment at home through family time together tomorrow elder and sister bengal will share wonderful insight about family evening that will help you start the practice or improve your already existing tradition of gathering once a week as a family family prayer and scripture study in some filipino homes they hang a sign that says the family that prays together stays together the latter day saint version of the saying is the family that leads to read the scriptures and prayers together stays together forever we are encouraged to hold daily family prayer and scripture study in addition to personal prayer and scripture study it doesn't have to take very long a few minutes is enough to put the focus on the family on the on the saber savior some families do do the scripture reading with the morning prayer when everyone is more likely to be home some have family prayer in the evening before going to bed and when saying grace before meals families can have prayers at other time as well such as at the start of the long journey or before special events or anytime someone feels it is necessary church attendance because of the pandemic many of us still do not get to attend the face-to-face church services even if your service services are held virtually please treat with the same respect as going to your meeting house where your sunday attire and be on your best behavior prepare by reading this assigned scriptures blog and by careful self evaluation before you partake of the sacrament you will find that the spirit of the lord will fill your heart and your substance will indeed be holy family meal time now that i mentioned saying grace before the meals i would like to emphasize the importance of gathering the family to share the meal this is a good opportunity to connect with each other and catch up and to forget the problems and worries that each family member may have put the mobile phone down and pay attention to what your family is talking about parents and children tell each other about the kinds of days you have share funny moments and talk about things that worry you silence does not always mean that everything is right if you are not taking to each other or if you are not talking to each other then there might be a problem try to find out and help be kind and understanding family members will look forward to meal time together if they are fun elder and sister wacolo will have a special segment about family mealtime or kainan amelia mahalaka day and i am excited to learn from them make sure you join them later this week now that the pandemic has forced us to stay home most of the time we'll have the chance to intentionally participate in our family week celebration may we take this opportunity to examine ourselves and our families and determine how we can establish righteous family traditions or improve the family traditions we already have there is a korean proverb which says all habits die hard in other words righteous family traditions will lead children to a righteous life building a great tradition in the family is the best way for our children to stay strong in this complicated world heavenly father keeps inspiring our living prophet to guide us to strengthen the family in every way he wants us to be successful and happy in this moral life and to live with him forever it is god's love that invites us to be full focused on the family especially when we have difficult challenges thank you brothers and sisters for best effort to keep the family in the gospel so that all children can feel this home is the heaven on earth i am sure that the lord will bless your families abundantly i know heavenly father lives and his son jesus christ leaves and they guide us to be with them someday because of your devotion and sacrifice i know that you and your family will have eternal joy in the name of jesus christ amen in a world of turmoil and uncertainty it is more important than ever to make our families the center of our lives and the top of our priorities not only this week but every day elder elton perry said the onslaught of wickedness against our children is more subtle and brazen than it has ever been building a strong family culture adds another layer of protection for our children insulating them from worldly influences close quote president russell m nelson added quote the adversary is increasing his attacks on faith and upon us and our families at an exponential rate to survive spiritually we need counter strategies and proactive plans close quote as a result brothers and sisters the concept of a home-centered truth-supported approach to worship was introduced in 2018 to help balance and connect the many different ways that members learn and leave the gospel and how they worship the savior both at home and at church the announcement came as part of ongoing efforts to help members of the church to learn doctrine strengthen faith and foster greater personal worship come follow me is the church's timely answer to help restore or increase faith during the pandemic brother daniel judd formerly of the sunday school general presidency said quote the church is really a scaffolding to build a family close quote the church has been here these 200 years since the first vision in 1820 and this scaffolding has been built sufficiently now for families during times like we're facing right now to continue to progress and to flourish when our ability to go to church has been taken away during his remarks at the october 2020 general conference president nelson loaded the fact that increased gospel study in many homes is resulting in stronger testimonies and family relationships the spiritual gifts of home worshipping are clear and recent studies continually remind us in a beautiful way that religious devotion at home also has benefits of our happiness and relationships by following the inspired direction of a prophet to be actively involved in home worship we find his council has the potential to continue to strengthen us as families and individuals as we move forward in a time of uncertainty as a family in the wacolo family one conducts for the week and he or she suggests our hint to sing or who to offer prayers assigns portion of the chapter in the scriptures for us to study and explain he or she guides the evening discussion of come follow me this individual responsibility helps us to stay connected with the word of god and be inspired by reading scriptures and words of living prophets and learning from each other as a family this daily activity unites us as a family aside from practicing gospel learning from home members of the church have taken up activities to strengthen temporal and spiritual reliance just last year after the area has released a series of shows for the annual observance of national family week families have since followed suits by learning new skills such as physical exercises improving family finances beginning a family farm bonding through music bridging generations through family history work and observing the family meal time as part of this year's bff programs on our facebook page my family and i will share with you a traditional fijian meal which i hope you will enjoy sometimes even if you don't like the way the food tastes it's still worth it if preparing it together became a meaningful and memorable bonding time for the family because of the temporal self-reliance displayed by the filipino saints the philippines area prince he was also inspired to organize the i will go i will serve initiative we have fasted specifically about this goal of establishing the church in the philippines and aiming for praying for seeking out for 4 600 sons and daughters of god who know and understand the priesthood duty to serve as well as sisters who are willing to serve it is in the home that our rising generation are truly prepared to become future missionaries the 2000 stripping warriors did not doubt that their mother knew it nephi desired to know what his father knew he knows remember the words of his father alma deyounger in his darkest beast remember the teachings of his father in other words from home that is why we honor and thank parents who continue to raise their children in righteousness and helping them to stay on the covenant path the response to the call of 4600 homegrown missionaries has been overwhelming and we know that generations will be blessed as children and parents continue to work together to become part of this area initiative as the church celebrates 60 years in the philippines we reflect on its growth and how it has blessed the lives of people and those of other things through the teaching of jesus christ at its foundation as elder neil l anderson counseled during the organization of the 100th stake in the philippines in 2017. quote why has the savior set his feet so firmly here it is because of who you are this is a special place do not underestimate who you are the most important part of the philippines is the people close quote in just six decades we have seen the establishment of the church in the philippines through the faithful and diligent efforts of members and missionaries it is an effort that has brought forth fruit that is almost without parallel in the modern church and it is just beginning to this end we must strengthen our faith in christ be true to our covenants become self-reliant and share the gospel when we become doers and not just hearers of the things we learn we obey god's commandments we keep the sabbath day holy pay our tithes and offerings and engage in family history and temple work we then make honor and renew sacred covenants with our father in heaven finally we will establish the kingdom of god living the gospel sharing its message and inviting others to come unto christ as you continue to obey covenant and establish the church in your homes and personal lives leave the gospel culture and let god prevail you and generations of your family can rely on the savior's promise when he declared i remember those who are upon the isles of the sea and the isles shall wait upon me and on my arm shall they trust close quote we invite you to heed the words of the prophet as he encourages us to make your homes the center of gospel learning and experience the wonderful blessing of having the spirit bear witness to your soul that you are on the right covenant path following god's plan for your eternal happiness and start in his only true and living church we love you in the name of jesus christ amen [Music] a long time ago in a beautiful place children were gathered around jesus he blessed and told us they felt of his love [Music] [Applause] [Music] i know he feels for me [Music] i did not touch him or sit on his knee yet jesus [Music] [Music] i know that my savior loves me [Music] now i am here in a beautiful place learning the teachings of jesus [Music] parents and teachers will help guide the way lighting every day [Music] [Music] his his [Music] [Music] i know that my savior loves me i know that my savior loves me [Music] [Music] together with elder and sister we are very grateful father for the leaders activities to church despite of the pandemic and as well as technology and this time father we pray [Music] family week is especially blessing sorry story the gospel that our families can be together forever please help us father but then especially those people and those family gospel in jesus christ and we also pray father jesus christ i know loved you so much heavenly father these things you only pray for in the sacred name of thy son jesus christ amen [Music] you

Channel: The Church of Jesus Christ in the Philippines

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Length: 55min 31sec (3331 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 19 2021