Prophetic Statements
Ezra Taft Benson
For a man, there is no calling as high as that of a righteous patriarch, married in the house of the Lord, presiding over His children. Even the very Elohim has us address Him as “our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9; 3 Nephi 13:9). For a woman there is no calling as high as that of a righteous mother, married in the house of the Lord, rearing a posterity. (“In His Steps,” in 1979 Devotional Speeches of the Year [Provo, Utah: BYU, 1980], p.64.)
[1]
Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released. Callings in the Church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place. But a father’s calling is eternal, and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity.
President Harold B. Lee truly stated that “the most important of the Lord’s work that you [fathers] will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home. Home Teaching, bishopric’s work, and other Church duties are all important, but the most important work is within the walls of your home.” (Decisions for Successful Living [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1973], 248-49.)
. . .
Oh, husbands and fathers in Israel, you can do so much for the salvation and exaltation of your families! Your responsibilities are so important.
Remember your sacred calling as a father in Israel—your most important calling in time and eternity—a calling from which you will never be released. [2]
As I indicated last October as we met in general priesthood session, you have the major responsibility for teaching your sons the gospel. I would encourage you to reread that address. As important as the organizations of the Church are for teaching our youth, fathers have a sacred calling to continually teach and instruct members of their families in the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. [3]
Teach your daughters to prepare for life’s greatest career—that of homemaker, wife, and mother. Teach them to love home because you love home. Teach them the importance of being a full-time mother in the home.
My eternal companion has wisely counseled mothers: “Radiate a spirit of contentment and joy with homemaking. You teach by example your attitude toward homemaking. Your attitude will say to your daughters, ‘I am only a housewife.’ Or it will convey, ‘Homemaking is the highest, most noble profession to which a woman might aspire.'” [4]
Possibly the best measure of the stature of men or women is in their own homes, at their own firesides. Some of you have already established homes. Practically all of you will do so. As you look hopefully forward, what conclusions have you reached about marriage, the home, and family?
Are you planning for honorable parenthood even at the sacrifice perhaps of parties, clubs, and other social enticements? Parenthood carries with it peculiar responsibilities. Are you planning to accept these without quibbling? Are you willing to accept and enthrone motherhood as the highest calling of woman?
No nation rises above its homes. In building character, the Church, the school, and even the nation stand helpless when confronted with a weakened and degraded home. The good home is the rock foundation—the cornerstone of civilization. There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from a good home, with the old-fashioned virtues at its base. If our nation is to endure, the home must be safeguarded, strengthened, and restored to its rightful importance. [5]
The family is under attack today, I think, as never before, at least in my memory, and it is very real. Yet the family is the rock foundation, the cornerstone of civilization. The Church will never be stronger than its families, and this nation will never rise above its homes and its families.
Home teachers, quorum leaders, all of us, including stake missionaries, need to get the father to recognize his great responsibility to perform his duty as a father and as a patriarch to his own children. [6]
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 496.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990], 39.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990], 10.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1990], 23.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 4 – 5.
- ↑ Ezra Taft Benson, God, Family, Country: Our Three Great Loyalties [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974], 186.
