Fortifying Our Family

Marsha Johnson, “Fortifying Our Family,” Ensign, Jul 2009, 12–13

As our oldest child approached high school age, our concern for our children increased when we considered the prevalence of peer pressure and social groups pushing agendas inconsistent with Church standards. I often thought about this, wondering how we could help our children better understand Church doctrines, particularly those concerning the family.
One day I realized that the answers we sought could be found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”1 I knew that if our children understood the proclamation, they could confidently defend the Lord’s definition of the family.
At family home evening, I presented a proposal to memorize the proclamation as a family. After some grumbling, everyone agreed.
Every Monday evening we had a lesson about a paragraph or sentence of the proclamation, followed by a memorization activity. Each morning during family scripture study we would recite all that we had memorized to that point.
It took almost a year, but we memorized the entire family proclamation together. Although this might not be possible for every family, it has proven a blessing for ours. True to our concerns, our children have been exposed to activities, debates, and friends that do not support the Lord’s view of the family. I am so grateful to know that they have the words of the Lord’s chosen servants when needed.
In addition to teaching my children, this process taught me some important lessons about developing faith in Christ as a family.

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