This is a General Conference Odyssey post.
Some of you may remember when the First Presidency was made up of Spencer W. Kimball, N. Eldon Tanner, and Marion G. Romney. All of these men became incapacitated and so Gordon B. Hinckley was called as a third counselor to keep things going. This April 1983 General Conference announced that with the passing of N. Eldon Tanner, Marion G. Romney was moved from 2nd to 1st Counselor and Gordon B. Hinckley was made 2nd Counselor. He still held the brunt of responsibility with Ezra Taft Benson, as President of the Quorum of the Twelve helping from his position.
The Priesthood session was a little different than was typical. Jeffrey R. Holland and his teenage son, Matt, spoke in this session.
We all are familiar with Elder Holland’s heartfelt stories and pleas to us. During this session, he shared a rather disturbing (to me) dream he once had.
In this dream, he was moving his family. Two cars were all packed and ready to go and he instructed Matt, who was 5-years old, to drive one car while he drove the other. He set off and a short time later, he suddenly realized what he had done. He got out of his car and ran all the way back to where his son was pulled to the side of the road. An older gentleman was there playing with his son. The man turned to him and said, “You should not have left him alone to do this difficult thing. It would not have been asked of you.”
What was so disturbing to me was that this happens too often these days. Children are left to their own devices for too long, without parental involvement. In the same ballpark, parents make themselves too busy to impose uninterrupted family time. Our homes are not always happy places.
This whole session of conference focused on how fathers are meant to watch over their wives and their children. If they are sincere and focused on them, temptation cannot pull them away.
Today, we have a lot of husbands and fathers who may feel displaced because wives and mothers have put their interests on other things. Likewise, inexcusably, husbands and fathers allow themselves to have wandering eyes. Either they are caught up in pornography, “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Or they fully commit this terrible sin, “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul” (Proverbs 6:32).
But for those men who stay close to the Lord, they are blessed with a family they can care for, love, and teach in the ways of God. Likewise, women who put Jesus Christ first in their lives recognize the importance of strengthening the home with their presence. Is there a happier place on earth than a loving home? I don’t even think Disneyland can offer that much happiness.