We need to consistently express our love for each other.

We need to share our testimonies in our words and our actions consistently and especially within our own homes. Spouses and parents must work to overcome any hesitation to bear testimony.

When we stand close to the canvas it is difficult or impossible to see the wonderful picture that each small stroke contributes to.

Public statements of love when the private actions of love are absent is hypocrisy and undermines the work.

If we seek the Lord’s help we can reduce the discrepancy between what we say and what we do in following Christ.

Three ways each of us can become more diligent and concerned in our homes:

1. Express Love – and Show It
2. Bear Testimony – and Live It
3. Be Consistent

As disciples of the Savior, we are not merely striving to know more; rather, we need to consistently do more of what we know is right and become better.

Express Love – and Show It

Sometimes in a sacrament meeting talk or testimony, we hear a statement like this: “I know I do not tell my spouse often enough how much I love her. Today I want her, my children, and all of you to know that I love her.”

Such an expression of love may be appropriate. But when I hear a statement like this, I squirm and silently exclaim that the spouse and children should not be hearing this apparently rare and private communication in public at church! Hopefully the children hear love expressed and see love demonstrated between their parents in the regular routine of daily living. If, however, the public statement of love at church is a bit surprising to the spouse or the children, then indeed there is a need to be more diligent and concerned at home.

Feeling the security and constancy of love from a spouse, a parent, or a child is a rich blessing.

Bear Testimony – and Live It

The bearing of testimony need not be lengthy or eloquent. And we do not need to wait until the first Sunday of the month to declare our witness of things that are true. Within the walls of our own homes, we can and should bear pure testimony of the divinity and reality of the Father and the Son, of the great plan of happiness, and of the Restoration.

Brethren and sisters, when was the last time you bore testimony to your eternal companion? Parents, when was the last time you declared your witness to your children about the things you know to be true? And children, when was the last time you shared your testimony with your parents and family?

A testimony is what we know to be true in our minds and in our hearts by the witness of the Holy Ghost. As we profess truth rather than admonish, exhort, or simply share interesting experiences, we invite the Holy Ghost to confirm the verity of our words. The power of pure testimony does not come from sophisticated language or effective presentation; rather, it is the result of revelation conveyed by the third member of the Godhead, even the Holy Ghost. . . . Such testimony fortifies faith and provides direction. Such testimony generates light in a world that grows increasingly dark. Such testimony is the source of an eternal perspective and of enduring peace.

Be Consistent

Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

Today if you could ask our adult sons what they remember about family prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, I believe I know how they would answer. They likely would not identify a particular prayer or a specific instance of scripture study or an especially meaningful family home evening lesson as the defining moment in their spiritual development. What they would say they remember is that as a family we were consistent.

Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome. But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together. The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson – a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.

Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting. Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls.

Jesus warned His disciples concerning the scribes and Pharisees: “Do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” This strong admonition is sobering given the counsel to “express love – and show it,” to “bear testimony – and live it,” and to “be consistent.”

A public statement of love when the private actions of love are absent at home is hypocrisy – and weakens the foundation of a great work. Publicly declaring testimony when faithfulness and obedience are missing within our own homes is hypocrisy – and undermines the foundation of a great work.

Instruction:

• Express our love in private frequently enough that it is not a surprise to those we love.
• Bear testimony frequently at home of the divinity and reality of the Father and the Son, of the great plan of happiness, and of the Restoration.