Unless, however, a husband and wife learn to work
together as one, marriage can also be an infernal
ordeal. There are too many unhappy marriages in
the world today. There are too many marriages that
do not stay the course, ending prematurely in
divorce” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 96; or
Ensign, May 1995, 72).
Elder David B. Haight
“Our concern is not just that media producers and
writers don’t portray happy, fruitful marriage, but
that many married couples don’t take their marriages
seriously enough—to work at them, protect them,
nurture them, cultivate them day in and day out,
week in and week out, yearlong, quarter-century
long, half-a-century long, forever” (in Conference
Report, Apr. 1984, 16; or Ensign,May 1984, 13).
Elder James E. Faust
“An essential part of teaching children to be
disciplined and responsible is to have them learn to
work. As we grow up, many of us are like the man
who said, ‘I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and
look at it for hours’ (Jerome Klapka Jerome, in The
International Dictionary of Thoughts,comp. John P.
Bradley, Leo F. Daniels, and Thomas C. Jones
[Chicago: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co., 1969],
p. 782). Again, the best teachers of the principle
of work are the parents themselves. For me, work
became a joy when I first worked alongside my
father, grandfather, uncles, and brothers. I am sure
that I was often more of an aggravation than a help,
but the memories are sweet and the lessons learned
are valuable. Children need to learn responsibility
and independence. Are the parents personally taking
the time to show and demonstrate and explain so
that children can, as Lehi taught, ‘act for themselves
and not... be acted upon’? (2 Nephi 2:26).
“Luther Burbank, one of the world’s
greatest horticulturists, said, ‘If we had
paid no more attention to our plants
than we have to our children, we
would now be living in a jungle of
weeds’ (in Elbert Hubbard’s Scrap Book
[New York: Wm. H. Wise and Co.,
1923], p. 227)” (in Conference Report,
Oct. 1990, 42; or Ensign,Nov. 1990, 34).
Elder M. Russell Ballard
“Some people who lived through the Great
Depression and the period following, when the
government bestowed gratuities upon the people,
developed a feeling that the world owed them a
living. In that climate, the First Presidency said in
1936: ‘The aim of the Church is to help the people
to help themselves. Work is to be re-enthroned as
the ruling principle of the lives of our Church
membership.’ (In Conference Report, Oct. 1936,
p. 3.)...
“The love for work needs to be reenthroned in our
lives. Every family should have a plan for work that
touches the lives of each family member so that
this eternal principle will be ingrained in their
lives” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1981, 116; or
Ensign,May 1981, 85).Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin
“Husbands, be patient with your wives; and wives,
be patient with your husbands. Don’t expect
perfection. Find agreeable ways to work out the
differences that arise” (in Conference Report, Apr.
1987, 37; or Ensign,May 1987, 32).
“Parents should plant deeply the seed of the work
ethic into the hearts and habits of their children.
As society has shifted from an agrarian to an urban
structure, the joy and necessity of diligent, hard
work have been neglected. If our young people do
not learn to work while in their homes, they likely
will be compelled to learn later in a setting where
the lesson may be painful” (in Conference Report,
Apr. 1989, 9; or Ensign,May 1989, 8).Elder Dean L. Larsen
“Marriage is not an easy venture. It is largely a one-
time-through, do-it yourself project for the husband
and wife. I repeatedly encounter the illusion today,
especially among younger people, that perfect
marriages happen simply if the right
two people come together. This is
untrue. Marriages don’t succeed
automatically. Those who build
happy, secure, successful marriages
pay the price to do so. They work at it
constantly” (“Enriching Marriage,”
Ensign,Mar. 1985, 20).Sister Barbara B. Smith
“Accountability is a necessary condition of work.
Responsibility brings system to the workings
of a family and order to a marriage. Defining
responsibilities and planning a method of reporting94 THEFAMILY: A PROCLAMATION TO THEWORLD