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Did you know that you can help change the world

during your teenage years? You have the power

within you to stand up or eternal truths that are

being attacked in one o Satans biggest battles. How

can you do it? You can make a huge dierence by beinga deender o the amily and letting those around you

know that the amily is ordained o God. It is the most

important unit in time and in eternity (Administering the

Church [2010], 2).

Because o the importance o the amily to the eternal

plan o happiness, Satan makes a major eort to destroy

the sanctity o the amily, demean the importance o the

role o men and women, encourage moral uncleanliness

and violations o the sacred law o chastity, and to dis-

courage parents rom placing the bearing and rearing ochildren as one o their highest priorities (Elder Robert D.

Hales o the Quorum o the Twelve Apostles, The Eternal

Family,Ensign, Nov. 1996, 65).

You can help counter the destructive orces o Satan

by standing up or the amily through your actions and in

your conversations at home, in the community, and even

online. Here are several ways you can deend the amily

every day.

By Brittany Beattie

Church Magazines

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1. Put amily time frst.With so

many sporting events, parties, schoolunctions, and other activities in your

schedule, its easy to say, Ill spend

time with my amily laterwhen

things slow down. But youll soon

nd that lie will never slow down,

so its important to give high priority

to amily activities now. Dont under-

estimate the way you can deend the

amily unit just by participating in

youramily unit.For example, be on the ront row

at your brothers music recital. Read

the amily newsletter your mother

wrote. Be excited about the amily

home evening lesson your sister

planned. Listen to and use kind

words with your amily members. See

how close you grow as you support

one another in your interests.

The First Presidency has taught:We counsel parents and children to

give highest priority to amily prayer,

amily home evening, gospel study

and instruction, and wholesome

amily activities. However worthy and

appropriate other demands or activi-

ties may be, they must not be permit-

ted to displace the divinely-appointed

duties that only parents and ami-

lies can adequately perorm (FirstPresidency letter, Feb. 11, 1999).

2. Strengthen your amily members.

Look or ways to make lie easier or

your siblings and parents. Find some-

thing they need help with and do it,

such as giving a hug to a brother who

had a hard day at school or helping

your sister when its her turn to do

the dishes. When you support oneanother in your needs, your amily

will grow stronger as one. Remember

that amily happiness is a team eort.

Elder Robert D. Hales said we

need to understand that we are each

an important and integral part o a

amily and the highest blessings can

be received only within an eternal

amily. . . . Being one in a amily

carries a great responsibility o caring,loving, liting, and strengthening each

member o the amily so that all can

righteously endure to the end in mor-

tality and dwell together throughout

eternity. . . . The eternal nature o an

individual becomes the eternal nature

o the amily (The Eternal Family,

Ensign, Nov. 1996, 65).

KEY DOCTRINESABOUT THE FAMILY

Be prepared to deend thetruth about eternal amilies by

knowing and living the important

doctrines taught in The Family: A

Proclamation to the World (Ensign,

Nov. 1995, 102):

Marriage between a man and

woman is ordained o God and

essential to His plan.

The family is ordained of God

and central to His plan or His

children.

Families can be eternal through

temple ordinances and covenants.

God has commanded husbands

and wives to have children.

Powers of procreation are to be

reserved or marriage.

Children are entitled to birth

within the bonds o matrimony.

Family life is happiest when

founded upon Christs teachings.

Fathers are to preside, provide,

and protect.*

Mothers are primarily responsible

or the nurture o their children.*

Fathers and mothers are to help

one another as equal partners.

We will be accountable before

God or how we ulfll our amilyresponsibilities.

The disintegration of the family

will bring calamity to individuals,

communities, and nations.

* Disability, death, or other circum-stances may necessitate individualadaptation.

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3. Be an example o good amily

lie. Let your riends know about

successes your amily shares. You

could talk with them about something

un your amily did together over

the weekend. Tell them about your

brothers winning goal or your sisters

high score on the test you helped

her study or. Dont say anything bad

about your parents or siblings, but

ocus just on the good things your

amily doesin both ace-to-ace and

online conversations.

Do your part to make your home

a holy place where others can eel the

Spirit (see D&C 88:119) and where

they can see what Gods plan oramilies is all about. Consider inviting

riends over when your amily spends

time together so they can see the joy

o amily riendships.

4. Stand up or the amily in your

conversations. When conversations

come up in school, work, and other

activitiesor even in text messages,

e-mails, social networking sites, oronline articleswhere truths about

the amily are attacked, have the

courage to deend the doctrines

about Heavenly Fathers plan or

amilies (see the sidebar on page 7

or key teachings rom The Family:

A Proclamation to the World). The

world continues to attack these eter-

nal doctrines, and its up to you to be

a voice o truth. The Spirit will help

you know what to say.

5. Beware o how the media defnes

amilies. Much in the media today

does not support Gods denition

o marriage and amilies. It might

endorse or gloriy alternatives to

wholesome amily lie that are con-

trary to Gods plan. The counsel in

For the Strength of Youth can applyto teachings about the amily: Satan

uses media to deceive you by mak-

ing what is wrong and evil look

normal, humorous, or exciting. He

tries to mislead you into thinking that

breaking Gods commandments is

acceptable and has no negative con-

sequences or you or others. . . . Have

the courage to walk out o a movie,

change your music, or turn o a com-puter, television, or mobile device i

what you see or hear drives away the

Spirit ([2011], 11).

HELP

FROM THE

POWERS

OF HEAVEN

As we read

what the

proclamation

tells us about

the amily, we

can expectin

act, we must expectimpressions

to come to our minds as to what

we are to do. And we can be

confdent it is possible or us to do

according to those impressions. . . .

. . . We can start now topromote those measures designed

to maintain and strengthen the

amily [The Family: A Proclamation

to the World, Ensign, Nov. 1995,

102]. I pray that we will. I pray

that you will ask, Father, how can I

prepare? Tell [Him] how much you

want what He desires to give you.

You will receive impressions, and i

you act on them, I promise you the

help o the powers o heaven.President Henry B. Eyring, First

Counselor in the First Presidency, The

Family, Ensign, Feb. 1998, 10, 18.

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When you choose media that

support the principles o an eternal

amily, it will be easier to strengthen

the amily and also prepare or a

uture temple marriage.

6. Do temple work. Many o your

ancestors have not received the

essential ordinances that seal them

together as amilies. Remember that

deending the amily isnt just about

the amilies on the earth today, but

its also about allamilies. With

new.familysearch.org, its easy to pre-

pare names or temple work to help

deceased amily members receive the

sealing ordinances. (You can watchvideo tutorials about FamilySearch at

lds.org/fhy or talk with the amily his-

tory specialist in your ward or stake.)

7. Develop habits today that you

want in your uture amily. Even i

you dont come rom a strong am-

ily, you can makeyouruture amily

strong as you prepare or and wor-

thily marry in the temple and seek toraise a righteous amily o your own.

Think about the types o things you

want to do in your uture amily, and

start those habits today. For example,

even i your amily doesnt have daily

scripture study, you can study the

scriptures on your own each day. By

orming that habit now, it will be easy

to hold amily scripture study when

you get married.You can also deend the amily

by deciding now that when you are

older you will marry in the temple

and then strive to have children and

raise them in righteousness. We have

been counseled: All members, even

i they . . . are without amily in the

Church, should strive or the ideal o

living in an eternal amily. This means

preparing to become worthy spouses

and loving athers or mothers

(Administering the Church, 4).Sister Julie B. Beck, Relie Society

general president, has said to the

young members o the Church, This

generation will be called upon to

deend the doctrine o the amily as

never beore (Teaching the Doctrine

o the Family,Ensign, March 2011,

17). When you do this and live as

a deender o the amily, you can

change your uture and your amilysuture and also be a part o a gener-

ation that can change the uture o

the world as you protect the amily

together. Even i you dont see imme-

diate results, your actions will be

an infuence or good in supporting

Heavenly Fathers plan or eternal

amilies. NE

ITS YOURTURN

How will you prepare to

be a family defender? Consider

writing some goals in your journal and

then jotting down your experiences as

you work on those goals.

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