“Can we make our homes more beautiful? Yes, through addressing ourselves as families to the Source of all true beauty. Can we strengthen society and make it a better place in which to live? Yes, by strengthening the virtue of our family life through kneeling together and supplicating the Almighty in the name of His Beloved Son.”
“Pray in Your Families”
There are numerous passages in the standard works about the responsibilities of parents toward their families. Virtually all of these focus on the obligation of parents to instruct their children in righteousness, and the children’s responsibility to hearken to their parents.
This verse is the only reference in all of canonized scripture that directly speaks of the commandment and blessing of family prayer. Jesus’ command to , “pray in your families” was followed with the instruction as to why family prayer is so essential-“that your wives and your children may be blessed.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley specified how wives, children, and families are blessed through family prayer:
“I feel satisfied that there is no adequate substitute for the morning and evening practice of kneeling together-father, mother, and children. This, more than soft carpets, more than lovely draperies, more than cleverly balanced color schemes, is the thing that will make for better and more beautiful homes… .
“What miracles would happen in the lives of the children of the world if they would lay aside their own selfishness and lose themselves in the service of others. The seed from which this sheltering and fruitful tree may grow is best planted and nurtured in the daily supplications of the family.”