Chapter 18
Faith in our family begins with trusting our Heavenly Father and His promises. We press forward despite challenges, never giving up on ourselves or our children. We teach our family to have faith in Christ by living what we know to be true. Our children learn their most powerful lessons from our faithfulness.
WHAT IS FAITH? :Faith, derived from Latin fides and Old French feid, is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, one can define faith as “belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion”.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
- Why is faith important in a christian life ?
- Why is family important in a christian life ?
- How can we fill our family life with faith ?
- what is faith and why is it important ?
Faith plays a significant role in family life for many people around the world. It provides a foundation of values, beliefs, and moral principles that guide individuals and families in their relationships and decision-making processes. Here are a few ways faith influences family life:
Shared Values: Faith often establishes a set of shared values within a family. These values, derived from religious teachings and beliefs, shape the behavior and actions of family members. They can include love, forgiveness, compassion, honesty, and respect for one another, fostering a harmonious and supportive family environment.
Rituals and Traditions: Many faith traditions include specific rituals and traditions that families observe together. These rituals can be as simple as daily prayers, weekly worship services, or annual celebrations of religious holidays. These practices not only strengthen the family’s bond but also provide opportunities for reflection, gratitude, and spiritual growth.
Moral Guidance: Faith offers moral guidelines that help family members make ethical decisions. Religious teachings often provide clear principles and standards that govern personal behavior and relationships, promoting honesty, integrity, and empathy. This moral framework can help individuals navigate challenges and conflicts within the family and society at large.
“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life” ( The church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, 1995, para. 3).
Support System: Faith communities often provide a strong support system for families. They offer social connections, a sense of belonging, and opportunities for fellowship with like-minded individuals and families. Religious communities may provide counseling, mentoring, and resources to help families face various challenges, such as marital issues, parenting
Why is faith important in. Family life: Our faith gives us an enduring relationship with an ever-present Father, Son and Holy Spirit, along with a whole toolbox of lessons and resources that help us through our earthly lives , compassion, community, loyalty, praise, grace, trust, overcoming adversity, gratitude and perseverance. We’re given commandments that help us and our communities stay on course. We’re taught to take time to pray, providing important moments of praise, peace, reflection and conversations with God that are physically and spiritually healing. And our Christian identity provides a powerful framing to understand self-worth rooted in God’s unconditional love and purpose. These are just some of the foundational elements of our faith that create fertile ground for cultivating a life well lived.
Objective of. Our faith: Certainly, our faith does not guarantee an easy life. As adolescents, emerging adults and throughout our adult lifetimes, we will face adversity, opposition, loss, betrayal, societal conflict and suffering that will challenge and test our beliefs. We need a strong faith foundation to live through the challenges and the questions, return to scripture, consult our mentors, lean into our Christian communities, and recall the power of prayer. So we can consider faith-building as an essential part of our job as parents “to prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child.”
Dividends of faith in the family life: it gives us the gift of a community of believers who share our commitment to each other and the teachings of Jesus to love God and serve the world. And finally, it gives us the promise and peace of eternal life when we come to the end of this one. It is our responsibility to pass on these awesome gifts to the next generation.So we try to keep our kids closely by our sides on our Christian journeys, teaching them the gifts of a relationship with Jesus, along with the responsibility to care for and minister to others as Jesus did. We teach, lead, pray, show and then hopefully send them out into the world with their Christian toolbox abundantly filled with faith, hope and love. And along the way, it becomes abundantly clear that “it’s not what you leave for them, it’s what you leave in them.”These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9
Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Luke 18:16
Question
- What does it mean to have faith in your family,and what would you do to achieve it ?
i learnt alot from this much appreciated