Elder Richard G. Scott praises family, home as pillars of happiness

PROVO, Utah — Two vital pillars in God's plan of happiness are the family and the home, the significance of which is underscored by the devil's relentless efforts to undermine them, an LDS apostle told college-age Mormons Sunday night in a broadcast carried by satellite to locations throughout North America and many parts of the word.

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke in the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University for the monthly Church Educational System fireside.

Besides trying to undermine the family, Satan attempts to undermine the significance of LDS temple ordinances "which bind the family together for eternity," Elder Scott said.

"He does this by constant encouragement to promote promiscuity and to defile the sacred intimate expression of love between a husband and wife that results in the birth of children."

As part of his address, Elder Scott in a discussion setting conversed with Rebecca and Ben Marlowe, a recently married couple. He asked them questions such as how they determine what should be the highest priority for their marriage and how they resolve disagreements.

"We've determined that our priorities are, first, the Lord and the gospel — and that has really helped our marriage — and then each other and the family that we've created together," Rebecca said, "and then everything else just kind of falls into place when you put those things first."

Elder Scott then returned to the pulpit and related a lesson he learned from his wife Jeanene, who died in 1995. He had been away on business for almost two weeks. With four hours to go before a meeting he had to attend, he noticed his wife washing clothes by hand because the washing machine had broken. Having an engineering background, he began to fix the machine, but his wife insisted he go play with the children.

"When she spoke to me that authoritatively I saluted and obeyed," he recounted. "I had a marvelous time with our children. We chased each other around and rolled in the fall leaves. Later I went to my meeting. I probably would have forgotten that experience were it not for the lesson that she wanted me to learn.