More Challenges and Opportunities in the Home

In my class, we are talking about other challenges that are becoming more prevalent in the family. Since homosexuality is becoming a bigger issue in today’s society it is important for a person to know where they stand on the issue and how to address it when you are confronted with it. In my class, we were asked: If I were to open my apartment door and hear the debate about whether people choose to be gay or whether God wouldn’t create someone who is gay, how would I respond? I thought a lot about this and after hearing and reading a lot of articles and video clips, this is how I would hopefully respond:

First, I would ask if I could interject something really quick. I would ask them if they were familiar with The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I would reiterate the phrase about how, “Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.” I would then explain that our gender is important and sacred to who we are and what we have the potential to become. Our Heavenly Father didn’t make a mistake when he created His children; our God is a perfect God. This means that He meant for us to be male or female and with these specific genders comes “defining” characteristics of their own. The reason I put quotations around defining, is because a lot of the time we define certain qualities such as sensitivity, creativity, and gentleness to be the normal characteristics found in women. If we see men, for example, with these characteristics, society considers them “wimps”. In the video, Michael Williams asks, “Who do those qualities remind you of?” The point he was making was, those qualities are those of Christ. We mistakenly ostracize those who have great qualities that may be less typical in a certain gender, to be abnormal. It may be a fad to some these days to say they are homosexual, but a lot of people have been mistreated physically or mentally by someone previously to the point where they believe they are broken or abnormal. I don’t believe as many people as we think willing “choose” to be gay. I would remind them to be patient and loving to them as well. Each one of us is a child of God, created in His own image.

Interview on Same-Sex Attraction that I found very enlightening:

https://web.byui.edu/Services/Login/?RedirectURL=http://www.byui.edu/videoplayer/BYUIplayer.html?StartCue=0%26EndCue=1420%26VideoName=Same%20sex%20attraching%26VideoType=lectures

These challenges that come up can become teaching opportunities to us and for our families. Some of my favorite quotes that I don’t want to forget, dealing with adversary in the home are:

“If Satan could, he would destroy children. As parents, we don’t want to be crippled by fears and anxieties related to what could happen to our children, nevertheless we must be alert and actively take measures to protect.”

 

“Aggressively seek more of the virtues which go beyond this mortal life. A prayerful, conservative approach is the key to successfully living in an affluent society and building the qualities that come from waiting, sharing, saving, working hard, and making do with what we have.”

“Ask yourself: what do I want to teach directly and indirectly and how do I plan to do it? All teaching in the family must be done intentionally, thoughtfully and regularly. Remember also that example is one of the best forms indirect teaching. Teach then act.”

“The first set of questions boils down to one question: What do we do when things go wrong? The second set boils down to a second question: How do we help things go right?”

“The most important thing that you will ever do for your children is to love their mother.”

Arbinger Institute came out with this Parenting Pyramid, which I found very accurate!

Pyramid Questions:

1. Am I correcting my children without teaching them?

2. What is the quality of my relationship with my children?

3. What is the quality of my relations with my spouse?

4. How pure is my way of being?

Pyramid Breakdown:

1. Although correction is a part of parenthood, it is the smallest part.

2. The key to effective correction is effective teaching.

3. The key to effective teaching is a good parent/child relationship.

4. The key to a good parent/child relationship is a good husband/wife relationship.

5. The key to a good husband/wife relationship is our personal way of being. Indeed this quality affects every other aspect of the pyramid; that is why it is the deepest foundation.