Love in Families

Love is listed as one of the attributes of successful marriages and families in the Proclamation on the Family.  There are several examples of love making a difference in families in the scriptures.  One is the story of Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation.  After the affair of the birthright, Esau vowed, “I will slay my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41).  Rebekah warned Jacob and he fled from the wrath of his brother.  After spending many years away, Jacob and his large family finally met up with Esau and his “four hundred men.”  Jacob feared for his life, thinking that his brother was still angry.  The scriptures record, “And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept” (Genesis 32:1, 4).  Clearly love won the day and Esau’s love for his brother overcame his hard feelings.  Because of this they were reconciled and both became the father of great nations.  Another example of love in a family is what we see between Mormon and Moroni.  They lived in an extremely difficult time when the love of all those around them had waxed cold.  And yet we can see the love that Mormon had for his son in the letters that he wrote.  He said, “I am mindful of you always in my prayers, continually praying unto God the Father in the name of his Holy Child, Jesus, that he, through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance of faith on his name to the end” (Moroni 8:3).  He wrote again saying, “My son, I recommend thee unto God, and I trust in Christ that thou wilt be saved: and I pray unto God that he will spare thy life” (Moroni 9:22).  Mormon clearly loved his son and sought to give him care and guidance even amidst the depravity of the people around him.  The fact that Moroni took the records from his father, added his own writings, and then named the book after his father shows the great love and respect that Moroni had for Mormon.  I think the sons of Helaman also exhibited great love towards their families as they risked their lives to fight for the safety of their parents.  They “did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives” (Alma 56:47).  Because of their courage and willingness to sacrifice for the protection of their families, the tide of the war was changed and they made a huge impact for good in preserving the freedom of the people.  While the hatred of the Lamanites raged, love carried the day for the stripling warriors and saved their families.  These and other scriptural stories show the power of love to bless families.