Family Councils

In the last general conference, Elder Ballard spoke about the importance of holding family councils.  He suggested that there are four types of family councils: (1) all the family together, (2) one parent with one child, (3) both parents with one child, and (4) a husband and wife alone (see here).  I thought that I would look in the scriptures to see what examples of these kinds of councils that we see.  We don’t always have a lot of details about internal family conversations and deliberations in the scriptures, but there are plenty of examples that show at least that these family councils did take place and that they were very important for the progression of the family.

                  I think we see several family councils with most or all of the family in the story of Jacob/Israel’s family as they were in the midst of the famine in Canaan.  Joseph was at the time the second in command in Egypt, and Jacob’s family needed food.  We read that Jacob counseled with his sons, saying, “Why do ye look one upon another?  And he said, Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die” (Genesis 42:1-2).  Surely there was much discussion that took place behind those two verses, and ultimately it was determined that all the brother except Benjamin would go to Egypt.  After their experience with Joseph in Egypt, and not knowing that it had been their brother, the other brothers counseled together saying, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother” (Genesis 42:21).  After they had gone back home with the request from Joseph to bring back their youngest brother, they counseled together again and sought to persuade their father to let Benjamin go: “If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food” (Genesis 43:4).  It appears that they discussed the matter at length, and the first 14 verses of Genesis 43 show some of the dialogue that they had as they worked for a solution.  And surely more than just the men of the family were involved in the decision.  It was clearly a council of the most important nature, and it was as a family together that they were able to decide their course of action and make the difficult choices that had to be made. 

                There are I think many examples of the parent/child type of council in the scriptures such as Lehi’s final counsel to his sons, Alma’s discussions with Corianton, Mormon’s communication with Moroni, etc.  Another one that comes to mind is the exchange between Lehi and Nephi that took place in 1 Nephi 3:1-8.  Lehi had a problem and he came to Nephi to counsel with his son and figure out what to do.  His problem was that Laman and Lemuel did not accept his revelation that they needed to return to get the brass plates.  He said to Nephi, “And now, behold thy brothers murmur, saying it is a hard thing which I have required of them; but behold I have not required it of them, but it is a commandment of the Lord.”  You can hear his pleading asking Nephi for help in determining what is to be done since Laman and Lemuel rejected the word of the Lord.  It was after this and during their discussion that Nephi made his famous statement about doing whatever the Lord commanded him: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.”  As a result of their father/son council Nephi was able to provide a solution to Lehi’s problem, for even if Laman and Lemuel would not return to Jerusalem, Nephi would go and do whatever it took to get the plates as the Lord required.  These few verses show how efficacious a parent/child council can be when both are seeking to do the will of the Lord.