Creating A Reverent Home

by Nola Redd | More from this Blogger

31 Jan 2007 08:00 AM

For the last part of creating a learning-centered home, we are going to discuss creating reverence. Reverence is not simply standing with ones arms folded and being quiet. President David O. McKay defined it as "profound respect mingled with love" (Conference Report, Apr 1967, 86). President Kimball admonished the Saints to be models of reverent behavior. As we are reverent through our daily lives, we will bring the Spirit with us; as our homes become more reverent, we will be able to instruct and uplift our families.

As with most things in the parenting world, the best way to teach is by example. We must first become models of reverent behavior. The Teaching, No Greater Call manual provides several suggestions for how to maintain that pattern, which I have adapted for outside of the classroom.

• Each Sunday, we covenant to "remember the Lord always" (see D&C 20:77, 79). This is not a Sabbath-only covenant. We should seek to remember the Lord's love and blessings in our daily lives, and keep our minds focused on Him. As we do so, we invite the Spirit and demonstrate our love and reverence.
• Our speech must be appropriate. We should always use the names of Deity in an appropriate and reverent manner. We must avoid any coarse language. We should not belittle or demean those around us. Remember that thoughts lead to words, and words to actions. Thus our speech helps model our behavior. If we demonstrate our reverence by keeping our words clean, our children will emulate us. We should also use our speech to show respect, always referring to church leaders by their proper title. This applies all the way from the Prophet down to the ward missionaries. We are further admonished to address other adults in the church as "Brother" and "Sister", thus keeping their spiritual relationship in the forefront of our minds.
• We should show respect as we handle sacred things, particularly the scriptures. The scriptures are the word of God, and how we treat those words demonstrates our love for what He has given us. We should similarly treat the buildings and other parts of the Lord's property with respect, and not deface, demean, or defile it.

In most cases, our examples will show our children how they should model their behavior. However, it never hurts to further instruct them. The fastest, simplest, and most direct way to teach them about reverence is through family home evening. There, we can discuss how to show our love and respect for Heavenly Father in our very homes, each and every day. We can encourage them to treat each other with respect, since the respect we show God is made manifest in the way we treat one another. We can play uplifting music in our homes. This doesn't need to be 100% hymns, but should not be music that detracts or takes away from the Spirit. We should teach them recognize the influence of the Spirit and the rewards of reverent behavior - drawing closer to Heavenly Father and being able to more clearly understand the things being taught.

Elder Boyd K. Packer notes that, during times of war, the enemy seeks to jam the lines of communication. Similarly, as the world becomes louder and more irreverent, Satan rejoices. He knows that this is the best way to build a wall between us and our Heavenly Father, to obstruct the "delicate channels of revelation in both mind and spirit...Reverence invites revelation." (Conference Report, Oct 1991, 27-28.)

As we create a more reverent home, we will find both our children and ourselves becoming more sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We will be able to increase the gospel truths that we teach them, and they will be more apt to listen and apply them in their daily lives. We will bring that spirit of revelation into our homes and into our lives.

Related Articles:

Creating A Learning-Centered Home

Creating a Learning Atmosphere

Family Prayer

Learn more about Nola Redd

Freelance writer Nola Redd is a stay-at-home mom to three kids, with a fourth on the way.

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