Ballard - That the Lost May Be Found - April 2012

Elder Ballard speaks about the direction the world is going with traditions and values being questions by those not of our faith.  He speaks about the trend of divorce and children outside of wedlock and the devastating effects that this has on society as a whole.  He speaks about the key to restoring values into our society is found in creating better family bonds.

• Everyone loses his or her way at some point, to some degree. It is through the promptings of the Holy Ghost that we can be brought safely back onto the right path, and it is the atoning sacrifice of the Savior that can return us home.

He speaks about the economic hardship that comes to people when they have children outside of wedlock and decide to not marry and make commitments to each other.  He shares that the research of the church has indicated that people have a better chance to succeeding in life if they live the principles of the gospel.

• When people make family and religious commitments to gospel principles, they begin to do better spiritually and often temporally as well.
  
• When couples marry and make commitments to each other, they greatly increase their chances of economic well-being. When children are born in wedlock and have both a mom and a dad, their opportunities and their likelihood of occupational success skyrocket. And when families work and play together, neighborhoods and communities flourish, economies improve, and less government and fewer costly safety nets are required.
  
• Inequities are resolved by living correct principles and values.
  

Elder Ballard clearly shares that our most important purpose of our lives is found within the family unit.

• The most important cause of our lifetime is our families. If we will devote ourselves to this cause, we will improve every other aspect of our lives and will become, as a people and as a church, an example and a beacon for all peoples of the earth.

Elder Ballard gives us advice on how to put our lives in order.  By doing so, we will be better prepared to hear the voice of the spirit guiding our lives.

• Put everything you do outside the home in subjection to and in support of what happens inside your home.
• Organize your personal lives to provide time for prayer and scriptures and family activity.
• We need to do things in the right order! Marriage first and then family.
• Husbands and wives, you should be equal partners in your marriage.
• Use the family resources of the Church. In raising children, families can draw upon the help of the ward. Support and work in tandem with priesthood and auxiliary leaders, and take full advantage of the Church’s youth and family programs.

To those that have lost their way along the path of life, Elder Ballard assures us that we are not lost and that reaching out for the Holy Ghost's companionship will result in us finding out way along the path of life.

• None of us will ever be so lost that we cannot find our way again through His Atonement and His teachings.
• As you seek to live the gospel and doctrine of Christ, the Holy Ghost will guide you and your family. You will have a spiritual GPS to tell you always where you are and where you are going.

Our families can be eternal and if we live the principles of the gospel, we have the greatest chance of success.