President Oaks speaks about the need to keep the 5th commandment of honoring our fathers and mothers.  He speaks about some simple ways that we keep this commandment.

• The commandment to honor our parents echoes the sacred spirit of family relationships in which—at their best—we have sublime expressions of heavenly love and care for one another. We sense the importance of these relationships when we realize that our greatest expressions of joy or pain in mortality come from the members of our families.
  
• Other manifestations of this commandment include the bearing and care of children, the preparation of family histories, and efforts to see that the ordinances of eternity are performed for our departed ancestors.

He shares stories from his life and the life of others that demonstrate good ways we honor those we love.  He shares ideas with us about how we can honor our parents at various times in our lives.

• To young people, honoring parents is appropriately understood to focus on obedience, respect, and emulation of righteous parents.
• Young people, if you honor your parents, you will love them, respect them, confide in them, be considerate of them, express appreciation for them, and demonstrate all of these things by following their counsel in righteousness and by obeying the commandments of God.
• To persons whose parents are dead, honoring parents is likely to involve thoughts of family reunions, family histories, temple work, and commitment to the great causes in which departed parents spent their lives.
• Middle-aged persons are likely to think of the commandment to honor our fathers and our mothers in terms of caring for aged parents.

President Oaks speaks about the practice in the early church of having what was then called "Old Folks Day" in Utah.  This was a day to honor the senior citizens of the community and to show respect for their lives.  This event ended in the early 1970's but today we have the same obligation to show respect and love to others as they age.

I reflected on my own relationship with my parents as I read this talk.  I need to do a better job of visiting weekly with them and to express my gratitude for the things they have provided to me in my life.  I know my parents have tried to be good parents.  I owe them a great amount of gratitude for bringing me to the church and helping me build my testimony over the years.  I am going to try to schedule some time every week to talk with them and visit together.  This will be my effort to show honor and love to them.

Elder Ballard talks about the precious lives that we are in charge of.  God has granted us the ability to be parents and expects us to take this responsibility seriously.  Elder Ballard starts by talking about the future of mankind will soon be in the hands of these young children and we need to prepare them to handle the trials and problems that the future holds.

• Perhaps the world’s troubles could be solved if we could turn over the leadership of nations to the children for a few days. Through love they would find solutions to the misunderstandings, mistrust, and misconduct of adults in the world. If all men and women could love Jesus Christ as these lovely children do, many world problems could be solved. Sooner, perhaps, than we realize, the fate of nations will be in the hands of today’s children.

We are in partnership with God to raise our children in righteousness.

• Every human being is a spirit child of God and lived with Heavenly Father before coming to earth. He entrusts his spirit children to earthly parents who provide a mortal body for them through the miracle of physical birth and gives to parents the sacred opportunity and responsibility to love, protect, teach, and to bring them up in light and truth so they may one day, through the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, return to our Father’s presence. These precious souls come to us in purity and innocence. As parents, we assume an immense responsibility for their care and well-being. Parents share this sacred trust with brothers and sisters, grandparents, teachers, neighbors, and all who touch the lives and impress or influence the souls of these precious children.

The first years of life are crucial to who our children will become.  We need to help our children learn and grow to be adults that meet the full potential that God expects of them.

• The critical nature of the first tender formative years cannot be overstated. These little ones are like seedlings in a plant nursery. All look much the same in the beginning, but each one will grow to become independent and unique. Parents are to nourish, tend, and teach their children so they will grow to their full stature and potential.

Teachers and leaders play a critical role in helping our children become who God wants them to be.

• True teachers and leaders see children as they may become. They see the valiant missionary who will one day share his testimony with the world and later become a righteous father who honors his priesthood. The inspired teacher sees pure and beautiful mothers and future presidents of the Relief Society, Young Women, and Primary, even though today they may be girls who giggle and chatter on the back row in the classroom. Sometimes people say, “Well, boys will be boys!” Not so—boys will be men, and almost before we know it.
  

Elder Ballard shares some great advice to parents who are just starting out.  He tell us to not let the things of a career, overshadow the most important responsibility you have as a parent.

• You young parents who are beginning your families must guard against seeking financial gain, worldly comforts, or achievement at the expense of your children. You must guard against being so anxious to get to work or to a meeting that you do not have time for your family, especially time to listen to anxious little voices.
  
• We cannot and we must not allow the school, community, television, or even Church organizations to establish our children’s values. The Lord has placed this duty with mothers and fathers. It is one from which we cannot escape and one that cannot be delegated. Others may help, but parents remain accountable. Therefore, we must guard the sanctity of our homes because that is where children develop their values, attitudes, and habits for everyday living.
  

Take time when your children are young to be part of their formative development.  Our best chance to reach them is in these early years where they are so impressionable and eager to learn to be all God wants them to be.

• We plead with you to take time for your children and your grandchildren while they are young. Special moments may come only once. Before we are aware, they have grown older, and our best opportunity for teaching them how to live happy and fulfilling lives is past.
  

My daughter is getting ready to leave the house again to move away and live with some girlfriends.  So much nervousness and anxiety is inside of me as I question if I have taught her enough, if I have given her the foundation to stay strong to the values and teachings that I hold so dear.  I have many wonderful memories of raising her and showing her love.  I find that my prayers are a little more sincere when I talk to Heavenly Father about her and what I hope for her.  I know that with our children, we have a brief time to make those memories and to teach them the gospel truths.  I hope that I have done enough to give her the guidance she needs in her life.  And I realize I have more opportunities with my younger children and can't let those moments pass by.

President Eyring shares an experience that he had speaking to a woman on a plane.  They spoke about the lady's devotion to her deceased father and her desire to honor him even after his death.  They spoke about her belief in Jesus Christ and he said she felt like He was a distant ancestor to her.  She expressed that she didn't think He was close.  President Eyring speaks about how close God can be to us if we draw closer to Him.

• God is our ancestor, not distant but close. He is the Father of our spirits; we are his children. If we are to have the words of the gospel of Jesus Christ touch us, then we must believe in God. We must want to be with him. And we must sense our need to be purified to be with him again. The day will come when we will see him again.

The relationship we can have with God should be very personal to each of us.  Although God is not physically here with us, we know how to nurture relationships when people are far from us physically.  President Eyring reminds us that our relationships with others is much like the relationship we can have with our Father.

• We need to feel now that God knows us and loves us as individuals. There are times you have felt the closeness of God, your Father, and that you are his child. Those times can come more often. There is a simple way to think about it. If you want to stay close to someone who has been dear to you, but from whom you are separated, you know how to do it. You would find a way to speak to them, you would listen to them, and you would discover ways to do things for each other. The more often that happened, the longer it went on, the deeper would be the bond of affection. If much time passed without the speaking, the listening, and the doing, the bond would weaken.

To listen to the words of God to each of us can be an simple as reading the scriptures.

• Jesus Christ speaks the words of the Father. You can read the scriptures, listen, and then hear God’s answers to you.
  

The Spirit will help us feel closer to God as we listen to God's authorized servants and read the scriptures.  Studying talks by His authorized servants is another way we can feel God's presence in our lives.

• It is the Spirit which will bear record to your heart as you read the scriptures, as you hear the Lord’s authorized servants, and as God speaks directly to your heart.
  

The Holy Ghost will help us draw closer to God but we have to be able to listen.  President Eyring speaks about the quietness of the Spirit and how the best way to listen is to have our lives in order so that we have inner peace.  When our lives our in order, when we don't have distractions from sin and unrighteousness, we are able to hear the whispering of the Spirit more easily and feel the presence of God more in our lives.

• I testify it is a small voice. It whispers, not shouts. And so you must be very quiet inside. That is why you may wisely fast when you want to listen. And that is why you will listen best when you feel, “Father, thy will, not mine, be done.” You will have a feeling of “I want what you want.” Then, the still small voice will seem as if it pierces you. It may make your bones to quake. More often it will make your heart burn within you, again softly, but with a burning which will lift and reassure.

God doesn't just tell us what we should do.  He wants us to be committed to following Him that takes our personal devotion to accomplish.

• You might prefer that God simply tell you how well you are doing. But he loves you, wants you to be with him, and knows you must have a mighty change in your heart, through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ, humble repentance, and the making and keeping of sacred covenants.

The Lord only wants us to have a repentant heart to feel that closeness we all desire.  But never underestimate the need to serve our fellowman.  We serve God by serving others.

• God loves his children. They have great needs. Everything belongs to God, so there is not much you can give him, after you have given him a repentant heart. But you can give kindness to his children. If you were my earthly friend, you would win my heart by being kind to my children. God loves his children more than any earthly parent, so think what your kindness to his children means to him.
  

At times we feel alone.  We feel the distance between us and God is too much to handle.  We can look at the Savior as our example of enduring and realize that all things we feel have been experienced by Him before.

• Even the Savior of the world, when he was on the cross, felt his Father far from him. You will have moments, perhaps long moments, of feelings of separation. But you know the way to draw closer to God.

President Eyring ends with these words:

• You will still be startled to realize how familiar the face of our Heavenly Father is. But when you see him, you will know his voice, because you will have prayed, listened, obeyed, and come to share the thoughts and intents of his heart. You will have drawn nearer to him.

Loneliness and feeling distant from God is real in our lives.  President Eyring reminds us that we don't have to feel this way.  We can read the scriptures, listen to talks by His servants, and spend time in prayer to our Father.  All these activities will help us draw nearer to God.  When we do these things and repent, God comes closer to us and we can feel His presence in our lives more often and stronger.  But there are times of loneliness.  I am reminded of a talk by Elder Holland where he shares that when God withdrew from Christ when he was on the cross allowed the Savior to know the loneliness and abandonment that we sometime feel in our relationship with God.  Christ knows how we feel, he knows our struggles, and throughout all this, he wants to help us come closer to our Father.  The example of the Savior overcoming all things is an inspiration to us to never give up and continue to push for more and more of God's influence and presence in our lives.