I have a traveler's, explorer's, wanderer's heart in many ways, but this past year I have been thinking A LOT about
the importance of home! Home is where the heart is. Home is family. Home is love. Home is comfort and refuge, safety and peace. Home is full of traditions and culture. Home is much more than a building or place to sleep or furniture and decorations. It is where we live and learn and study and grow.
We learn in the Bible Dictionary under the topic of
Temple that "a temple is literally a house of the Lord, a holy sanctuary in which sacred ceremonies and ordinances of the gospel are performed...a place where the Lord may come, it is the most holy of any place of worship on the earth.
Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness". I love that and I think that our attitude towards home and the importance of home will determine the spirit that fills our home.
A few months ago we had a nice Relief Society meeting about creating a home. The sister sweet 90-plus-year-old sister teaching the lesson focused on
D&C 88:119,
"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God". She acknowledged all that needs to be done in a home and the importance of being organized, professional and finding balance. Home is a laboratory for living and a refuge of peace, serenity, safety, respect, and fun. The homemaker is the CEO and should be up on time and professionally dressed and organized with a calendar in hand. She acknowledged that each family is different, but recommended family business meetings (where everyone brings their calendar), no toy boxes (but every toy having a place), study areas, wearing an apron, and planning out a weekly menu and shopping list. It was inspiring to learn from her! We can create an environment around us that invites the Spirit into our lives.
Growing up in Hawaii and having a traveler's heart has made me not very attached to things, but this past year I have been looking for a home and striving to create a home, even though my immediate family is very small. :) While I'm still searching for the right physical location and building and hopefully someone else to join me there :) ...there are some things I can do and that we should all think about doing regardless of what kind of home we live in.
There are many inspiring scriptures about home:
- Lehi dwelt in a tent because he was being obedient to the Lord (see 1 Nephi 2:15).
- Essentially, Captain Moroni rallied the troops to defend their homes (see Alma 46:12).
- One of my all time favorite scriptures about home is found in 3 Nephi 17:3. Here the Savior has been teaching the people and He instructs them to to "go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again." I think that teaches us much about the sacred importance of what our homes should be.
One of the greatest resources we have today is
The Family: A Proclamation to the World. This divinely inspired document is full of truths that are important for us to learn and study and live. This article from 2005 is inspiring:
A Practical guide for building a gospel-centered home, as well as the
Guide to the Scriptures and the
Topical Guide.
There are MANY wonderful General Conference talks about home:
....and inspiring
music:
- For the Beauty of the Earth
- Love at Home
- Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth
- I Am A Child of God
- O, My Father
Ultimately we are here on earth to learn and prepare ourselves to return to our heavenly home (our real home). I'm pretty sure we will feel most comfortable there if we have spent our time here focusing on building homes after the same pattern of faith, righteousness, goodness, kindness, and love.
