Salvation and Exaltation by Elder Nelson

So I have started reading through my conference Ensign. If you look I am already on the 1st talk! Elder Nelson talked about salvation and exaltation in a way I had never thought of before. He said that salvation was "to be saved from physical and spiritual death," while exaltation is "the highest state of happiness and glory in the celestial kingdom." He goes on to explain that "in God's eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter." The two things that struck me about this talk. One was our responsibilities as husband and wife, and the second was how to discipline our children.

The responsibilities were as follows:

1. be faithful to each other
2. esteem and treat your children as a heritage from the Lord
3. study scriptures as a family
4. pray together as a family
5. fix our focus on the temple

That is a lot of responsibility! I am working on being more steady with our scripture study (we are STILL in Ether) and trying to come up with ideas to attend the temple more often. I have realized that even though we can't go as often as I would like, we can still keep our focus fixed there (and that might help us get there more often, too!)

When disciplining children, Elder Nelson recommended it should be done "quietly, privately, lovingly, and not publicly. If a rebuke is required, show an increase of love promptly so the seeds of resentment may not remain." Through the last week I have tried to only discipline the children privately and quietly ("tried" is the magic word here) and have been surprised how well they respond! Elder Nelson also recommended trying to persuade them, but "your love must be sincere and your teachings based on divine and correct principles." Finally, he advised "Do not try to control your children. Instead, listen to them." Like I said, trying this advise has made a marked improvement for me (probably my kids, too). Instead of jumping down their throats every time, I have tried to take them aside, listen to their side of the story, and explain where they went wrong. One of the big surprises was how often I didn't have the whole story and how much better I was able to lovingly discipline them after I had listened to them. They were often still punished, but I was also able to teach them and help them understand the mistake they had made. I still have a short temper and sometimes revert to yelling and quick retribution, but I am trying to do better!