GC Debrief — the Authority of the Home

Its funny that we have a Valerí Cordón and a Bonnie Cordon.  Bless ’em both.

This  General Conference Elder Cordón went into territory that I think a lot of members haven’t caught up to in their minds yet.

(He also mentioned that there is a gospel culture, which I appreciate.  A useful corrective.)

1.  The home is the center of gospel learning

Many members are comfortable with the idea that Church and State are separate authorities.  The government is not a department of the Church.  The relationship between them is not clearly defined and probably shouldn’t be–there are reasons why both authorities should be careful about pushing their role too  much–but there are in fact government responsibilities that are not church responsibilities.

Yet we often think of the family as a department of the Church.  A subunit of the ward.  This is false.  The family is its own authority.   It is neither created by the Church nor wholly part of it.  The family should not push up against the Church too much, neither should local Church authorities, for instance, try to dictate too much of how each family operates.  The family and the Church are much more intertwined than the government and the Church but the fact is that they one is not swallowed up in the other.

2.  You are not on the sidelines of your child’s spiritual growth

Let’s state the obvious: it is wrong to just let your kid do whatever because “free agency.”  Nope, wrong, not what it means.

I would also like to go further.  Your responsibility for your child’s spiritual growth does not end when they turn 18.  See point #1 above.  It changes to be sure.  A lot.  But it does not end.  I had the spiritual impression last conference, renewed this conference, that I need to have my dad do priesthood interviews for me just like I do with my own children.