The "Ideal Family" (January 17, 2009)

What do you think of when you hear the term "Ideal Family"?

In this life, I have looked and looked and still I have not found what I consider to be an "Ideal Family". I have seen many very good people that have raised wonderful children and accomplished many great things in their lives and yet still do not measure up to an "Ideal Family" in my mind. I knew growing up that my family was not an "Ideal Family". My parents divorced after I left the house at 19. My brothers and sisters fought a lot and had contentions on almost a daily basis. We were prone to loud disagreements that sometimes became physical and an occasional hole put into the drywall. I looked to the Bishop's family and his was not much better than mine. I looked at Presidents of the United States and they all didn't look much better either. So where could I look and come up with something that I could latch onto and understand what an "Ideal Family" was?

Daniel K. Judd says in his book "Hard Questions/Prophetic Answers" on page 104, "Striving for the "Ideal Family" can be challenging and is often discouraging for most of us". I can relate to that! He goes on, "It is important to remember that in mortality the family may not be perfect, but as a family strives for the ideal established by the Savior," ahhhh... a hint maybe. "that family can one day become perfect and eternal. Consider the story Rabbi Lehrman has told of a young boy who "walks into an office building and sees a clock too high on the wall for anyone to reach. To adjust the time, workmen must climb a tall ladder. The Boy asks his father, 'Why is the clock set so high, where nobody can reach it?' It's simple, answers the father. 'The clock used to be lower, within reach of everybody. People would pass by, look at their watch, and adjust the clock to match their watch. When they moved the clock higher, people would look at it and adjust their watches accordingly.'

"...There are no perfect families, but we as individuals and families must strive to live up to the high standards that have been set by the Lord and His servants."

Interesting! Are we lowering the clock in our families because of the challenges of life? Is that why I am seeing no "Ideal Families"? Or are we still striving to adjust to the clock up high? And is there really no "Ideal Family" in this world?

I am going to back up just a bit. Because I wasn't truthful with you at the beginning of this. You see my family that I grew up with really was the "ideal Family". "What?", you might say, "your family ended in divorce and you even have an Uncle Mark and an Aunt Kristin in it! How can they be part of the "Ideal Family"? Well here's how it works; for me anyway. First of all I was born under the covenant into the gospel. I received the blessings of the Priesthood while growing up and received an education enough to go out on my own, find an eternal companion and raise seven redheaded raunchy runt kids who have all gone to the temple of the Lord and six have been sealed for time and eternity to their wonderful eternal companions. Now how would all of that have happened if I had not been raised in an "Ideal Family"?

All of us have gotten here with our own family and life experience. I would suggest it is because of the love of the Lord for you and the challenges within your own "Ideal Families" that were made specifically for your needs with all the inherent challenges that will ultimately help you realize and raise the "Ideal Family".

We love you all and families can be together forever.

Mom (G'ma) and Dad (The G'Paaa) Heaton