This week’s lesson reminds us that Heavenly Father will bless our righteous efforts against critics who try to thwart us. In Doctrine and Covenants 71:9 we are told, “no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper”.
Families can have hope in the same way; even though critics abound and evil designs are seeking to destroy the family. In verses 7-8, we are instructed, “Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest. Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord.”
These verses can reassure us that in the end, the family – this central part of the Lord’s plan – will not be destroyed or rendered obsolete. Verse 10 promises “if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time.”
In 2004, Elder Hales gave voice to similar sentiments when he said, “I join with faithful parents everywhere in declaring that we know who we are, we understand our responsibilities as parents, and we do not fear the wrath of the prince of darkness. We trust in the light of the Lord.
Like Jochebed (Moses’ mother), we raise our families in a wicked and hostile world—a world as dangerous as the courts of Egypt ruled by Pharaoh. But, like Jochebed, we also weave around our children a protective basket—a vessel called “the family”—and guide them to safe places where our teachings can be reinforced in the home and at church.”
(Elder Robert D. Hales, “With All the Feeling of a Tender Parent: A Message of Hope to Families” April 2004 General Conference).
With reinforcements like that, we can hopefully all take courage, as Joseph did, against our critics.
art: Moses Laid Amidst the Flags, James Jacques Joseph Tissot