Relief Society Lesson -- Only upon the Principles of Righteousness

Only upon the Principles of Righteousness

Elder Larry Y. Wilson, Of the Seventy

April 2012 General Conference

We must lead by “principles of righteousness.” Such principles apply to all leaders in the Church as well as to all fathers and mothers in their homes.

Anytime we try to compel someone to righteousness who can and should be exercising his or her own moral agency, we are acting unrighteously.

When setting firm limits for another person is in order, those limits should always be administered with loving patience and in a way that teaches eternal principles.

We simply cannot force others to do the right thing.

Learning opportunities are lost when controlling persons pridefully assume they have all the right answers for others.

Unrighteous dominion is often accompanied by constant criticism and the withholding of approval or love.

If parents hold on to all decision-making power and see it as their “right,” they severely limit the growth and development of their children.

Wise parents prepare their children to get along without them.

Helping children exercise their agency properly requires teaching them how to pray and receive answers to their prayers.

There must also be teaching about the value and purpose of obedience as well as about all other essential principles of the gospel.

Without a link to the Spirit, children and parents alike would be able to rationalize all sorts of poor decisions in the name of exercising their agency.

 “Of all the help we can give … young people, the greatest will be to let them feel our confidence that they are on the path home to God and that they can make it.”  President Henry B. Eyring