Council

I love Elder Ballard’s book. I own it and have read it several times, and think that it has a lot of insightful information. It allowed me to feel grateful to be a member of a church that is well organized where our leaders love one another so much and care for the well being of the church. It showed me how I can be a better member of my family.

Here are some of my favorite insights:

Before beginning their discussion, they express love and appreciation for one another.

I was impressed to find out that the apostles start their meetings expressing their love and appreciation for each other. It wasn’t surprising to me because it is a Christ-Like thing to do, but I had never thought about them doing that before. I feel like that helps invite the spirit and humbles the men to know what the will of god is. In a way, it made me feel loved by the apostles even more because when they meet, it is for the Church Members benefit, when they express their love for one another, the spirit is able to reside more, and they are able to discuss what they need to do to help the Church and its members. It makes me feel loved because they take counseling with one another seriously. It reminds me of missionaries doing companionship inventory, they are to start that meeting with sharing something they love about them before giving feedback. I think it makes the environment healthier and happier. I think this can be related to a marriage. Couples should never provide feedback without sharing what they love about their spouse. If you only talked about the negative, it wouldn’t be a very happy or even lasting marriage. You need that balance and more of the positive expression of love and appreciation to make a healthy relationship.

They meet in a sacred location which is dedicated and protected from evil influences

 I am a firm believer that the home can be a heaven on earth, and can be as a temple, and should be a refuge from the world’s storms and tribulations. It is important to make the home that way so the spirit can dwell there. It is difficult to talk about the things of the Lord, or see others the way the Lord see’s them of the spirit is not present. I love that we can dedicate our homes so that they can be protected from Satan’s plans. If our homes are a temple and a heaven on earth, and we are righteous, our families will progress towards the Lord together.

I believe that having my own council that is designed very similarly to the apostles is wise and would allow for increased respect for one another. I believe that having a family council, especially between husband and wife can help draw families closer to one another and allow them to develop a stronger bond as husband and wife.