Chapter 5

5. Husband and Wife

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children… Husbands and wives – mothers and fathers – will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

“Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions such as church and school can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), this responsibility ultimately rests on the parents.”

- Elder L. Tom Perry (October 2012, Becoming Goodly Parents)

One should put a spouse above all others, even their children. Husband and wife should care and love for one another. In Matthew 9:5 it says, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall twain be one flesh.” This scripture is talking about how a man and woman both need to leave their parents and rely on each other for support, for love, and for encouragement. Parents are also going to be held responsible for their children at judgment day. If a parent does not teach their children between right and wrong, then the parents will be responsible for the sins of the children. There is a perfect example in the Book of Mormon. Lehi taught all his sons the difference between right and wrong. However, Laman and Lemuel choose to go astray while Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph choose to follow their father in righteousness. Laman and Lemuel and their families later separated from the rest of the group. They did not teach their children the teachings they had been taught. The falling away from the truth of their seed lies on the heads of Laman and Lemuel.