"What a marvelous blessing that every man who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood can lay his hands upon the heads of his wife and his children when they need a blessing. And to the women who are here, I wish to say this, great is your blessing in the priesthood which your husbands hold. Every man who lives and honors the priesthood will be a better husband, will be a better father, will be a better man. How wonderful that in the restoration of the work of the Lord one of the great purposes was that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world" (fireside, Pusan, Korea, 21 May 1996).

"As I look at you and think of you in terms of who you are, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, now and to be, I think of the tremendous opportunity that you have to bring into this world a generation that could become the turnaround generation in this world that is slipping so seriously into the muck and the mire that is seen across the earth, to rear your families in righteousness and in truth with fidelity and love and faith and faithfulness. God be with you in the great and sacred undertaking in which you engaged" (BYU married students’ regional conference, Provo, Utah, 11 Feb. 1996).

"Now I know that once in a while, notwithstanding all the things you try to do, there is a rebellious child. But keep at it. Do not ever give up. You have never lost as long as you try. Keep at it" (Oahu, Hawaii, regional conference, 18 Feb. 1996).

"Let every family in this Church have prayer together. Now, it is important to have individual prayer, but it is a wonderful thing to have family prayer. Pray to your Father in Heaven in faith. Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can do nothing better for your children than to have them taking their turn in the family prayer, expressing gratitude for their blessings. If they do that while they are young, they will grow with a spirit of thanksgiving in their hearts" (fireside, Naha Okinawa Japan Stake and Okinawa Japan Military District, 20 May 1996).

"Why do we have this proclamation on the family now? Because the family is under attack. All across the world families are falling apart. The place to begin to improve society is in the home. Children do, for the most part, what they are taught. We are trying to make the world better by making the family stronger" (press conference, Tokyo, Japan, 18 May 1996).

"You are wonderful and you have within you the potential to do great and marvelous and good things. Don’t let anyone stop you, don’t let anybody get in your way, don’t get sidetracked on some venture of one kind or another that might injure you and hurt you. ‘Do what is right; let the consequence follow’ [Hymns, no. 237]. If things get going the wrong way at a party that you are attending, walk out, say good-bye. Stand tall, do what is right, count on the Lord and He will bless you in a wonderful way" (youth meeting, Denver, Colorado, 14 Apr. 1996).

"I want to say to young women here today, do not ever have any inferiority complex about your place in this world in which you live. You are a daughter of God, and I am satisfied that our Father in Heaven loves His daughters as much as He loves His sons. You hold up your heads and stand tall and walk in righteousness and faith and virtue and truth, and do not let anybody put you down or sell you short. You are daughters of God. Live worthy of your divine inheritance, my beloved young women. You are not inferior in any sense. Under the gospel plan you are daughters of God. Each of us has our place in the great divine plan, and we ought to magnify the calling and the field and the assignment and the qualities of good which we have within us" (Ricks College regional conference, Rexburg, Idaho, 29 Oct. 1995).

"I hope that we are encouraging those who are mature enough to understand the importance of a patriarchal blessing to receive one. I count my patriarchal blessing as one of the great sacred things of my life. A patriarchal blessing is a unique and sacred and personal and wonderful thing given to every member of this Church who lives worthy of it. I hope, brethren, that you men of the bishoprics, particularly, are counseling your people concerning this. And I hope you patriarchs are blessed with the inspiration and revelation of the Lord as you lay your hands upon the people in the fulfillment of that sacred calling as patriarch. What a unique, personal, individual, wonderful thing is a patriarchal blessing spoken by authority of the priesthood and the office and calling of patriarch in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (Smithfield-Logan, Utah, regional conference, priesthood leadership meeting, 20 Apr. 1996).