Wk 9: Dissolving Anger in Families

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Now more than ever, the adversary is seeking to destroy joy and togetherness in families. I love this verse in the Book of Mormon, the adversary is the "father of contention and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another" (3 NE 11:29). It's so easy for him to target the family where the family spends a lot of time together and where they are meant to enjoy one another's company. The home can be a place of peace and love. However, it can also be a place of contention and anger. 

It can be so easy to respond with anger when another family member does something that upsets us. However, we can also choose another way. We can choose to respond with kindness or take a step back and take a break as we gather our thoughts and calm our emotions. I think our immediate reaction may be anger, but with the Lord's help we can avoid that choice even when our most tempting triggers arise. 

We can use prayer to overcome our weaknesses and help us respond to our spouses and children with love and understanding. This really is the Lord's way. We are here to become more like the Savior, and he has given us our families to help us learn and practice. A great place to learn and develop the character of Christ is in our own homes. We can choose Satan's way and respond with anger, or we can choose Christ's way and, using prayer and the Atonement, we can learn to restrain our anger.