2. “As I meet with young single adults around the world, I ask them, ‘Why does the First Presidency care so much about you and provide so many resources for you?’”
“These are some of the answers I get:
‘We are future Church leaders.’ ‘We need training so we can stay strong.’ ‘Our testimonies are strengthened in our seminary and institute classes.’ ‘We need to meet other great Latter-day Saint youth.’ ‘We are the hope of the future.’ I have rarely heard, ‘So I will someday be a better father or a better mother.’ …
Julie B. Beck

3. “… Evidence is all around us that the family is becoming less important. Marriage rates are declining, the age of marriage is rising, and divorce rates are rising. Out-of-wedlock births are growing. 
Abortion is rising and becoming increasingly legal. We see lower birth rates. We see unequal relationships between men and women, and we see cultures that still practice abuse within family relationships.
Many times a career gains importance over the family.
Julie B. Beck

4. The Lord commands us to marry and raise up children unto Him
“Many of our youth are losing confidence in the institution of families.
They’re placing more and more value on education and less and less importance on forming an eternal family. Many don’t see forming families as a faith-based work. …
“This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don’t know it, they can’t defend it”
The Lord commands us to marry and raise up children unto Him
Julie B. Beck

5. The Lord commands us to marry and raise up children unto Him
Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home.
Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, “Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one’s own family.” 
The Lord commands us to marry and raise up children unto Him
President Thomas S. Monson

6. The Lord Commands Us To Marry and Raise Children
Sons should take “daughters to wife”
Raise up seed unto the Lord
1 Nephi 1-2

7. The Family: A Proclamation to the World
“We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

8. Importance of Marriage
1. Bringing children into the world
2. Raise up children “unto the Lord”
“We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. …
“… Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”
Family Proclamation
1 Nephi 1-2

9. The House of Ishmael The sons did gain favor in the site of Ishmael
Three days journey back to Jerusalem
The Book of Mormon is sometimes referred to as “the stick of Joseph” Ezekiel 37:19 or “the stick of Ephraim” D&C27:5. Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh (see Alma 10:3) and Ishmael was a descendant of Ephraim. The prophecies of Jacob (see Genesis 48:16; 49:22) were fulfilled as Ishmael (of Ephraim) came to the American continent with Lehi (of Manasseh).
The sons did gain favor in the site of Ishmael
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“…which is the record of Nephi individually, he himself being of the lineage of Manasseh; but that Ishmael was of the lineage of Ephraim, and that his sons married into Lehi’s family, and Lehi’s sons married Ishmael’s daughter.”—Erastus Snow
1 Nephi 3-4

10. Ishmael and His Wife
He was the father and leader of a family of 7 children from Jerusalem.
The Lord softened his heart so he would agree to take his family and follow Lehi’s sons into the wilderness.
He sided with Nephi in a dispute over returning to Jerusalem.
He died during the wildness journey and was buried in a place called Nahom.
His death cased many to murmur against Lehi and Nephi.
She traveled with her husband into the wilderness.
She didn’t rebel against Nephi, and she begged for Nephi’s life when Laman and Lemuel threatened to kill him.
1 Nephi 7:4-6; 1 Nephi 16:34-35; 1 Nephi 7:6, 19
Lehi’s Family Tree

11. Sons of Ishmael
He joined in the wilderness rebellion and remained unrepentant.
He supported the conspiracy to murder Lehi and Nephi.
Lehi treated him like a son, but he appears to have always sided with the complainers.
He rebelled against Nephi at first but changed his mind and pled for Nephi’s life.
He later became very angry with Lehi and Nephi.
After his father died Lehi became his “father.”
During the voyage to the Promised Land, he got caught up in rude dancing and singing.
He followed Laman and Lemuel when the family separated.
1 Nephi 7:6, 19; 1 Nephi 16:37; 1 Nephi 18:9; 2 Nephi 1:28
Lehi’s Family Tree

12. Daughter of Ishmael and Wife of Zorum
She was the oldest of five daughters.
She married Zoram, and they had a family.
She and her husband followed Nephi when the family separated.
Zorum was a servant of Laban in Jerusalem, he held the keys of the treasury.
He agreed to travel into the wilderness with Nephi and his family and later married the eldest daughter of Ishmael.
He was faithful to the Lord and a trusted friend to Nephi. 
1 Nephi 16:7; 2 Nephi 5:6; 1 Nephi 4:20, 30-37; 2 Nephi 1:30-32;
Lehi’s Family Tree

13. Rebellion In The Wilderness
Nephi’s questions to his brothers and their wives:
9. How is it that ye have not hearkened unto the word of the Lord?
10. How is it that ye have forgotten that ye have seen an angel of the Lord?
11. How is it that ye have forgotten what great things the Lord hath done for us…delivering us out of the hands of Laban?
12. How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him?
1 Nephi 9-12

14. Nephi’s Promises
13. If we are faithful to him, we shall obtain the land of promise
15. If the brothers return to Jerusalem they will perish
If we exercise faith in the Lord, He is able to do all things for us according to His will
1 Nephi 13-15

15. The Warning
Nephi warned his brothers and members of Ishmael’s family that they would perish if they returned to Jerusalem.
A number of years after Lehi and Ishmael’s families left Jerusalem, the Babylonians surrounded the city. According to the Bible, an approximately 18-month siege left the people of Jerusalem without food, the city “broken up,” and King Zedekiah’s army scattered (2 Kings 25:1–7).
The Babylonians then destroyed the temple and carried many of the people away as captives to Babylon. If Laman, Lemuel, and the others had returned to Jerusalem, they would have suffered captivity or death.
But because they chose to follow Lehi and Nephi, they instead enjoyed the fruit and honey of the land of Bountiful and obtained a land of inheritance. In addition, the Lord has been merciful to Laman and Lemuel’s latter-day posterity, blessing them with the gospel.
1 Nephi 13-15; 2 Nephi 1:4-5; 1 Nephi 17:3-6; 2 Nephi 4:7-9

16. Cords That Bind The Lord’s deliverance
Brothers sought to take Nephi’s life
“Nephi is an example of one who knew and understood and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. … Please note Nephi’s prayer in verse 17: ‘O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound’..
“… It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray … to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And may I suggest that he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew and understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior” (“In the Strength of the Lord.”
The Lord’s deliverance
1 Nephi 16-19
David A. Bednar

17. Choosing to frankly forgive others can bring peace
Nephi Forgives
Seeking forgiveness and forgiving others brings unity and peace.
Frankly = honestly and directly
Choosing to frankly forgive others can bring peace
1 Nephi 20-21

18. “I have discovered one thing that most [happy families] have in common: they have a way of forgiving and forgetting the imperfections of others and of looking for the good.
“Those in unhappy families, on the other hand, often find fault, hold grudges, and can’t seem to let go of past offenses. …
“… As we accept [our Savior’s] ways and overcome our pride by softening our hearts, we can bring reconciliation and forgiveness into our families and our personal lives. God will help us to be more forgiving, 
… to be first to apologize even if something wasn’t our fault, to lay aside old grudges and nurture them no more.”
1 Nephi 20-21
Dieter F. Uchtdorf

19. Elder Estrus Snow Sermon delivered in May 1882…quoting Joseph Smith
Sources:
Julie B. Beck “Teaching the Doctrine of the Family,” Ensign, Mar. 2011, 12.
President Thomas S. Monson (“Precious Children—A Gift from God,” Ensign, Nov 1991, 67)
Elder Estrus Snow Sermon delivered in May 1882…quoting Joseph Smith
Elder David A. Bednar Brigham Young University devotional address, Oct. 23, 2001
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “One Key to a Happy Family,” Ensign, Oct. 2012, 5, 6).
Lehi’s Family Tree January 2004 New Era
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20. President Boyd K. Packer
Education is an important part of Heavenly Father’s plan to help you become more like Him. He wants you to educate your mind and to develop your skills and talents, your power to act well in your responsibilities, and your capacity to appreciate life. The education you gain will be valuable to you during mortality and in the life to come.
Education will prepare you for greater service in the world and in the Church. It will help you better provide for yourself, your family, and those in need. It will also help you be a wise counselor and companion to your future spouse and an informed and effective teacher of your future children.
Education is an investment that brings great rewards and will open the doors of opportunity that may otherwise be closed to you. Plan now to obtain an education. Be willing to work diligently and make sacrifices if necessary. Share your educational goals with your family, friends, and leaders so they can support and encourage you. Strength of the Youth Pamphlet
Worldly Education:
I am restless over the possibility, ever present, that education may fail to achieve a righteous purpose and be perversely used. We have many examples in the world where the misuse of this power has degraded men rather than exalted them... The voice of atheism, of corruption, of faithlessness, of dissention resounds from a thousand platforms. It is subsidized from public funds. It is invited to the forum in public institutions, tolerated by most, and encouraged by many. The voice of faith, on the other hand, is fading. Few places are left where it might speak. (BYU Speeches of the Year, 29 April 1969, p.3)
In a review of what a student has gained at school, or in a class, he should give attention to things he may have lost. If he knew the value of some things he may have discarded, he would dig frantically through the wastebasket and trash can to rescue them before they are hauled away permanently. He came to school basically to learn an occupation, and likely he has. But as always, there was a price to pay, and occasionally students pay an exorbitant price... Did they come with patriotism and replace it with cynicism? Did they come free from any binding habits and now leave with an addiction? Did they arrive aspiring for marriage, a home, and a family and now have abandoned those aspirations? And critically important, did they come with virtue and moral purity and now must admit to themselves that while they were here they have lost it?" (Teach Ye Diligently p , 1979.)
Each year, many fall victim in the colleges and universities. There, as captive audiences, their faith, their patriotism, and their morality are lined up against a wall and riddled by words shot down from the mouths of irreverent professors. (That All May be Edified, p. 165)
President Boyd K. Packer
Education:
Prophets and apostles teach that education is an eternal principle, following the Savior’s counsel that “the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (D&C 93:36) and that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection” (D&C 130:18).
“For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment,” says President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency. Members of the Church are instructed to learn “of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad” (D&C 88:79).