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Audience: Massaponax Ward Sacrament
Meeting Location: Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States of America Date: 27 September 2026 |
Introduction
Good morning, brothers and sisters. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is David Mitchell. My wife Rachael and I have six children: five sons and a daughter. We first became friends in Middle School in Northern Virginia. Since then we have lived in West Virginia, Alabama, and we have now lived in this area for 14 years.
My topic today is “How to Have a Christ-Centered Home.” When I began thinking of what to say, I struggled coming up with thoughts that were beyond Sunday School answers, and anything of real meaning. I am sure many of you here would much more quickly be able to share insights and experiences of what has worked for you.
As I began pondering more, my thoughts went to two broader questions. First, what does it mean to be Christ-centered myself. And second, what does it mean to worship Jesus Christ. I think that if we understand those two things, the home starts to take care of itself.
What Does It Mean to Be Christ-Centered?
In the April 2023 general conference, Brother Milton Camargo, then First Counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency, gave a talk titled “Focus on Jesus Christ.” He shared advice his father often gave him: “Don’t focus so intensely on your problems that you can’t see the solution.” This is profound advice for many parts of our lives.
In terms of the Gospel, each of us came into this world with problems we cannot solve on our own:
- Physical death. Eventually our bodies die and our spirits separate from them.
- Spiritual death. We all sin, and sin separates us from God.
- Our imperfect natures. Even before we sin, our natural desires are often for the things of this world.
- The trials of mortality. This life is a test. It includes unfairness, sadness, and pain, and we need strength, peace, and healing to endure it.
Jesus Christ is the solution to every one of these problems. Because of Him, we will all be resurrected. Because of Him, we can repent and be made clean. Because of Him, our very natures can change. After King Benjamin’s people heard him testify of Christ, they said the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent “has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2). And because He suffered our pains in Gethsemane and on the cross, He knows perfectly how to comfort us.
Being Christ-centered means that when we face our problems, we look first to the Solution, and we don’t lost sight of the Solution. Jesus Christ becomes our foundation. Helaman taught:
“Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down … because of the rock upon which ye are built” (Helaman 5:12).
Notice who Helaman was talking to. The verse actually begins, “And now, my sons.” Some of the most famous words in the Book of Mormon about building on Christ were a father teaching his children. A Christ-centered life and a Christ-centered home are of course the same thing.
What Does It Mean to Worship?
In section 93 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord says: “I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name” (D&C 93:19). The Lord cares that we know what we worship, and He also cares that we know how.
While in Sacrament meeting and when going to the temple, I have often asked myself: how do Latter-day Saints worship? And more importantly, how do I worship? Many other religions seem to have more obvious answers to that question than we do. I have thought about worship with other religions, and I have three experiences I want to share where I think I am able to apply something to my own worship.
Ramadan. Years ago, during Ramadan, a Muslim co-worker excitedly explained it to me. For him it was much more than fasting during the day. Breaking the fast each evening was a time to be with family and worship together. Each week they focused on a different principle, like humility or charity. They prayed more and studied their scriptures more. Many tried to read the entire Quran within that month. He told me it was all designed to elevate you, to help you become a better person and draw closer to God.
More recently, I talked with another Muslim co-worker who had become jaded about all religions. He wondered why people who go through all the rituals of a religon aren’t any better for it. He said they perform the motions and then go right back to their lives unchanged.
I’ve thought a lot about those two conversations. The first man worshiped. The second man had only watched people go through rituals. That taught me my first principle: true worship leads to change and repentance.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In midtown Manhattan, about a ten-minute walk from the chaos of Times Square, stands St. Patrick’s Cathedral. When you step inside from the busy and loud street, it suddenly goes quiet. You can hear tennis shoes squeak a hundred feet away. People kneel to light candles and pray, the rising smoke representing their prayers going up to heaven. The acoustics, the stained glass, and the smell of incense are all designed to capture all your senses to draw you heavenward. Although our temples are in many ways simpler and built for specific functions, they are designed and beautified to accomplish the same thing. That taught me my second principle: true worship brings us closer to God.
An evangelical service. As a teenager, a friend invited me to a non-denominational evangelical service. There was a band with loud guitars and a thumping drum and a charismatic preacher. The room was packed with young people raising their hands, swaying, enthusiastically singing, shouting for joy, and crying. I just stood there, and honestly, I was judging them. Even then, I could feel the difference between that experience and the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost. To me it felt counterfeit. But I’ve since wondered if I judged too harshly. My friends were sincere, and their desire to connect with God was real. They expressed a joy in praising God that we tend to keep much quieter. Perhaps our testimonies could use a bit more praise and joy. Still, the experience taught me my third principle: true worship invites the Holy Ghost.
So I’ve come to believe that:
- True worship leads to repentance.
- True worship brings us closer to God.
- True worship invites the Holy Ghost.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie brought these together: “Perfect worship is emulation. We honor those whom we imitate.” In the end, worship isn’t only something we do in a building at a certain hour. It is becoming like the One we worship. The Savior taught that “the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).
Bringing It Home
Now let’s bring this back to the home.
When President Nelson introduced Come, Follow Me in 2018, he said: “It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.”
Three years later, in April 2021, President Nelson titled the first lesson of a conference talk “The Home Is the Center of Faith and Worship.” He reminded us that the Lord counsels us to “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved” (D&C 87:8), and said: “These ‘holy places’ certainly include the Lord’s temples and meetinghouses. But … we have learned that one of the holiest of places on earth is the home—yes, even your home.”
He went on: “Attitudes and actions that invite the Spirit will increase the holiness of your home. Equally certain is the fact that holiness will vanish if there is anything in your behavior or environment that offends the Holy Spirit.”
And: “Your commitment to make your home your primary sanctuary of faith should never end. As faith and holiness decrease in this fallen world, your need for holy places will increase.”
I love the word sanctuary. Earlier I described a cathedral, where every detail was designed to draw your mind toward heaven. In many churches, the area around the altar is called the sanctuary. President Nelson is asking us to make our homes that kind of place. The goal isn’t stained glass, incense, and ritual. It’s a place where the way we live draws our family toward the Savior. The Lord describes that kind of house in Doctrine and Covenants 88:119:
“Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.”
So how do we do that? Let’s apply the same three principles of worship to our homes.
First, a Christ-centered home is a home of repentance. If worship without change is just ritual, then family prayer and scripture study that never change how we treat each other are just ritual too. At home, repentance looks like saying “I’m sorry” to your spouse, apologizing to a child when you lose your temper, and forgiving a brother or sister who wronged you. Our children learn the Atonement of Jesus Christ more from watching us repent and forgive then from anything we teach them in a lesson. As we study the scriptures together, we can ask one simple question: what is the Lord asking me to change?
Second, a Christ-centered home is a home that draws us closer to God. A cathedral is carefully designed to draw your mind heavenward, and our homes can be designed too, just in simpler ways. That might mean a picture of the Savior where the family will see it, or hymns and sacred music playing on Sunday morning. It might mean treating your home on the Sabbath differently from the other six days, just as we should treat the chapel on Sunday differently than the cultural hall on a Wednesday night.
President Nelson also taught, “We Hear Jesus Christ Better When We Are Still.” He said, “Quiet time is sacred time—time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace.” When I stepped into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the sudden quiet was what drew my mind heavenward. Our homes are rarely quiet, but we can make room for stillness, including having some time without constant distraction of screens.
Third, a Christ-centered home is a home that invites the Holy Ghost. Elder Richard G. Scott taught: “The prophetic counsel to have daily personal and family prayer, daily personal and family scripture study, and weekly family home evening are the essential, weight-bearing beams in the construction of a Christ-centered home.”
He also said: “When He is the center of your home, there is peace and serenity. There is a spirit of assurance that pervades the home, and it is felt by all who dwell there.”
The Savior Himself commanded, “Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed” (3 Nephi 18:21). And Nephi explained why he taught his family as he did: “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26). Notice the word rejoice. A Christ-centered home is not a silent and grim home. It should be full of the praise and joy I saw in my friends at that evangelical service, but guided by the quiet influence of the Spirit.
Let me be honest. Our home isn’t perfect. It never has been and will likely never be. Many times it has been one of my sons who asked, “When are we going to do Come, Follow Me?” I’m grateful for children who remind their father. That’s part of it too: everyone in a family helps everyone else get there.
There is no single correct way to do Come, Follow Me. Find what works for your family. If you aren’t studying the scriptures together right now, start by reading one verse a day. Start small and let it grow. That applies to all of this. You don’t have to remodel your whole home this week. Pick one weight-bearing beam and put it in place.
President Nelson made this promise:
“I promise that as you diligently work to remodel your home into a center of gospel learning, over time your Sabbath days will truly be a delight. Your children will be excited to learn and to live the Savior’s teachings, and the influence of the adversary in your life and in your home will decrease. Changes in your family will be dramatic and sustaining.”
I invite each of us to hold a family council this week. Talk together about how your home could become more of a sanctuary: more a place of repentance, more a place that draws you closer to God, and more a place where the Holy Ghost can dwell.
Testimony
I’ll close with my testimony. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. He wants to bless us, and He wants us to have joy. I know that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to overcome this broken world and each of our broken lives. Jesus Christ is the solution to every problem we face. I know that when my family prays and studies the scriptures together, the Holy Ghost comes into our home. I believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ deserve our worship, in our chapels, in the temple, and every day in our homes.
I say these things….
Sources
- Milton Camargo, “Focus on Jesus Christ,” April 2023 general conference — churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2023/04/32camargo
- Russell M. Nelson, “Opening Remarks,” October 2018 general conference — churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/opening-remarks
- Russell M. Nelson, “Becoming Exemplary Latter-day Saints,” October 2018 general conference — churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/becoming-exemplary-latter-day-saints
- Russell M. Nelson, “What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget,” April 2021 general conference — churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/36nelson
- Richard G. Scott, “For Peace at Home,” April 2013 general conference — churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2013/04/for-peace-at-home
- Bruce R. McConkie, The Promised Messiah: The First Coming of Christ (1978), 568; quoted in the Doctrine and Covenants and Church History Seminary Teacher Manual (2014), Lesson 97, and the New Testament Seminary Student Manual (2023), Revelation 5
- Scriptures: Mosiah 5:2; Helaman 5:12; D&C 93:19; John 4:23 (KJV); D&C 88:119; D&C 82:10; D&C 87:8; 3 Nephi 18:21; 2 Nephi 25:26
- David Mitchell, “Reverence and Worship” (Oct 2023) and “Focus on Jesus Christ” (Jan 2024) — oldredeyes.com/my-talks