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Inviting Him in: How the Atonement Can Change Your Family
Book by Brickey, Wayne E.
- GenresReligion
255 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2003
6 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 21, 2023
This book is a sweet reminder to invite the Savior into our lives, into our homes, and into our families. Here are some favorite quotes:
"This book examines some of the principles that invite the Savior's quiet heavenly power into our loud down-to-earth homes."
"The pure patterns of marriage and family come directly from the eternal worlds (p. 2)."
"It is at the door of a home... that Jesus knocks... because he would sincerely like to enter and be a part of our family life. He would like to counsel and befriend us, participate in our decisions, soften our hearts, heal us, and reform us. He had great plans for your family and mine--even if we don't seem to have a family right now (p. 3)."
"Just how do we bid the living Christ to join us? We offer our invitation by offering ourselves, in a covenant (p. 4)."
"The timeless image of a couple at an altar, offering everything so that the living Christ might join them to each other and then join with them at home, holds as much meaning today as it ever has (p. 5)."
"The heaven of our origin was not just a world. It was a home... As we matured there, so did our family reflexes... We became more active as citizens in our heavenly home. We polished a thousand talents. Our kinship with family members branched out into friendships that would last forever. But ahead of us lay yet another realm of growth... New roles would bring new kinds of love and service, new adventures and duties, new wisdom and capacity. The rewards would surpass anything we had known before... If we do not see the love story awaiting each person, couple, and family, we do not understand the plan (p. 6)."
"Never in the eternal past had they experienced anything like marriage (p. 8)."
"The plan of happiness is not about salvation in general but about family salvation in particular--the healing and sealing and saving of families... Blessed are those who know the real aim of our Father's work (p. 10)."
"To redeem means to pay off the bills of others, to bail them out, to rescue them from grim bondage or debt. Every imperfect, indebted family needs the same benefactor: Christ the Redeemer (p. 13)."
"The At-one-ment is not just a payment made in the Holy Land two thousand years ago. It is an active embrace offered by Christ (p. 20)."
"The Lord sometimes speaks as if there were just one grand covenant instead of a series of covenants (p. 24)."
"An altar--a covenant-making place--is no casual location (p. 26)."
"'It is more important to be trusted than to be loved' (Marvin J. Ashton, p. 26)."
"'His hand is stretched out still.' But if it is to be a real embrace, it must be mutual (p. 28)."
"Few things are more worthy of our attention than to 'know of the covenants of the Lord,' which is a prime purpose of the Book of Mormon. And few goals are more worthy of our families than having the covenant written 'in their inward parts, and in their hearts.' In the this language of love, we invite him in (p. 29)."
"As a participant in our Father's great plan, he dropped everything and offered himself (p. 31)."
"The altar is a place of offering, a place of giving and forgiving. Adam and Eve offer themselves--their hearts and everything they have--to the Lord. In addition, the sacrifice on the altar is a similitude of the Lord's offering to them--his heart and everything he has (p. 36)."
"Once we belong to Christ, he can give us to each other (p. 41)."
"The story of mankind rightly began with a romance. And this is how the covenant begins again in every generation. Every marriage of hope is another key moment in history (p. 43)."
"In our holy books, we discover and rediscover the same robust, astounding themes that have been there all along: the family and the living Christ (p. 49)."
"Constant focus on the Savior has little to do with powers of concentration and everything to do with caring--a quality of the heart rather than a quantity of the mind. He responds in kind. To always have his Spirit is to have his attention, greeting, and companionship. He gives eminently more to the mutual remembering than we do. This is heart (p. 50)."
"We gather to enter the covenant, primarily in chapels and temples. We gather to keep the covenant, primarily in homes. Places of promise making and promise keeping are holy places (p. 51)."
"It is a complex tool in the hands of God 'in bringing about his covenants.' When the covenant-bearing lineage is transplanted, it may perhaps be humbled (p. 53)."
"We invite him in as we try to remove the barriers separating our household from his blessed and blessing presence (p. 62)."
"Marriage is the highest calling we will ever have. Few people in this world will notice if we succeed at it. The happiest outcomes are made public after the probation is over, after our chances have expired. For now, the surrounding culture will probably not punish us for a weak effort. Nor can we expect a worldly reward for giving our all to it. However, to fulfill the mission of marriage is like dropping a huge rock into heaven's living waters. Be ever so quiet and private if you want, but the ripples will grow as they cross the surface of eternity (p. 71)."
"We may be tempted to hold back, thinking the solo life is simple and free of pain. But the corridors of history echo the unfailing lesson that we first heard from God himself: 'It is not good that man should be alone.' Most of us will have a season of wintry isolation. But we should not allow ourselves to get too accustomed to it. Winter has its purposes, as does loneliness. But those purposes are passing; we must welcome the spring... A celestial companionship is not just two lives overlapping at many points. The sharing must be total and irreversible--two people living one complete life (p. 72)."
"God appreciates the promise made, but he loves the promise kept (p. 74)."
"He pled with her to recognize who he was, to invite him into her untidy world, and to begin partaking of his life-giving water (p. 77)."
"The hand of God put this first couple together, establishing the pattern for countless other couples to follow. We each need someone to become meet for us just as we each need to become meet for someone else (p. 79)."
"Our roles make us meet for each other. Without humility, neither man nor woman can quite succeed in their divine marital assignments. Both are to honor the priesthood... Each must be tempered by obedience to that other companion, the Holy Ghost, who can teach so much about companionship (p. 80)."
"The priesthood is an unseen robe of pure unselfishness. But a man cannot slip in and out of it. What is true of the priesthood he holds must also be true of him, all the time. He is to be first in line to help, last in line to be served (p. 89)."
"Priesthood is pointless without purity, and the purity must come first (p. 90)."
"To lead literally means to draw or extend, to bring something or someone along. To do this in God's way, there can be no yanking or yelling. All things testify not only of the existence of God but of his patience (p. 92)."
"Jesus cannot always delegate his godly tasks. But whenever he can, he does (p. 93)."
"'We had prepared for famine, earthquake, unemployment, and war but not divorce. It shook my believe system to the very foundation... When I was in such desperate need of reassurance, the Spirit bore witness to me that my Heavenly Father would still keep all his promises to me. IT was up to me to just continue keeping my promises to him... I am still single, but I'm not alone' (p. 95)."
"'The Lord will take care of things. I just have to be true to him' (p. 99)."
"We live in a world influenced by Satan. To him it is imperative that neither men nor women understand the truth about women (p. 100)."
"The attraction that creates a baby is usually not as strong as the bond that draws parents together when they focus on a child's worth and growth long after birth (p. 102)."
"One thing this world does not seem to need more of is women who have allowed themselves to become self-absorbed or faithless. If the angels in our lives lose their ability to lift hearts, the world sinks (p. 103)."
"It is easy to bless what we treasure. The key... is for a man to realize that his family, his wife foremost of all, is his treasure (p. 108)."
"By putting these souls into our arms, God in no way releases himself as their Father. This is not the end to one relationship but the beginning of an added one. We easily forget that this child was and always will be God's (p. 111)."
"If we want the young to listen to us, we will first have to listen to them, at length--about their interests, on their terms, at their times. Most children need more ear and less lip. Listening, not talking, is the eloquent language of love (p. 129)."
"Righteous parenthood would not be reserved for exalted beings if it were a waste of time or an easy task. IT would not be considered a celestial work if it brought only a moderate amount of happiness. It is one of those few endeavors that carries over directly into eternity (P. 130)."
"'Growing up, I never realized that mothers were supposed to have personal interests or do anything for themselves. It didn't dawn on me that they might want time to themselves or get a break from the endless requests from their children. I somehow thought my mother was immune to all these needs' (p. 136)."
"Christ's light shines where he is repeatedly invited. His grace softens the way we interact, and his truth transforms the way we feel and think (p. 140)."
"The covenant family is a small replica of God's kingdom... The home can accommodate the full range of human burdens. The covenant asks that we share them, whatever they happen to be. By bearing each other's burdens, we bear one another (p. 146)."
"Can we share another person's cross? Can we afford the time? Do we have the strength? Apparently so, for it is our covenant. And the great secret is that this is the path of joy (p. 146)."
"We receive grace from Christ in return for giving grace to others. To invite him into our homes, we need to exercise some mercy of our own (p. 147)."
"The covenant couple relies heavily on the temple (p. 152)."
"A lone person can live the culture of heaven in certain ways, but the gospel covenant really unfolds in the warm confines of marriage (p. 153)."
"The Lord's doctrines are understandable to children, especially if their own parents teach those doctrines with care and patience (p. 157)."
"If Lehi and the other noble ancestors of King Benjamin would have dwindled in unbelief without the scriptures, that settles the question for us (p. 157)."
"How is it that we parents and our children may come near to Jesus and receive his help?... We do not march right up to him. We do not come unto him by might or intellect or sparkling personality. Nor do we approach him by any other method of our choosing. We approach him in reverence (P. 162)."
"We must not allow our children to misunderstand what is in our hearts. They need to know that they are our treasures and that because of this we share the great plan with them. They should know that we enjoy our calling to teach them of this plan. And they should know that we delight in the Deliverer who has delivered them into our care (p. 163)."
"In an epidemic of quitting, many give up on each other, on themselves, on the plan of God, and on the laws of man and nature--disloyal to the very idea of loyalty (p. 164)."
"The covenant people cannot just sit back and enjoy their blessings. They are witnesses of the greatest storm and workers in the greatest rescue effort in history (p. 164)."
"In Zion the joy will be real. Zion's people will carry their bright lamp of hope into earth's dark corners. Their prophets will declare to mankind--in fact, they are declaring it even now--that 'the family is central to the Creator's plan' (p. 165)."
"Our purpose is not to be overwhelmed by all the ways we might set our homes in order. We are watching for something here or there that would lift our families and make [Jesus] feel more at home (p. 176)."
"Once we have distinctly adopted the Lord's will as our own, he will support us in getting equipped and establishing our course. If we will take care of his things, he will open the way for ours (p. 178)."
"Consider what it takes to support a covenant-keeping life: praying and pondering the scriptures in private; faithfully and reverently attending our Church meetings; magnifying our callings; preparing our children for mission calls and Church service; teaching the gospel in family home evenings; doing family history and temple work; and being engaged in many other wholesome activities. We cannot afford to be mixed up about what is important and what is not (p. 179)."
"People are the reason and time is our major resource... Time is the wealth we should learn to spend with wisdom and courage (p. 180)."
"Administering is setting things in such an order that the system really works. It is a demanding part of blessing people, requiring lonely persistence behind the scenes, wide perspective, and inspired planning. By contrast, to minister is to be a redemptive instrument. Ministering is actual contact; it is immediate, direct, personal. Both ministering and administering are godly privileges, labors of love. In the process of setting our houses in order, we do both (p. 182)."
"To have the sweet aroma of peace--the taste of eternal life--in our homes takes some doing. We might call it 'spiritual hygiene.' Perhaps this special maintenance is the biggest part, yet by no means the only part, of a family mission (p. 185)."
"'Having a say' is not the aim of a council (p. 190)."
"The work of faith begins in a mind that can be taught (p. 195)."
"Getting Things Done
'Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves' (James 1:22). A covenant-keeping home is a home of gospel action instead of gospel pausing or gospel posing. Gospel indolence--puttering about when there is some good thing to do--suggests a religion discussed and considered but not yet loved, not taken seriously (p. 198)."
"When Nephi said he would do 'the things' on the Lord's list, he meant all of them. That list grew and branched into sublists as his family progressed. Think of how many blessings that family generated as long as they continued their work. We invite the Lord in when we welcome into our families his list of things to do (p. 198)."
"The old motto 'Do it now' is not only about doing things 'now' but also about knowing first what 'it' is. To be busy with many lists and many extraneous things gives our children the wrong impression about the law of work. They should know that we all have only one thing to do at a time. For the family leader to 'do it now' means both to do a chore and to choose wisely. Sometimes it takes brave honesty to admit the importance of one chore and the unimportance of another (p. 199)."
"If we want our children to love their work, we must work with them... And we should remember that we are not work worshippers (p. 200)."
"The law of home permits a household to be clasped in the arms of Christ (p. 204)."
"Much of the stress we experience in life comes from trying to do too much and accumulate too much. Since we are the source of this type of stress, only we can filter it from our lives. Filtering requires a vision of what is important (p. 205)."
"Set your house in order, not just your things... To set a house in order is to make it available. Try to match your home with your purpose in life. That is what the Lord's house does. Everything there matches its purpose. The beauty and spirit of the Lord's house depend somewhat on the simplicity and open space we find there (p. 207)."
"In the midst of plenty, the peace of Christ can be missing. In the midst of hardship, this peace can be full... The serene assurance that we and our children crave is the exclusive, personal property of the Prince of Peace (p. 213)."
"With his peace in our homes, we can rise to the best standard of our race. Our mission is not to ride the storm but to rub shoulders energetically and peaceably with mankind (p. 216)."
"We reach out to our loved ones gently, not only because that way is right but also because there is no other way (p. 224)."
"We cannot afford to turn inwardly in the name of family. TO care about our own while withdrawing from the wider work of the Church is to ignore the family we have had for eons (p. 226)."
"Not only is family the end, or the grand aim, of salvation, but for many, it is also the means of salvation (p. 228)."
"Inspiring as courageous mortals can be, none of them has the stunning resolve of God himself (P. 229)."
"The gospel covenant is designed not only to seal families but also to heal them. It wipes away tears, closes wounds, and draws prodigal sons and daughters back home. But the covenant blesses most where it is kept the est. Most of us could do a better job of honoring it, bringing [Jesus] into the home and invoking the blessings of the Atonement upon the painful spots in our families (p. 234)."
"He Will Not Barge In
'Mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the earth are in mind hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give' (D&C 67:2). It is not enough to know that our Father possesses all the wealth of the universe. His purpose is what tells us most about him, and that purpose is 'to give' those riches... He is in the business of sharing (p. 236)."
"He would prefer to bestow everything on every one of us, but that depends on whether we are meek... The meekness that leads to exaltation is specifically and personally focused upon the one right Master (p. 236)."
"God grants his riches to his reliable children--those who do not quit on him or grow weary (p. 237)."
"At what doors, expect the doors of our homes, would he knock? He has the keys to everything else. He may come and go as he pleases anywhere in the galaxies except into shut-off souls or shouting homes. He is a gentleman. Because of his perfect meekness, he will not come barging in to redeem and save. We must open the door, receive, welcome. By our meekness we invite him in (p. 238)."
"The coming of Christ will be a celebration of family blessings, showing that earthly parents can be made into eternal ones (p. 239)."
"As surely as we invite him to join us in earthly homes and imperfect families today, in due time he will invite us to join him in a place that he has already prepared' (p. 243)."
"'The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much' (James 5:16; Ether 1:35-40; Enos 1:15-18) (p. 245)."
"What the Savior did for me he will surely do for others as soon as they let him (p. 248)."
"This book examines some of the principles that invite the Savior's quiet heavenly power into our loud down-to-earth homes."
"The pure patterns of marriage and family come directly from the eternal worlds (p. 2)."
"It is at the door of a home... that Jesus knocks... because he would sincerely like to enter and be a part of our family life. He would like to counsel and befriend us, participate in our decisions, soften our hearts, heal us, and reform us. He had great plans for your family and mine--even if we don't seem to have a family right now (p. 3)."
"Just how do we bid the living Christ to join us? We offer our invitation by offering ourselves, in a covenant (p. 4)."
"The timeless image of a couple at an altar, offering everything so that the living Christ might join them to each other and then join with them at home, holds as much meaning today as it ever has (p. 5)."
"The heaven of our origin was not just a world. It was a home... As we matured there, so did our family reflexes... We became more active as citizens in our heavenly home. We polished a thousand talents. Our kinship with family members branched out into friendships that would last forever. But ahead of us lay yet another realm of growth... New roles would bring new kinds of love and service, new adventures and duties, new wisdom and capacity. The rewards would surpass anything we had known before... If we do not see the love story awaiting each person, couple, and family, we do not understand the plan (p. 6)."
"Never in the eternal past had they experienced anything like marriage (p. 8)."
"The plan of happiness is not about salvation in general but about family salvation in particular--the healing and sealing and saving of families... Blessed are those who know the real aim of our Father's work (p. 10)."
"To redeem means to pay off the bills of others, to bail them out, to rescue them from grim bondage or debt. Every imperfect, indebted family needs the same benefactor: Christ the Redeemer (p. 13)."
"The At-one-ment is not just a payment made in the Holy Land two thousand years ago. It is an active embrace offered by Christ (p. 20)."
"The Lord sometimes speaks as if there were just one grand covenant instead of a series of covenants (p. 24)."
"An altar--a covenant-making place--is no casual location (p. 26)."
"'It is more important to be trusted than to be loved' (Marvin J. Ashton, p. 26)."
"'His hand is stretched out still.' But if it is to be a real embrace, it must be mutual (p. 28)."
"Few things are more worthy of our attention than to 'know of the covenants of the Lord,' which is a prime purpose of the Book of Mormon. And few goals are more worthy of our families than having the covenant written 'in their inward parts, and in their hearts.' In the this language of love, we invite him in (p. 29)."
"As a participant in our Father's great plan, he dropped everything and offered himself (p. 31)."
"The altar is a place of offering, a place of giving and forgiving. Adam and Eve offer themselves--their hearts and everything they have--to the Lord. In addition, the sacrifice on the altar is a similitude of the Lord's offering to them--his heart and everything he has (p. 36)."
"Once we belong to Christ, he can give us to each other (p. 41)."
"The story of mankind rightly began with a romance. And this is how the covenant begins again in every generation. Every marriage of hope is another key moment in history (p. 43)."
"In our holy books, we discover and rediscover the same robust, astounding themes that have been there all along: the family and the living Christ (p. 49)."
"Constant focus on the Savior has little to do with powers of concentration and everything to do with caring--a quality of the heart rather than a quantity of the mind. He responds in kind. To always have his Spirit is to have his attention, greeting, and companionship. He gives eminently more to the mutual remembering than we do. This is heart (p. 50)."
"We gather to enter the covenant, primarily in chapels and temples. We gather to keep the covenant, primarily in homes. Places of promise making and promise keeping are holy places (p. 51)."
"It is a complex tool in the hands of God 'in bringing about his covenants.' When the covenant-bearing lineage is transplanted, it may perhaps be humbled (p. 53)."
"We invite him in as we try to remove the barriers separating our household from his blessed and blessing presence (p. 62)."
"Marriage is the highest calling we will ever have. Few people in this world will notice if we succeed at it. The happiest outcomes are made public after the probation is over, after our chances have expired. For now, the surrounding culture will probably not punish us for a weak effort. Nor can we expect a worldly reward for giving our all to it. However, to fulfill the mission of marriage is like dropping a huge rock into heaven's living waters. Be ever so quiet and private if you want, but the ripples will grow as they cross the surface of eternity (p. 71)."
"We may be tempted to hold back, thinking the solo life is simple and free of pain. But the corridors of history echo the unfailing lesson that we first heard from God himself: 'It is not good that man should be alone.' Most of us will have a season of wintry isolation. But we should not allow ourselves to get too accustomed to it. Winter has its purposes, as does loneliness. But those purposes are passing; we must welcome the spring... A celestial companionship is not just two lives overlapping at many points. The sharing must be total and irreversible--two people living one complete life (p. 72)."
"God appreciates the promise made, but he loves the promise kept (p. 74)."
"He pled with her to recognize who he was, to invite him into her untidy world, and to begin partaking of his life-giving water (p. 77)."
"The hand of God put this first couple together, establishing the pattern for countless other couples to follow. We each need someone to become meet for us just as we each need to become meet for someone else (p. 79)."
"Our roles make us meet for each other. Without humility, neither man nor woman can quite succeed in their divine marital assignments. Both are to honor the priesthood... Each must be tempered by obedience to that other companion, the Holy Ghost, who can teach so much about companionship (p. 80)."
"The priesthood is an unseen robe of pure unselfishness. But a man cannot slip in and out of it. What is true of the priesthood he holds must also be true of him, all the time. He is to be first in line to help, last in line to be served (p. 89)."
"Priesthood is pointless without purity, and the purity must come first (p. 90)."
"To lead literally means to draw or extend, to bring something or someone along. To do this in God's way, there can be no yanking or yelling. All things testify not only of the existence of God but of his patience (p. 92)."
"Jesus cannot always delegate his godly tasks. But whenever he can, he does (p. 93)."
"'We had prepared for famine, earthquake, unemployment, and war but not divorce. It shook my believe system to the very foundation... When I was in such desperate need of reassurance, the Spirit bore witness to me that my Heavenly Father would still keep all his promises to me. IT was up to me to just continue keeping my promises to him... I am still single, but I'm not alone' (p. 95)."
"'The Lord will take care of things. I just have to be true to him' (p. 99)."
"We live in a world influenced by Satan. To him it is imperative that neither men nor women understand the truth about women (p. 100)."
"The attraction that creates a baby is usually not as strong as the bond that draws parents together when they focus on a child's worth and growth long after birth (p. 102)."
"One thing this world does not seem to need more of is women who have allowed themselves to become self-absorbed or faithless. If the angels in our lives lose their ability to lift hearts, the world sinks (p. 103)."
"It is easy to bless what we treasure. The key... is for a man to realize that his family, his wife foremost of all, is his treasure (p. 108)."
"By putting these souls into our arms, God in no way releases himself as their Father. This is not the end to one relationship but the beginning of an added one. We easily forget that this child was and always will be God's (p. 111)."
"If we want the young to listen to us, we will first have to listen to them, at length--about their interests, on their terms, at their times. Most children need more ear and less lip. Listening, not talking, is the eloquent language of love (p. 129)."
"Righteous parenthood would not be reserved for exalted beings if it were a waste of time or an easy task. IT would not be considered a celestial work if it brought only a moderate amount of happiness. It is one of those few endeavors that carries over directly into eternity (P. 130)."
"'Growing up, I never realized that mothers were supposed to have personal interests or do anything for themselves. It didn't dawn on me that they might want time to themselves or get a break from the endless requests from their children. I somehow thought my mother was immune to all these needs' (p. 136)."
"Christ's light shines where he is repeatedly invited. His grace softens the way we interact, and his truth transforms the way we feel and think (p. 140)."
"The covenant family is a small replica of God's kingdom... The home can accommodate the full range of human burdens. The covenant asks that we share them, whatever they happen to be. By bearing each other's burdens, we bear one another (p. 146)."
"Can we share another person's cross? Can we afford the time? Do we have the strength? Apparently so, for it is our covenant. And the great secret is that this is the path of joy (p. 146)."
"We receive grace from Christ in return for giving grace to others. To invite him into our homes, we need to exercise some mercy of our own (p. 147)."
"The covenant couple relies heavily on the temple (p. 152)."
"A lone person can live the culture of heaven in certain ways, but the gospel covenant really unfolds in the warm confines of marriage (p. 153)."
"The Lord's doctrines are understandable to children, especially if their own parents teach those doctrines with care and patience (p. 157)."
"If Lehi and the other noble ancestors of King Benjamin would have dwindled in unbelief without the scriptures, that settles the question for us (p. 157)."
"How is it that we parents and our children may come near to Jesus and receive his help?... We do not march right up to him. We do not come unto him by might or intellect or sparkling personality. Nor do we approach him by any other method of our choosing. We approach him in reverence (P. 162)."
"We must not allow our children to misunderstand what is in our hearts. They need to know that they are our treasures and that because of this we share the great plan with them. They should know that we enjoy our calling to teach them of this plan. And they should know that we delight in the Deliverer who has delivered them into our care (p. 163)."
"In an epidemic of quitting, many give up on each other, on themselves, on the plan of God, and on the laws of man and nature--disloyal to the very idea of loyalty (p. 164)."
"The covenant people cannot just sit back and enjoy their blessings. They are witnesses of the greatest storm and workers in the greatest rescue effort in history (p. 164)."
"In Zion the joy will be real. Zion's people will carry their bright lamp of hope into earth's dark corners. Their prophets will declare to mankind--in fact, they are declaring it even now--that 'the family is central to the Creator's plan' (p. 165)."
"Our purpose is not to be overwhelmed by all the ways we might set our homes in order. We are watching for something here or there that would lift our families and make [Jesus] feel more at home (p. 176)."
"Once we have distinctly adopted the Lord's will as our own, he will support us in getting equipped and establishing our course. If we will take care of his things, he will open the way for ours (p. 178)."
"Consider what it takes to support a covenant-keeping life: praying and pondering the scriptures in private; faithfully and reverently attending our Church meetings; magnifying our callings; preparing our children for mission calls and Church service; teaching the gospel in family home evenings; doing family history and temple work; and being engaged in many other wholesome activities. We cannot afford to be mixed up about what is important and what is not (p. 179)."
"People are the reason and time is our major resource... Time is the wealth we should learn to spend with wisdom and courage (p. 180)."
"Administering is setting things in such an order that the system really works. It is a demanding part of blessing people, requiring lonely persistence behind the scenes, wide perspective, and inspired planning. By contrast, to minister is to be a redemptive instrument. Ministering is actual contact; it is immediate, direct, personal. Both ministering and administering are godly privileges, labors of love. In the process of setting our houses in order, we do both (p. 182)."
"To have the sweet aroma of peace--the taste of eternal life--in our homes takes some doing. We might call it 'spiritual hygiene.' Perhaps this special maintenance is the biggest part, yet by no means the only part, of a family mission (p. 185)."
"'Having a say' is not the aim of a council (p. 190)."
"The work of faith begins in a mind that can be taught (p. 195)."
"Getting Things Done
'Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves' (James 1:22). A covenant-keeping home is a home of gospel action instead of gospel pausing or gospel posing. Gospel indolence--puttering about when there is some good thing to do--suggests a religion discussed and considered but not yet loved, not taken seriously (p. 198)."
"When Nephi said he would do 'the things' on the Lord's list, he meant all of them. That list grew and branched into sublists as his family progressed. Think of how many blessings that family generated as long as they continued their work. We invite the Lord in when we welcome into our families his list of things to do (p. 198)."
"The old motto 'Do it now' is not only about doing things 'now' but also about knowing first what 'it' is. To be busy with many lists and many extraneous things gives our children the wrong impression about the law of work. They should know that we all have only one thing to do at a time. For the family leader to 'do it now' means both to do a chore and to choose wisely. Sometimes it takes brave honesty to admit the importance of one chore and the unimportance of another (p. 199)."
"If we want our children to love their work, we must work with them... And we should remember that we are not work worshippers (p. 200)."
"The law of home permits a household to be clasped in the arms of Christ (p. 204)."
"Much of the stress we experience in life comes from trying to do too much and accumulate too much. Since we are the source of this type of stress, only we can filter it from our lives. Filtering requires a vision of what is important (p. 205)."
"Set your house in order, not just your things... To set a house in order is to make it available. Try to match your home with your purpose in life. That is what the Lord's house does. Everything there matches its purpose. The beauty and spirit of the Lord's house depend somewhat on the simplicity and open space we find there (p. 207)."
"In the midst of plenty, the peace of Christ can be missing. In the midst of hardship, this peace can be full... The serene assurance that we and our children crave is the exclusive, personal property of the Prince of Peace (p. 213)."
"With his peace in our homes, we can rise to the best standard of our race. Our mission is not to ride the storm but to rub shoulders energetically and peaceably with mankind (p. 216)."
"We reach out to our loved ones gently, not only because that way is right but also because there is no other way (p. 224)."
"We cannot afford to turn inwardly in the name of family. TO care about our own while withdrawing from the wider work of the Church is to ignore the family we have had for eons (p. 226)."
"Not only is family the end, or the grand aim, of salvation, but for many, it is also the means of salvation (p. 228)."
"Inspiring as courageous mortals can be, none of them has the stunning resolve of God himself (P. 229)."
"The gospel covenant is designed not only to seal families but also to heal them. It wipes away tears, closes wounds, and draws prodigal sons and daughters back home. But the covenant blesses most where it is kept the est. Most of us could do a better job of honoring it, bringing [Jesus] into the home and invoking the blessings of the Atonement upon the painful spots in our families (p. 234)."
"He Will Not Barge In
'Mine eyes are upon you, and the heavens and the earth are in mind hands, and the riches of eternity are mine to give' (D&C 67:2). It is not enough to know that our Father possesses all the wealth of the universe. His purpose is what tells us most about him, and that purpose is 'to give' those riches... He is in the business of sharing (p. 236)."
"He would prefer to bestow everything on every one of us, but that depends on whether we are meek... The meekness that leads to exaltation is specifically and personally focused upon the one right Master (p. 236)."
"God grants his riches to his reliable children--those who do not quit on him or grow weary (p. 237)."
"At what doors, expect the doors of our homes, would he knock? He has the keys to everything else. He may come and go as he pleases anywhere in the galaxies except into shut-off souls or shouting homes. He is a gentleman. Because of his perfect meekness, he will not come barging in to redeem and save. We must open the door, receive, welcome. By our meekness we invite him in (p. 238)."
"The coming of Christ will be a celebration of family blessings, showing that earthly parents can be made into eternal ones (p. 239)."
"As surely as we invite him to join us in earthly homes and imperfect families today, in due time he will invite us to join him in a place that he has already prepared' (p. 243)."
"'The effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much' (James 5:16; Ether 1:35-40; Enos 1:15-18) (p. 245)."
"What the Savior did for me he will surely do for others as soon as they let him (p. 248)."
May 21, 2016
This book was inspiring. I coukd feel myself drawing closer to the Lord as I read, and it caused me to look at my family and our relationships in new and wonderful ways. there is healing in this book for those who need it, and a great strengthening power to those who are already traveling the good path.
October 14, 2008
No big surprise that I would love a book written by my father...but it really is amazing. It is deep and it is powerful, with the potential to change your life. Wonderful, wonderful book!
November 14, 2025
BOOK REVIEW - Inviting Him In, How the Atonement Can Change Your Family, by Wayne E. Brickey (2004)
This book emerged during a period when many Latter-day Saint authors were publishing books centered on Christ-centered family life, the Atonement’s healing influence, and how gospel principles could bridge everyday struggles at home. In many ways, Brickey’s book fits squarely within that wave: gentle, faith-affirming, scripturally grounded—and familiar.
The central message is that the Atonement is not merely a doctrine to be studied but a lived, daily resource that can soften hearts, mend relationships, and reshape family culture. He emphasizes:
• Inviting Christ into our homes through intentional spiritual habits
• Practicing forgiveness as an active, continual choice
• Allowing Christ’s enabling power to transform patience, empathy, and communication
• Viewing family conflict as an opportunity to model discipleship rather than merely enforce order.
Many chapters blend simple anecdotes with LDS scripture and quotations from modern prophets. The tone is encouraging and pastoral, offering reminders of grace rather than dramatic new interpretations. This is a good, sincere, and uplifting book, but not a particularly profound or innovative. Much of what it offers will feel familiar to anyone who has read other works in this genre from the same period. Brickey writes warmly and accessibly, but the book largely reinforces well-established principles instead of breaking new ground or exploring the Atonement with unusual depth. Its strength is its clarity and gentleness. A family looking for a straightforward spiritual refresher, or someone new to LDS family-centered literature, may find it helpful. Readers hoping for a deeper theological exploration or more original insights may feel it covers territory they’ve seen before.
It is a kindhearted reminder of how Christlike living can soften and shape family relationships—but it doesn’t distinguish itself dramatically from the many similar books released around the same time. For readers accustomed to this genre, it may feel more like a reaffirmation than a revelation.
Quotes:
“The Savior’s invitation has always been simple: ‘Come unto me.’ But for families, coming unto Him is rarely a single dramatic event. It is the daily choosing—sometimes quietly, sometimes painfully—to invite His spirit into our conversations, our frustrations, and our hopes. When we turn to Him, He turns ordinary households into places where grace can grow.”
“Only Christ can change a human heart, yet He waits to be welcomed. He does not force His way into a troubled marriage or a strained parent-child relationship. But when a family kneels together, when they confess their weakness and plead for His strength, the Atonement begins to work in them—replacing hardness with healing, fear with faith, and discord with the quiet miracle of unity.”
This book emerged during a period when many Latter-day Saint authors were publishing books centered on Christ-centered family life, the Atonement’s healing influence, and how gospel principles could bridge everyday struggles at home. In many ways, Brickey’s book fits squarely within that wave: gentle, faith-affirming, scripturally grounded—and familiar.
The central message is that the Atonement is not merely a doctrine to be studied but a lived, daily resource that can soften hearts, mend relationships, and reshape family culture. He emphasizes:
• Inviting Christ into our homes through intentional spiritual habits
• Practicing forgiveness as an active, continual choice
• Allowing Christ’s enabling power to transform patience, empathy, and communication
• Viewing family conflict as an opportunity to model discipleship rather than merely enforce order.
Many chapters blend simple anecdotes with LDS scripture and quotations from modern prophets. The tone is encouraging and pastoral, offering reminders of grace rather than dramatic new interpretations. This is a good, sincere, and uplifting book, but not a particularly profound or innovative. Much of what it offers will feel familiar to anyone who has read other works in this genre from the same period. Brickey writes warmly and accessibly, but the book largely reinforces well-established principles instead of breaking new ground or exploring the Atonement with unusual depth. Its strength is its clarity and gentleness. A family looking for a straightforward spiritual refresher, or someone new to LDS family-centered literature, may find it helpful. Readers hoping for a deeper theological exploration or more original insights may feel it covers territory they’ve seen before.
It is a kindhearted reminder of how Christlike living can soften and shape family relationships—but it doesn’t distinguish itself dramatically from the many similar books released around the same time. For readers accustomed to this genre, it may feel more like a reaffirmation than a revelation.
Quotes:
“The Savior’s invitation has always been simple: ‘Come unto me.’ But for families, coming unto Him is rarely a single dramatic event. It is the daily choosing—sometimes quietly, sometimes painfully—to invite His spirit into our conversations, our frustrations, and our hopes. When we turn to Him, He turns ordinary households into places where grace can grow.”
“Only Christ can change a human heart, yet He waits to be welcomed. He does not force His way into a troubled marriage or a strained parent-child relationship. But when a family kneels together, when they confess their weakness and plead for His strength, the Atonement begins to work in them—replacing hardness with healing, fear with faith, and discord with the quiet miracle of unity.”
October 21, 2010
this is another book that i will need to get my own copy of. brickey uses doctrine to go through each point of how and why we can invite the savior into our homes. the first step being, to invite him into our own personal lives first and developing a close relationship with him. brickey calls the savior the family friend. he goes into some very specific ways in which we as individuals push the savior out of our lives and how we can overcome those things. it was very eye opening to me. it goes beyond the sunday school answers of reading your scriptures, etc. life changing.
July 7, 2018
I only read this book occasionally for spiritual uplifting. It is divided into small chapters each with a different aspect of our lives. It helps me reflect on what I believe and what I want to do to live a more unselfish, Christlike life. It will take me many months to read and ponder on the thoughts in this book. I did finish this book, little by little, and was spiritually fed by its teachings.
May 9, 2009
This was a great and comforting book at a time of need. The cover picture I think is so beautiful and caught my eye immediately. I love church artwork and this book has an occasional picture drawn by the author's son.
March 5, 2010
Good stuff. I know the author personally. Super great guy.
February 16, 2016
I loved it. It made me think hard about the choices I make as a parent.
March 18, 2024
One of the tenderest and most sweet of books, even with the perspective of it's time
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