We Are the Norths!

A few weeks ago, in Stake Conference, one of the speakers suggested that everyone should have a family motto. She then read her family's motto, which was a really cool scripture in Third Nephi somewhere. Bruce and I thought that was a great idea, and we really liked her motto, but when we tried to look it up we couldn't remember exactly where it was, and couldn't even remember a key word so we could look it up. Obviously we had to come up with our own and not use hers.

So, that night we told our kids about choosing a family motto. We liked the idea of using a scripture, but had no idea which one; the whole concept kind of went on the back burner.

My thoughts, for quite a while now, have been that I would like our family to be more united—to act more like we actually belong together and maybe even like each other. (Crazy, huh?) After General Conference last week, and with the thought of unity in mind, I at last thought of a great motto. I thought I'd introduce it at Family Home Evening, letting the kids put in their two cents while I guided them to what I actually wanted. And so I asked the kids to list all the things that they thought a perfect family would be like. They came up with a pretty good list—and not even once did they suggest things like wealthy or good-looking [which, I think, would be a bonus. And we are half-way there—I have a very good-looking family. ;-) ] I suggested the "united" idea to them, and it was pretty well accepted. So our motto stems from Moses 7:18 "And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them." Sounds great to me! We altered it a bit, so that our motto is: "Our family is of one heart and one mind." Cool, huh?

Then I took the "perfect family" list and typed up a North Family mission statement—complete with a cool logo! (Jason designed our compass rose.) I will tell you that we don't exactly measure up to that mission statement. But if we really work on it, then we could be pretty awesome.

And now, the moment you've been waiting for: Here is the document, itself. Well, not the actual document. That is really cool—printed in a nice font on fancy paper, and watermarked with the compass logo. Cool! You'll have to have a look if you come to my house. But here is what the document says:

The North Family

Our family is of one heart and one mind.

We love our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We are loyal to them and to each other.
We show our loyalty by:

Being faithful members of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Obeying our parents.
We quickly and cheerfully do what they ask of us.
We speak well of them, and respectfully to them.

Being honest and reliable in all that we do.
We are truthful in all circumstances;
we keep our promises to God, our family, our friends and ourselves.

Communicating well with each other;
We speak in gentle voices, using kind words,
thinking carefully before we speak or act. We say only nice things about each other, and we listen and pay attention to each other.

Showing respect for one another
by thinking only good thoughts about each other.We willingly share our belongings, and treat others’ belongings carefully, taking good care of our home, possessions, and personal appearance.
We are slow to anger, but quick to forgive and forget.

Bonding together in unity; if something is important to one family member, it is important to us all.
Each of us strives to be aware of the needs of our family members
and to put their needs before our own as often as we are able.

Whaddaya think? Now we just need a flag and a "fight song!"
;-)