Let me tell you about one of my recent experiences. I was assigned to a stake conference to release the stake president, who had served for many, many years. . . .

As the weekend progressed, his children came by auto and air, returning home to pay tribute to their father for his years of faithful service. I found a special spirit in this home. They were a very close family. How they enjoyed being together!

As I stood to address the conference in its final session, there seated to my left sat his entire family, tears streaming down their faces as they honored their father on this grand occasion.

Following the conference session, I had been invited to stay for family dinner before leaving for the airport to fly home. As the family gathered around the table, the father requested that we kneel in family prayer. Kneeling in prayer, I discovered their strength. This family understood their relationship to God, their Eternal Father. They understood their relationship to their earthly father and mother, to their brothers and sisters. The brotherhood and sisterhood existing in this family unit made it easy for them to stretch beyond their borders to friends and neighbors.

Being a guest in so many different homes over the last few years has certainly convinced me that a special spirit is clearly evident when a family prays together.

L. Tom Perry, "Our Father Which Art in Heaven," Ensign, Nov. 1983, 11