Comment

Support for Those in the Military

Thank you for the wonderful article about military families (April 1991). Being a military dependent myself, I identified with Sister Long’s observations and experiences. I have been married to an enlisted sailor with the U.S. Navy for four and one-half years. Dealing with the separations and the responsibilities that this job brings with it makes me so glad for the help the Lord gives us. Without his guidance, our family would have succumbed to the pressures of military life long ago.

Katherine Shearer
Ridgecrest, California

Families with Unique Challenges

I enjoyed the article “We Are All Enlisted” in the April 1991 issue. Because my husband is a truck driver and is often away from home during the week, I also face many of the concerns and problems the author talked about.

One concern not addressed in the article is Church meetings held on Sunday evenings. My husband’s employer is LDS, so he makes sure my husband is home every Sunday. This is the day we have family home evening and spend time together. When I have expressed my feelings about being away on Sunday night, I always get two responses. First, people assume that my husband complains about taking care of our children. This is never the case. Second, they say, “It’s only once a month” or “It’s only an hour.” If you add up all the once-a-months and only-one-hours, it’s a lot of time.

I know that ward members mean well, but I think we all need to step back occasionally, put ourselves in others’ shoes, and follow closely the counsel of the Brethren on keeping Sunday evenings free for families.

Colette Jourdain
Kanab, Utah

In Defense of TV

I have experienced the concern of many parents over the increase of offensive television broadcasts, but I have learned that parents can control this medium to benefit rather than harm their families. As a young mother with four children under the age of five and living in a remote area, I have found that television allows me to stay connected to the rest of society. We are unable to afford tickets to museums or cultural events or trips to scenic wonders, so television has been our window on the world. We have seen the beauties of our planet and the wonders of science. We have learned much about other cultures and have enjoyed music, drama, and the other arts in ways we never could have otherwise.

Our television has become a helpful friend. A program on child molestation enabled our young child to tell us of such an incident so we could take appropriate action. After watching a TV movie about teenage runaways, one child decided that running away was not an acceptable option. Other programs have raised questions and prompted discussions.

We are not a family whose lives revolve around the TV schedule. We are fully involved in Church and community responsibilities, and we each spend time developing our talents. But we do not feel guilty about watching good TV programs. I consider it one of God’s many blessings to help me in these latter days to instruct, refine, comfort, entertain, and edify myself and my family.

Elizabeth Moore
Hemet, California

Childless Couples

It has been difficult for my husband and me to have children, so I have appreciated the Ensign articles in which people have shared experiences similar to ours. I think all of us need to be more sensitive in what we say and how we treat different types of families. It is easy for childless couples and those who have had trouble having children to feel different—or perhaps not as blessed—in an environment in which many couples have large families or are in the process of having children. We know in our minds that nobody is trying to make us feel this way, but it is still sometimes hard to shake careless comments.

Name Withheld upon Request