4 stories from scripture that teach us how to create a Christ-centered home

I imagine the mothers carefully measuring out each ingredient as they mixed the unleavened bread and gathered the best herbs. I can almost feel the faithful urgency of the fathers as they searched for a perfect firstborn lamb, free of any blemish, to offer a solemn sacrifice.

I am sure their fires burned more fiercely than ever before as the offering was cooked, and I do not believe a single drop was wasted or forgotten when the children of Israel sprinkled their doorframes with the lambs’ blood. Surely every shoe was polished, staff held securely, and loin girded faithfully. I can almost smell the scent of lamb filling the streets as each home roasted its sacrifice with care. Tears form in the corners of my eyes when I consider the quiet reverence that likely veiled the homes of the Israelites seeking reprieve.

During the time of the first Passover, I believe each heavenly direction was followed with exactness and faith by every loving parent who was creating a fortress for their child held lovingly within their walls. The price was too great for a detail to be missed. That night, and in the weeks and months to follow, for the firstborn sons and their families, home was the safest and most sacred place they could be.

Today, we are not asked to roast unblemished lambs, sprinkle our doorways with blood, or prepare unleavened bread on the fourteenth day of every month. Yet, like the Israelites in ancient Egypt, we can make our homes safe, sacred fortresses set apart to worship our Savior, the Lamb of God, by covering ourselves with the blood of His atoning sacrifice.

We can access the power made possible to us through Jesus Christ’s Atonement by faithfully partaking of the sacrament, forgiving each other, and seeking to be forgiven.

We can turn to Him when our hearts are heavy, when questions swirl through our minds, when we feel scared, lost, or unsure. We, like the children of Israel, can have faith that the blood Jesus freely spilled has the power to protect our homes and all who enter them. Because of Him, it is never too late to feel the redeeming love of is great sacrifice and cover our homes and hearts in His grace.

Whether our homes are filled with children, friendships, work responsibilities, callings, or countless other obligations, it is easy to get lost in the busyness of day-to-day life. My husband and I share nine children in our large, blended family. We strive to create a place of safety, with true testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ woven throughout all we do.

It sometimes feels overwhelming to know what to tune into, what needs to fade into the background, and how to balance our desires for true discipleship while dealing with all the outside demands life presents.

As I have considered this delicate balance for myself and my family, my thoughts are drawn to people in scripture who made their homes their sanctuaries by keeping Jesus Christ at the center of their worship.

They too faced confusion, fear, and stress that weighed heavily upon their shoulders and likely kept them awake at night. They tackled the impossible with courage, and through each triumph, the same theme remained: Jesus Christ was the center of their lives, their hearts, and their homes.

My soul yearns to know how they stayed strong in their faith and how I can do the same. By reading their stories and striving to emulate their examples, I have found that we can be like those in the scriptures who invited Christ into their homes through honoring our covenants, serving as He serves, and keeping our focus on Him.

When I read the story of the stripling soldiers, sometimes I ponder the things their mothers did not know. They did not know their children would return home safe from war. They did not know their city would be protected. They did not know if their war chapters would end in victory or defeat.

But it was not the unknown that these mothers, or their brave warrior sons, focused on. Instead, they stayed true and faithful to what they knew. “They had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47).

I believe these mothers understood that deliverance comes in many forms and that our God is bigger than any earthly trial or outcome. These mothers knew that honoring their covenants to Him would lead to personalized miracles.

Each mother undoubtedly had different talents and strengths; some may have been fun and outgoing, while others were quieter or reserved. They had different experiences, joys, troubles, and journeys. What they all shared, however, was true conversion to the Savior. I catch my breath as I remember that these women were among those faithful ones who discovered a love for Jesus Christ and were moved to covenant with Him to bury their weapons of destruction and choose true peace. By honoring their covenants since that time, these women had come to truly know and trust a God who would remember and save their children.

I believe the mothers knew that whether their sons returned home safe and unharmed or whether they faced defeat, our God is One who saves us, creates perfect answers, and forgets no one. These mothers knew they could trust their Father in Heaven to deliver their sons in the way He knew was best, and they taught their children that same trust.

I imagine their homes were like individualized universities where each family taught about the promises they had made to God. I picture times they gathered their children around as they told them about the weapons they carried in solemn reverence to the place they had prepared; how they dug deep into the earth to bury them away forever. I am sure they taught their loved ones how their hearts had transformed from hard and closed to soft and loving through Jesus; how that new heart compelled them to give instead of take and labor rather than spend their days in idleness (see Alma chapters 23–56).

They showed their families how to make promises, but, most importantly, they demonstrated how to keep them. I am sure these faithful Saints kept war out of their hearts and homes as much as they kept it from their cities and countries. They must have lived their covenants every day for their sons to believe those same promises would protect them enough to willingly fight in war.

In our homes today, we all fight individual battles, carry unique burdens, and face demons often unknown and unseen by those around us. We find that we or those we love are charged to doubt not and have faith in the deliverance only the Savior can offer.

Like these wise mothers, we do not know so many things. We do not know how or when His deliverance will come; we do not always know if our will aligns with His will; we do not know if our story will hold more chapters of sorrow than chapters of victory.

But what we can know is that honoring our covenants will create miracles in our lives. We can have the courage to make promises with our Heavenly Father at baptism and in the temple and live every day striving to honor those promises. We can move forward in faith knowing He will protect, guide, and deliver us. He will join the battle with us. He will carry us.

As we make our homes places where covenants are honored, we can move forward free of doubt, wrapped in the safety of covenantal protection from the same God who loved and protected the young warriors in the Book of Mormon.

She was no stranger to loss. Her husband had died, and now she was preparing to wait with her child to fall into the depths of starvation. Faithfully, she gathered sticks and accepted her fate—until she saw the prophet sent to seek her help.

He asked for food, and she measured every ounce that remained in her kitchen.

She knew she had almost nothing to give.

She told him of her lack, and Elijah told her to give freely anyway.

I wonder if tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks as she prepared what she thought were her last drops of oil and final measure of grain. Perhaps she felt she was only hastening the inevitable. Still, she gave anyway.

Through giving, the widow received a miracle: enough grain to sustain her, her household, and the prophet for days. She continued to pour out and, through God, she continued to receive. Surely there were many others in the town who could have made room for Elijah at their tables and in their homes. With so much food to go around, they may have barely noticed his presence.

But I do not believe this story is about grain, oil, or riches. It is about the widow who gave everything she had in what she believed would be her final days, sealing forever her testimony of God. She did not know that the miracle of food would follow her faith, but she ensured her home was set apart to honor her Heavenly Father even until her end (see 1 Kings 17:8–16).

We, like the widow, can give of ourselves even when it is difficult. We can trust our Heavenly Father will provide for us. By making our homes places of selfless service, we are emulating the love and service of our Savior, making Him the center of our lives, homes, and worship.

The excitement and commotion must have filled every inch of the town as Jesus made His way through Jericho. People surrounded Him, hoping to get close enough to see Him and hear His voice.

There was one in the crowd who wanted to truly know Jesus, to know and understand all He was. Zacchaeus kept trying to get closer to Christ, but the press of people was too large, and his stature was too small for him to even catch a glimpse.

It would have been so easy to feel defeated and believe the price to know Jesus was too great or think that hearing the testimonies and stories of others later would be enough. He could have found reasons to give up. Instead, Zacchaeus found a path no one else had considered, an answer that had not been found, and a way that would require extra skill and a little work.

He found a sycamore tree and began to climb. With every foothold and branch he scaled, he got a little closer to seeing the real, living Messiah.

I wonder if even Zacchaeus could have imagined what would happen next.

Through the seeking and climbing, not only did he see Jesus, but Jesus saw and knew him. Jesus looked and, without hesitation, He spoke his name.

“Zacchaeus,” He called out, in that moment testifying that even though so many outside factors threatened Zacchaeus’ view of Jesus, nothing ever had stood in the way of his Savior truly knowing him, by name.

Then, Jesus continued, “Make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house” (Luke 19:5).

The people were appalled. This man was an enemy, a tax collector and man of great wealth. It was all they knew of him, and it was all they could see.

But Jesus saw a man who gave to the poor, loved his fellowmen, and strived to seek to truly know Him. Jesus saw His disciple through the press of loud voices and misunderstandings.

Then Jesus literally entered Zacchaeus’ home and dwelled there.

I want Jesus in my home, and I want Him to dwell there.

As was true for Zacchaeus, in the world so many things stand in the way, attempting to block my view of my loving Savior. I can choose to be content with hearing His voice from afar off or trying to peek through various distractions. Or, like Zacchaeus, I can find ways to seek Him. I can overcome hurdles, climb to higher ground, and try to always know Jesus, who He is and who He was.

As we seek Him, our Savior will notice our efforts, just as He noticed Zacchaeus.

He will call our names, He will reach out to us, and He will dwell with us in our homes as we invite Him there. As we stay focused on Him, seek Him, and strive to truly know Him, He will see our efforts, He will recognize our hearts, and He will dwell with us forever.

Our homes can be safe harbors for all who enter them as we follow these ancient examples. We can rely wholeheartedly on Jesus Christ by covering our hearts in His all-encompassing Atonement made possible through His great sacrifice. We can cling to our covenants and teach our loved ones of the miracles that accompany faithfully keeping our promises to God. We can serve selflessly as our Savior does, and we can stop at nothing to truly see and know Him and who He is.

For more great insights on creating a Christ-centered home, check out these articles below:

► 1 thing we forget when teaching our children about feeling the Spirit
► 5 insights to fill you with hope as you encourage others on the covenant path
▶ This important line from general conference might help you worry less about your adult children