Counsel/Council

I remember in my home the term family council generally was associated with groans and mumbling. What I remember most from family councils was that my siblings and I caused distraction while my parents diligently tried to get problems solved. Upon reflection I see the great growth that my family had as we had a family council each week. In my family relations course this week we studied ways of dealing with conflict.  Let me illustrate what we learned about counseling within our families.

The following steps for effective councils come from the book "Counseling with our Councils" by M. Russell Ballard.

The stages go as follows:

1. Set aside a special time and place
2. Express love and appreciation for those in the council
3. Open the meeting with a prayer
4. Discuss to Consensus
5. Close with a prayer
6. Finish with dessert!

I see a pattern here. You begin the counsel by expressing love and inviting assistance from Heaven. You close the counsel by thanking the assistance from Heaven and showing love through chocolate. Sounds like a great plan right? Here is the even better thing, it really works. Don't believe me? Try it out.