By today’s standards, David’s family is pretty big. He’s one of five children and has said  he couldn’t do what he did without his family’s support.

David is a Mormon, and Mormons are known for making their families a central part of their lives. Every Monday night, they hold family night, spending special time just with their own families, learning about Jesus, enjoying treats, playing games and singing. It’s likely David started singing right in his own family nights.

Mormon families have gotten a lot of attention in the show business world. Did you see Donny or Marie Osmond on Dancing With the Stars? They are a brother and sister from a very large family–nine children. All but the two oldest brothers, who are deaf, formed a popular singing group in the 1970s, and today, five of them still sing country music, and Donny and Marie sing together in a Las Vegas show. Their close family life got a lot of media attention, and fans called their mother Mother Osmond, knowing almost as much about her as they did about her famous children.

How does your family help you reach your goals or build your talents? How can you show them how much all that means to you? When you see David Archuleta or other Mormon teenagers in the media, you’ll almost always find something about how they credit their families for their success, but they also give back to their families in the form of love and appreciation. It’s not always a natural thing for teens to do, but watching people like David can help us figure out how it’s done.

The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others. (Thomas S. Monson, “Our Sacred Priesthood Trust,” Ensign, May 2006, 57)

The blessings of the priesthood are meant to be given to the entire world-but they must be delivered by someone. Priesthood holders have the duty to bless their families and those they are called to preside over by the power of the priesthood. Men have this responsibility: to use the priesthood to bless the children of God, living or dead, with all of their assistance in the work of God.

Men are given this power and authority from God to use in doing God’s work. The authority of the priesthood that they receive is consistent with their priesthood duties, whether they are presiding over a family, spreading the gospel over the world, performing saving ordinances, or leading in the Church.

It is the duty of priesthood holders both old and young to remain worthy and exercise the priesthood, thus serving both God and their fellow humans. The priesthood is the best way for men to grow and serve, just as motherhood is the best way for women to grow and serve. The Lord made us for these tasks, and he made these duties for each of us, so all of his sons and daughters can grow by serving and by the service of others.