A former Hawaii state young mother of the year encouraged BYU-Hawaii students and faculty at the Oct. 9 devotional to be champions for their families.
Leilani Auna, a BYU-Hawaii coordinator for students with special needs who was named Hawaii young mother of the year in 1998 by the local chapter of American Mothers Inc., quoted President Gordon B. Hinckley in saying her husband and their eight children are her "greatest assets."
Auna, who was born in the Philippines, explained that she was adopted by a young family in Kona, Hawaii, where she was raised on a coffee farm—something that was common among Latter-day Saints in that place and time. When she was older, she recalled her father taught her, "As long as you are sealed in the temple of the Lord by the holy Priesthood, that is stronger than blood."
"The comfort of his words and the whispering of the spirit at that moment stuck with me for the rest of my life," she said, adding they have also helped her own family.
"To become a champion for families, we must understand the importance of the family in God's plan," Auna continued. "The family is the central part of God's plan. The families here on earth are patterned after God's family. We are all spiritual brothers and sisters."
Quoting Elder Theodore Tuttle, in his October 1979 conference address, Auna said, "The Lord organized the family unit in the beginning. He intended that the home be the center of learning—that the father and mother be teachers."
"I believe that even if we are not married, or are not parents, we can still fulfill this admonition," Auna said. "We all have a mother or father, siblings and extended family. Honoring our parents is one way we can surely put family first. Establishing a good relationship with our own family members can also be the first step to learning how to treat our future spouse and children."
She encouraged the students to boldly defend against "outside influences and distractions" that will take their focus away from their families.
"I consider myself a woman who enjoys learning and teaching," Auna said. "I also feel women can contribute a lot in the educational field and the business world, but I know that the most important thing I can do in this life is to teach my children the gospel and let them know that I love them."
Auna shared an experience of attending a conference for women in Honolulu and how impressed she was with the keynote speaker, a single parent with five children, who talked of how important it is to be active in the community.
When asked how she could juggle her many activities and her family, the woman said, "I told my family that they will have to come second in my list of priorities."
"My heart just dropped," Auna said. "The spirit spoke to me to say something. I was so afraid to speak [but]... I remember getting the impression that if I did not say something I will regret it. This was the moment: I needed to be a champion for families."
Auna went on to say she had occasionally overlooked her own family in her desire to be of service to others until her 13-year-old son once asked her, "Mom, why do you always bake good things for others and not do it for us?"
She added that she resolved from then on be more mindful of her own family.
Auna spoke of another woman in the audience who was in tears, explaining how her mother had volunteered teaching handicapped children how to swim. "But I am angry with her: All those year she taught other kids to swim she never taught me. At the end of the workshop many woman came up to me to thank me for standing up for families."
"The way to become a champion for families is, first, to love your God, to love yourself, your own family and those around you," Auna said.
"Do not be afraid to stand up for families even if it is not a popular thing to do at the time." she added. "We must not let the philosophies of men control our every whim. Recognize that you have the power to make a difference in whatever setting you are in, whether it be by your example alone or standing up for families: Your own family or for the families of the world."