The Family: A Proclamation to the World
“The Family is Central to the Creator's Plan”
December 15 - December 21
scripture
quotes
Prioritizing Our Children
<p>“Our youngest daughter, Abby, saw a unique opportunity to stand as a defender of the role of mother. ... Abby has said of her experience: ‘I feel like it could be easy in this world for a child to get the sense that being a parent is a secondary job or even sometimes a necessary inconvenience. I want every child to feel like they are the most important priority to their parent, and maybe telling them how important being a parent is to me will help them realize all that their parents do for them and why.’ ... The last principle we need to stand and defend is the sanctity of the home. We need to take a term which is sometimes spoken of with derision and elevate it. It is the term homemaker. All of us—women, men, youth, and children, single or married—can work at being homemakers. We should ‘make our homes’ places of order, refuge, holiness, and safety. Our homes should be places where the Spirit of the Lord is felt in rich abundance and where the scriptures and the gospel are studied, taught, and lived. What a difference it would make in the world if all people would see themselves as makers of righteous homes. Let us defend the home as a place which is second only to the temple in holiness.”</p>
Bonnie L. Oscarson, “Defenders of the Family Proclamation,” April 2015 General Conference
Priesthood Authority in the Family
<p>“Priesthood authority functions in both the family and the Church. The priesthood is the power of God used to bless all of His children, male and female. Some of our abbreviated expressions, like ‘the women and the priesthood,’ convey an erroneous idea. Men are not ‘the priesthood.’ Priesthood meeting is a meeting of those who hold and exercise the priesthood. The blessings of the priesthood, such as baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, the temple endowment, and eternal marriage, are available to men and women alike. The authority of the priesthood functions in the family and in the Church, according to the principles the Lord has established. When my father died, my mother presided over our family. She had no priesthood office, but as the surviving parent in her marriage she had become the governing officer in her family. At the same time, she was always totally respectful of the priesthood authority of our bishop and other Church leaders. She presided over her family, but they presided over the Church.”</p>
Dallin H. Oaks, “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church,” October 2005 General Conference
commentary
Family Proclamation Paragraph 7
<p>In an 1831 revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord declared that “marriage is ordained of God unto man” (D&C 49:15). Similarly, in this paragraph of the family proclamation, modern prophets and apostles testify that “the family is ordained of God.” This tenet is key to understanding the beliefs of the Latter-day Saints. As President Dallin H. Oaks taught, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is properly known as a family-centered Church. But what is not well understood is that our family-centeredness is focused on more than mortal relationships. Eternal relationships are also fundamental to our theology. ‘The family is ordained of God.’ Under the great plan of our loving Creator, the mission of His restored Church is to help the children of God achieve the supernal blessing of exaltation in the celestial kingdom, which can be attained only through an eternal marriage between a man and a woman (see Doctrine and Covenants 131:1–3).”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>Happy families center their lives around the teachings of Jesus Christ. However, these teachings, so simple and well-known, are often overlooked or neglected in the hectic pace of family life. To create a consistently Christ-centered home, the family proclamation counsels us to use the basic principles of “faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a></p> <p>The seventh paragraph also outlines the responsibilities of fathers and mothers within families. The proclamation shares the Lord’s expectation that fathers will preside over their families in love and righteousness, protect them, and provide for their needs. Mothers are primarily responsible for the care and nurture of children. The proclamation also declares that “in these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as <em>equal partners</em>.”<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a> This qualifying statement asks fathers and mothers to equally share the burdens of each role. A mother can and must preside, protect, and help provide for her children. A father plays an essential role in the nurture and care of his children. The Church handbook advises, “Parents work in unity to fulfill these responsibilities . . . they make decisions together in united and love, with full participation of both.”<a href="#_ftn4" id="_ftnref4" title="" class="see-footnote">[4]</a></p> <p>The words of the family proclamation avoid being too prescriptive in stating the roles of fathers and mothers. Instead, the proclamation suggests that both parents make their families the top priority of their lives. For many different reasons, mothers may work outside the home. Speaking on parental roles, Elder Quentin L. Cook taught the following:</p> <blockquote> <p>Women are confronted with many options and need to prayerfully consider the choices they make and how those choices affect the family. . . . These are very emotional, personal decisions, but there are two principles that we should always keep in mind. First, no woman should ever feel the need to apologize or feel that her contribution is less significant because she is devoting her primary efforts to raising and nurturing children. Nothing could be more significant in our Father in Heaven’s plan. Second, we should all be careful not to be judgmental or assume that sisters are less valiant if the decision is made to work outside the home. We rarely understand or fully appreciate people’s circumstances. Husbands and wives should prayerfully counsel together, understanding they are accountable to God for their decisions.<a href="#_ftn5" id="_ftnref5" title="" class="see-footnote">[5]</a></p> </blockquote> <p>The proclamation also directs fathers to “preside in righteousness.” This direction does not mean that fathers dominate or make every decision in the home. Instead, the Lord’s model of leadership is to guide others “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile” (D&C 121:41–42). Fathers are expected to view leadership with the understanding that “he that is ordained of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the greatest, notwithstanding he is the least and the servant of all” (D&C 50:26).</p> <p>The father and the mother serve as co-presiding officers within a family. As Elder L. Tom Perry taught, “Since the beginning, God has instructed mankind that marriage should unite husband and wife together in unity. Therefore, there is not a president or a vice president in a family. The couple works together eternally for the good of the family. They are united together in word, in deed, and in action as they lead, guide, and direct their family unit. They are on equal footing.”<a href="#_ftn6" id="_ftnref6" title="" class="see-footnote">[6]</a></p> <p>The final sentences of the seventh paragraph note that “disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.” The number of these circumstances is rising as the demographics of the Church change. In the April 2021 general conference, President M. Russell Ballard noted these changing demographics: “Brothers and sisters, more than half of adults in the Church today are widowed, divorced, or not yet married. Some wonder about their opportunities and place in God’s plan and in the Church. We should understand that eternal life is not simply a question of current marital status but of discipleship and being ‘valiant in the testimony of Jesus.’ The hope of all who are single is the same as for all members of the Lord’s restored Church—access to the grace of Christ through ‘obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel’” (Article of Faith 3).<a href="#_ftn7" id="_ftnref7" title="" class="see-footnote">[7]</a></p> <p>Good relationships are important not only with our immediate family but also with our extended family members, who can be a crucial source of love and support in difficult times. In addition, the Church is designed to act as an extended family to provide assistance when needed. Any member of the Church is part of this extended family that is always willing to give help.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Dallin H. Oaks, “Truth and the Plan,” October 2018 General Conference.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” ChurchofJesusChrist.org, emphasis added.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref4" id="_ftn4" title="" class="footnote-label">[4]</a> <em>General Handbook, </em>2020, 2.1.3. </p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref5" id="_ftn5" title="" class="footnote-label">[5]</a> Quentin L. Cook, “LDS Women Are Incredible!,” April 2011 General Conference.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref6" id="_ftn6" title="" class="footnote-label">[6]</a> L. Tom Perry, “Fatherhood: An Eternal Calling,” April 2004 General Conference.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref7" id="_ftn7" title="" class="footnote-label">[7]</a> M. Russell Ballard, “Hope in Christ,” April 2021 General Conference. </p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
