The Family: A Proclamation to the World
“The Family is Central to the Creator's Plan”
December 15 - December 21
scripture
quotes
Our Theology Centers on Family
<p>“The theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints centers on the family. Our relationship to God and the purpose of earth life are explained in terms of the family. We are the spirit children of heavenly parents. The gospel plan is implemented through earthly families, and our highest aspiration is to perpetuate those family relationships throughout eternity. The ultimate mission of our Savior’s Church is to help us achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and that can only be accomplished in a family relationship. No wonder our Church is known as a family-centered church. No wonder we are distressed at the current legal and cultural deteriorations in the position of marriage and childbearing. At a time when the world seems to be losing its understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of childbearing, it is vital that Latter-day Saints have no confusion about these matters.”</p>
Dallin H. Oaks, “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church,” October 2005 General Conference
Equal Partners and Righteous Priesthood
<p>“The family proclamation gives this beautiful explanation of the relationship between a husband and a wife: While they have separate responsibilities, ‘in these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.’ President Spencer W. Kimball said this: ‘When we speak of marriage as a partnership, let us speak of marriage as a full partnership. We do not want our LDS women to be silent partners or limited partners in that eternal assignment! Please be a contributing and full partner.’ President Kimball also declared, ‘We have heard of men who have said to their wives, “I hold the priesthood and you’ve got to do what I say.”’ He decisively rejected that abuse of priesthood authority in a marriage, declaring that such a man ‘should not be honored in his priesthood.’ There are cultures or traditions in some parts of the world that allow men to oppress women, but those abuses must not be carried into the families of the Church of Jesus Christ. Remember how Jesus taught: ‘Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, … but I say unto you …’ For example, the Savior contradicted the prevailing culture in His considerate treatment of women. Our guide must be the gospel culture He taught. If men desire the Lord’s blessings in their family leadership, they must exercise their priesthood authority according to the Lord’s principles for its use: ‘No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge.’ When priesthood authority is exercised in that way in the patriarchal family, we achieve the ‘full partnership’ President Kimball taught.”</p>
Dallin H. Oaks, “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church,” October 2005 General Conference
commentaries
Family Proclamation Paragraph 8
<p>The eighth paragraph of the family proclamation includes a direct warning to those who “violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities.” These violations of God’s law destroy individuals, harm families, and can even destabilize whole societies. Elder Dale G. Renlund warned against those who flagrantly violate the laws of God, particularly the law of chastity:</p> <p>No accountability for any choice sounds like the ultimate freedom. If we can avoid most worldly consequences by being discreet and careful, what is the harm? Against this backdrop, the law of chastity seems old-fashioned, prudish, or unnecessary . . . God’s laws are not negotiable. He allows us to disregard them, but we are not free to create our own rules for the eternities any more than a person is free to create his or her personalized laws for physics. God wants us to be a qualified heir in His kingdom. To expect His heavenly inheritance while following a different course than He has outlined is naïve. . . . We are free to choose our own course in life, but we are not free to choose the outcome that comes from following our own rules, no matter how many times someone says we can. Heavenly Father is not to blame when we do not receive blessings connected to the law of chastity because of disobedience.<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a></p> <p>The Church also directly condemns physical, sexual, emotional, or any other forms of abuse. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “A husband who would never dream of striking his wife physically can break, if not her bones, then certainly her heart by the brutality of thoughtless or unkind speech. Physical abuse is uniformly and unequivocally condemned in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If it is possible to be more condemning than that, we speak even more vigorously against all forms of sexual abuse. Today, I speak against verbal and emotional abuse of anyone against anyone.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a></p> <p>Abuse can bring about the “calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets,” and these calamities come in many forms. When the word <em>calamity</em> is invoked, we often think of earthquakes, fires, tsunamis, and other natural disasters. But the dissolution of a family, the abuse of a child, or the shattering of a home can also be tremendous calamities. If enough families crumble, the societies they live in will crumble as well. The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the latter days was intended to save as many people from calamity as possible. The Savior declared, “Wherefore, I the Lord, knowing the <em>calamity</em> which should come upon the inhabitants of the earth, called upon my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., and spake unto him from heaven, and gave him commandments” (D&C 1:17, emphasis added). According to this statement by the Lord, keeping the commandments can help us avoid calamity.</p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Dale G. Renlund, “The Divine Purpose of Sexual Intimacy,” <em>Ensign, </em>August 2020.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Tongue of Angels,” April 2007 General Conference.</p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
Family Proclamation Paragraph 9
<p>The family proclamation ends with a call to action. We are sometimes led to believe that the circumstances surrounding the disintegration of the family are beyond our control. However, though we may not be able to solve every problem, we can make a difference. We can help save our own families by teaching the gospel in our homes and by living it in our lives. We can be responsible citizens in the nations we live in by supporting leaders and laws that help and strengthen families. We can advocate for truth even when it is unpopular among the worldly. We can seek allies from women and men of goodwill and unite with them to defend and promote the family.</p> <p>There are many challenges facing the disciples of Jesus Christ and their families, and it may grow more difficult to speak out on moral issues, but we have a covenant obligation to defend the truth. President Russell M. Nelson taught, “The day is gone when you can be a quiet and comfortable Christian.”<a href="#_ftn1" id="_ftnref1" title="" class="see-footnote">[1]</a> Latter-day Saints can have hope that through the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can find peace in this life and hope for the next life. President Howard W. Hunter offered this assurance and warning: “If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and His restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. . . . If our lives are not centered on the Savior and His teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right.”<a href="#_ftn2" id="_ftnref2" title="" class="see-footnote">[2]</a></p> <p>Two years after the family proclamation was given, Gordon B. Hinckley shared a prophecy in general conference. He said, “I see a wonderful future in a very uncertain world. If we will cling to our values, if we will build on our inheritance, if we will walk in obedience before the Lord, if we will simply live the gospel we will be blessed in a magnificent and wonderful way. We will be looked upon as a peculiar people who have found the key to a peculiar happiness.”<a href="#_ftn3" id="_ftnref3" title="" class="see-footnote">[3]</a></p> <div class="footnotes"> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref1" id="_ftn1" title="" class="footnote-label">[1]</a> Russell M. Nelson, “Disciples and the Defense of Marriage,” <em>Ensign, </em>August 2015.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref2" id="_ftn2" title="" class="footnote-label">[2]</a> Howard W. Hunter, “Fear Not, Little Flock,” Brigham Young University devotional, March 14, 1989, 2, speeches.byu.edu.</p> <p class="footnote"><a href="#_ftnref3" id="_ftn3" title="" class="footnote-label">[3]</a> Gordon B. Hinckley, “Look to the Future,” October 1997 General Conference.</p> </div>
Doctrine and Covenants Minute by Casey Paul Griffiths
