~Kerry Shirts
August 4, 2009, Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President, addressed LDS seminary and institute of religion teachers on Teaching the Doctrine of the Family.
As parents, church leaders and teachers we are called upon to teach this most important and sacred doctrine to our families and children. As Sister Beck states, "This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don’t know it, they can’t defend it."
Sister Beck quotes President Kimball who said:
“Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us. …
“… There are those who would define the family in such a nontraditional way that they would define it out of existence. …
“We of all people, brothers and sisters, should not be taken in by the specious arguments that the family unit is somehow tied to a particular phase of development a moral society is going through. We are free to resist those moves which downplay the significance of the family and which play up the significance of selfish individualism. We know the family to be eternal.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Families Can Be Eternal,” Ensign, Nov. 1980, 4.)
It talking about the Theology of the Family, Sister Beck tells us:
"In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a theology of the family that is based on the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement. The Creation of the earth provided a place where families could live. God created a man and a woman who were the two essential halves of a family. It was part of Heavenly Father’s plan that Adam and Eve be sealed and form an eternal family.
"The Fall provided a way for the family to grow. Adam and Eve were family leaders who chose to have a mortal experience. The Fall made it possible for them to have sons and daughters.
"The Atonement allows for the family to be sealed together eternally. It allows for families to have eternal growth and perfection. The plan of happiness, also called the plan of salvation, was a plan created for families. The rising generation need to understand that the main pillars of our theology are centered in the family.
"When we speak of qualifying for the blessings of eternal life, we mean qualifying for the blessings of eternal families. This was Christ’s doctrine, and it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 2:1–3:
“Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers.
“If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.”
"This scripture is talking about temple blessings—ordinances and covenants without which “the whole earth [is] utterly wasted.”
“The Family: A Proclamation to the World” was written to reinforce that the family is central to the Creator’s plan. 1 Without the family, there is no plan; there is no reason for mortal life."
"The key elements of the doctrine of the family are found in the family proclamation. President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said that the proclamation was “a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices” that this Church has always had."
Also See:
http://www.mormon.org/learn/0,8672,1149-84,00.html
Families - Index
Here are some examples of young LDS Defenders of Marriage and Family:
What is Reel Love?
This is one of my favorites. The Ruth Institute sponsored a Challenge for videos about 3 minutes long that promote love...hence, Reel Love. The Ruth Institute had this challenge to promote marriage among our nation's college students."We also applaud the Ruth Institute for involving college-age students in an idea that is important when our culture is promoting something so different. The Ruth Institute says: "We envision a renewed culture where the majority of marriages are stable."
Mariah is Mormon and her video, of the ones I watched, was my favorite and was creative in style but what she shares about her ideal of what "real" love is speaks volumes for someone so young.
Psalms 127: 3-5 (NKJV) states:
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;
They shall not be ashamed,
But shall speak with their enemies in the gate."
LDS Defenders of the Family:
On Being a Mother
"I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." (Amplified Bible: “every family in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 3: 14-15)
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