The Family

1
The Family

• A Proclamation to the World

2
President Kimball

• If we live in such a way that the considerations
  of eternity press upon us, we will make better
  decisions.
• (Ensign, Jan 1977, p.3)

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Where are you?
4
Question

• Much of how we view the world is shaped by the
  experiences we had at home formed by the family
  we grew up around.
• What lessons did you learn from your family?

5
Question
The Family
6
Attacks on the family

• Since eternal life may only be achieved through
  celestial marriage, Satan does all within his
  power to forbid men and women to marry. Celibacy,
  living together out of wedlock, homosexuality,
  adultery, abortion, and birth control are but a
  few of the many methods employed to pervert men's
  minds and prevent the creation and continuance of
  this holy union.
• In the words of President Harold B. Lee, 'Satan's
  greatest threat today is to destroy the family,
  and to make mockery of the law of chastity and
  the sanctity of the marriage covenant.' (Church
  News)

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Proclamations to the World

• Witnesses to the Book of Mormon (1829)
• Twelve Apostles (1845)
• Manifesto on Plural Marriage (1890, 1908)
• Revelation on the Priesthood (1978)
• Proclamation on the Family (1995)

8
Proclamation on the Family

• WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the
  Council of the Twelve Apostles, of The
  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
  solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and
  a woman is ordained of God and that the family is
  central to the Creators plan for the eternal
  destiny of His children
• ALL HUMAN BEINGS-male and female-are created in
  the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or
  daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each
  has a divine nature and destiny.

9
Proclamation on the Family

• IN THE PREMORTAL REALM, spirit sons and
  daughters knew and worshiped God as their
  Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His
  children could obtain a physical body and gain
  earthly experience to progress toward perfection
  and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny
  as an heir of eternal life.
• The divine plan of happiness enables family
  relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.
  Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy
  temples make it possible for individuals to
  return to the presence of God and for families to
  be united eternally.

10
Proclamation on the Family

• THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to
  Adam and Eve pertained to their
  potential for parenthood as husband and
  wife.
• We declare that Gods commandment for His
  children to multiply and replenish the earth
  remains in force. We further declare that God has
  commanded that the sacred powers of procreation
  are to be employed only between man and woman,
  lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

11
Richard G. Wilkins

• United Nations

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Proclamation on the Family

• Successful marriages and families are
  established and maintained on principles of
  faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect,
  love, compassion, work, and wholesome
  recreational activities.

13
President Kimball

• One day in the temple in Salt Lake City, as I
  walked down the long hall preparing to go into
  one of the rooms to perform a marriage for a
  young couple, a woman followed me . . . and with
  great agitation she said, Elder Kimball, do you
  remember me?
• Her eyes were searching and her ears were seeking
  to hear if I remembered her. I was abashed. For
  the life of me I could not make the connection. I
  was much embarrassed. I finally said, I am
  sorry, but I cannot remember you.
• Instead of disappointment, there was great joy
  that came to her face. She was relieved. She
  said, Oh, I am so grateful you cant remember
  me. With my husband I spent all night with you
  one time, while you were trying to change our
  lives. We had committed sin, and we were
  struggling to get rid of it. You labored all
  night to help me to clear it. We have repented,
  and we have changed our lives totally. I am glad
  you dont remember me, because if you, one of the
  apostles, cannot remember me, maybe the Savior
  cannot remember my sins (Teachings of
  Spencer W. Kimball, 108).

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Proclamation on the Family

• Successful marriages and families are
  established and maintained on principles of
  faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect,
  love, compassion, work, and wholesome
  recreational activities.
• By divine design, fathers are to preside over
  their families in love and righteousness and are
  responsible to provide the necessities of life
  and protection for their families.
• Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture
  of their children. In these sacred
  responsibilities, fathers and mothers are
  obligated to help one another as equal partners.

15
President Kimball

• Our roles and assignments differ. These are
  eternal differenceswith women being given many
  tremendous responsibilities of motherhood and
  sisterhood and men being given the tremendous
  responsibilities of fatherhood and the
  priesthoodbut the man is not without the woman
  nor the woman without the man in the Lord (see
  1 Cor.1111).
• 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 (Privileges and Responsibilities of
  Sisters, Ensign, Nov. 1978, 106).

16
President Kimball

• I see my own companion of fifty-two
  years. Is her contribution less
  acceptable before the Lord than is
  mine? I am satisfied it is
  not.
• She has walked quietly at my side, sustained me
  in my responsibilities, reared and blessed our
  children, served in many capacities in the
  Church, and spread an unmitigated measure of
  cheer and goodness wherever she has gone.
• The older I grow the more I appreciateyes, the
  more I lovethis little woman with whom I knelt
  at the altar in the house of the Lord more than
  half a century ago (Rise to the Stature of the
  Divine within You, Ensign, Nov. 1989, 97).

17
Elder Eyring

• For some of us, the test in that
  schoolroom of mortality will be to want
  marriage and children in this life, with all our
  hearts, but to have it delayed or denied. Even
  such a sorrow can be turned to blessing by a just
  and loving Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.
• No one who strives with full faith and heart for
  the blessings of eternal life will be denied. And
  how great will be the joy and how much deeper the
  appreciation then after enduring in patience and
  faith now.