All in the Family

Here in Romania, I had an opportunity to participate in a church training conducted by church public relations specialists. They were speaking to the president of our little congregation in Galati, and giving him pointers on what to say during any public inquiries about the Church. They told him that the most important message that the Church, as an organization, wishes to express is that “the Church exists to help strengthen families.”

Also, while reviewing the most recent General Conference Addresses by Elder Russell M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, one of his statements stood out to me: “All Church activities, advancements, quorums, and classes are means to the end of an exalted family.” (Russell M. Nelson, “Celestial Marriage,” General Conference Address October 2008).

Anybody even remotely familiar with Mormonism knows that the concept of the family play a very, very, very big role in our worship. In addition to being known for big families, Mormons are famous for family reunions, Family Home Evening, the Proclamation on the Family, family history, and basically anything else that has the word “family” in it. Mormon leaders have repeatedly stressed the social value of strong families, proclaiming that that families are the most fundamental and imperative societal unit.

So why the heavy focus on families? In our discussion last week, readers claimed that one of the most important influences on their views of morality came from their parents. Mormons, along with plenty of others, believe that the most important laboratory for learning life lessons is the home. We all learn from our parents and other family members growing up. In addition, our parents learn and develop significantly though experiences associated with raising children. I guess this means we can’t say that “home-schooled kids are weird” anymore, since the majority of us all learned the most in our homes.

In addition to the importance of families here on this earth, Mormons have a more long-term view of the significance of families. The Mormon temple ordinance known as “sealing” is performed both between husband and wife (Temple Sealing, or Celestial Marriage, is the highest form of marriage in Mormonism) as well as between parents and children. This creates a chain from generation to generation of children to parents and parents to children. This inter-connected ordinance is necessary to be “exalted,” which is even higher and greater than salvation, which is an individual matter.

Just to underscore even further how important the eternal perspective of families is to Mormons, I again quote from Elder Nelson’s talk: “celestial marriage brings greater possibilities for happiness than does any other relationship. The earth was created and this Church was restored so that families could be formed, sealed, and exalted eternally.”

In other words, families are the answer to life, the universe, and everything, or at least a fundamental part of understanding that answer. Families are the source of greatest joy. They have the potential to last forever. They are our source of greatest power if they are properly cultivated and developed.

So, we all have families. Some have Mormon families, some don’t. Some, like me, have a combination. Some have big families, some have small families. I now have two families, both my parents and siblings, as well as my relatively new family that current only consists of two people, my wife and I. I am interested in hearing all of your perspectives on families. Just how important is family to you? How do you make the most out of families? This week is dedicated to families, so let your voice be heard.