In the October 1995 general conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley introduced “The Family: a Proclamation to the World,” which he described as “a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history.” After reading the proclamation, President Hinckley said:
We commend to all a careful, thoughtful, and prayerful reading of this proclamation. The strength of any nation is rooted within the walls of its homes. We urge our people everywhere to strengthen their families in conformity with these time-honored values.
“Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World,” General Conference, October 1995
It’s easy to focus on the global declarations and warnings in the document, including the affirmation that heterosexual marriage is ordained of God and that gender is an essential element of our identity. But as I have pondered the proclamation recently, I have paid more attention to the practical guidance it gives to help me strengthen my own family relationships.
The Book of Mormon begins with the troubled family of Lehi and Sariah and ends with a father and a son: Mormon and Moroni. Many of the sermons in the book are delivered not to large congregations but to immediate family members, sometimes with an audience of one. The Book of Mormon provides guidance about how to be an effective parent, about what parents should teach their children, and about healing broken relationships. Many of the principles about family taught in the Book of Mormon are echoed in the Family Proclamation.
Here are some lessons I have learned from the Proclamation, with related blog posts:
- Marriage is intended to be permanent and durable, a complete union of two people, not a temporary or tentative arrangement (paragraph 1): “Marriage Is Ordained of God”.
- Before we were born, we made important decisions about whether to follow our Heavenly Parents and accept their plan for our progression (paragraphs 2-3): Premortal Life.
- Parents are responsible not only for the physical well-being of their children but also for their emotional and spiritual well-being (paragraph 6): Maintenance.
- Parents need to build a home environment that is conducive to growth, and they need to provide feedback and guidance to their children (paragraph 6): The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord – Enos 1:1.
- Women have capabilities and perspectives which men cannot replicate and which are essential to the accomplishment of God’s purposes (paragraph 7): Daughters of Christ.
- A home without forgiveness, repentance, respect, and compassion can be a lonely place, even if it is full of people (paragraph 7): The Places of Your Dwellings Shall Become Desolate – 3 Nephi 9:6-7.
- We ought to dedicate our best efforts to our most important relationships (paragraph 8): “Especial Care”.
Blog Posts: December 14-19
Preside
After Alma organized the church at the waters of Mormon, he and his people fled for their lives from the armies of King Noah. Arriving in a new land, which they called the land of Helam, they began to organize themselves as an independent community. After warning his people to be careful whom they chose…
The Sanctity of Life
A disciple of Jesus Christ has a reverence and respect for living things. “Thou shalt not kill,” God commanded on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17, Mosiah 13:21). And Jesus extended that commandment to less violent offenses: don’t get angry; don’t say unkind things. (See Matthew 5:21, 3 Nephi 12:21.) When we recognize that all…
An Heritage of the Lord
In a psalm apparently written by David for his son Solomon, we read that we need God’s help to achieve meaningful goals: Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. Psalm 127:1 David goes on to say that this perspective can help us avoid burning ourselves out,…
Nurture
The word “nurture” appears twice in the scriptures: once in the New Testament and once in the Book of Mormon. The apostle Paul wrote: Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 And the prophet Enos used the same phrase to describe his own upbringing: Behold,…
The Image of God
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27 How much are we like God? We see daily evidence of how far we—and the people around us—fall short of perfection. So how can we think we have anything in common with a perfect Being?…
Happiness
When Nephi and his people found it necessary to leave their first home on the American continent, they worked hard to establish a new city of peace and security. Nephi lists the activities that kept them busy: Planting crops and caring for livestock (2 Nephi 5:11) Forging weapons to defend themselves (2 Nephi 5:14) Constructing…
Thanks Paul. I was listening to a podcast and one of the commentators had a couple good insights on the first two paragraphs.
“The family is central to the Creator’s plan” could mean many things. Of course, it can refer to our nuclear families. It can also mean that His family, of which we are a part, is at the center of His plan. Using that “center” thought, it could also mean that although the family is at the very center…there’s still many layers outside of the nuclear family that are good and useful to Him (like a Gobstopper has many layers, there are many different layers / forms of family outside of the center) and His purposes.
We are “beloved” by our heavenly parents. What more important truth is there is the world than our divine nature and destiny?! The YM theme begins, “I am a beloved son of God” and the YW theme begins, “I am a beloved daughter of heavenly parents, with a divine nature and eternal destiny.” If the whole world knew this truth, how gloriously different would our world and relationships be!
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Thanks for the comment. I agree that a foundational principle in the Family Proclamation is that our Heavenly Parents love us. We are Their family, and we would be wise to emulate their focus on and concern for their children.