Families

One of the books that I read over Christmas break was Sheri Dew's "No One Can Take Your Place." An absolutely phenomenal book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was the first time I had ever read any of Dew's books. I'm convinced. She knows what she is talking about.

There were quite a few things in this book that really stood out to me. I'm working as a research assistant for some women's research for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A lot of what I read in this book was so closely connected to the research that I'm doing. So amazing. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is so critical to our happiness! Even more critical for us to understand, is that WE (men and women together) are the key to building Christ's church. Do we understand that?! Until we (men and women together) understand this, and work together as priesthood holders and members of Relief Society, the potential of His kingdom won't be fully realized.

I have included below a few paragraphs that I typed up from Dew's book. She is talking about the family here and how the family is central to God's plan and the stabilization of our society.

"Study after study has produced volumes of statistics verifying president Hinckley’s point – that strong marriages and strong homes are one of the republic’s greatest stabilizers. Voluminous amounts of data demonstrate a host of things: that those who get married and stay married are happiness, more healthy, earn more, are less likely to become addicted to something, are less prone to illness, and are less likely to live in poverty; that children who don’t live with both parents are more likely to grow up poor, have problems in school, have more health and emotional problems, and get into trouble with the law; that children from divorced homes are more likely to get divorced themselves; that children whose parents divorce are more likely to skip school, get drunk, hurt someone enough to need a doctor, steal and lie. On the other hand, data shows that teenagers whose parents worship together regularly are far less likely to engage in premarital sex.

I am neither a family researcher nor a sociologist, and don’t pretend to be. But the pile of family research available from many independent institutions seems undeniable and conclusive. Stable marriages and stable families result in stable people. And stable people create stable societies. So individuals, groups, organizations or philosophies that seek to undermine the sanctity and stability of the family as God defined it – between a man and woman, raising children in their home – ought to concern every one of us.

Nearly twenty-five years ago, President Spencer W. Kimball made a statement that was clearly prophetic: “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.”

It looks as though that time has come. For if I was Satan and wanted to thoroughly obliterate society, I would try to undermine and eventually destroy the family. And I would do it in a number of ways: I would attempt to confuse men and women about the divine nature of their distinctive roles. I would try to deceive and distract and discourage women, such that they no longer feel joy in womanhood and motherhood. I would try to frustrate the plan of salvation by doing anything possible to interrupt the divine pattern that brings children to the earth – hence today’s fascination with everything from abortion to homosexuality. I would attempt to redefine the family so that it applies essentially to any group of people who choose to define themselves as such. And on and on."

I especially like President Kimball's quotation. Man! How powerful. Only those who are deeply and actively devoted to the family will withstand Satan's thwarts against the family. We have to love our families! Communicate with them. Serve them. Pray for them. By doing so, we are strengthening our testimonies of families, so when the time comes for us to have our own families (those of us who are still single) we will be ready and will have that "deep" and "active" devotion.