Oct 28 2008
Purpose of Families
Today’s topic is the purpose of families. I will be borrowing heavily from Dallin H. Oaks whose credentials are too numerous to list here, so I supplied a link to a wiki article on him. This is from a devotional given by him at BYU in 1999. I find it timely now (just as it was then, but perhaps more so now) because of our current raging political battle. One of our candidates is pro-live abortion and as such, I simply cannot vote for him.
“The purpose of mortal families is to bring children into the world, to teach them what is right, and to prepare all family members for exaltation in eternal family relationships. The gospel plan contemplates the kind of family government, discipline, solidarity, and love that serve those ultimate goals.”
We talk of God as being a kind and loving Father to us, and we are his children. It would make sense then that He would want us to experience love in a family and experience parenthood. He is the ultimate Father, one with perfect love for us. He wants us to understand what it is like to love and care for others, and the best way we can experience these is through having children. Elder Oaks mentioned a gospel plan. In my Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we believe that God has a plan for us and that we can be together in our families forever. That marriage doesn’t have to be ’til death do us part’ and that those of us who have lost children due to miscarriage, accident, or sickness, will have the opportunity to raise that child in the next life. We believe that our families are given to us that we may learn to love and care for others, and in turn be loved and cared for, that we may learn to be a little more like God and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Tomorrow I will be back writing on abortion and how Satan has blinded the eyes and senses of the world.
I find this truth to be a great comfort to me. Nothing scares me more than to think about losing my loved ones. I have to remember to have faith that the family unit can be an eternal one and that I need to, in consequence, not lose sight of the fact that if my focus is on the family and making our unit strong then the effect will trickle to the other families in our lives.
I can only pray that enough of us will stand up for families so that the world will realize that society is built on the family unit, not other way around.