Intro–The Family
Photo by Steve Polyak
The Family: A Proclamation to the World declares that the family is “the fundamental unit of society.” It also urges us “to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen” it as such. This call to action brings up two common questions: 1) Why is the family the fundamental unit of society? and 2) Which measures can I promote to help maintain and strengthen it?
In conversations with Latter-day Saint friends, I’ve discovered that most of them believe that the traditional family — one man, one woman, and children — should be the fundamental unit of society, but many of them find it difficult to explain why. Their opinion is often based solely on Church doctrine or official statements from the Church.
Without a doubt, following the Prophet is the right thing to do, even if a person doesn’t completely understand why the Prophet says what he says. But it is also important to try to understand his counsel and teachings the best we can and to learn to explain our beliefs to others.
Often, people feel in their hearts that something is right but have a hard time supporting their feelings with rational arguments, which is often the case with defending the family. At times, we simply may not be able to explain some beliefs using rational thought or logic — not because they aren’t true but because they are spiritual in nature and thus can only be discerned through the Spirit. This is not the case, however, with understanding the importance of the family. There is both a spiritual and a rational basis for promoting the family as the fundamental unit of society.
For this reason, I’m going to publish a series of posts that present rational arguments for why the family is, and should continue to be, the fundamental unit of society. If you find yourself among those Latter-day Saints who believe in the importance of promoting the family but also want to square your thoughts with your heart on this issue and share your beliefs with others, then I hope the arguments I present will help you do so.
Please contribute your ideas to the discussion to help make it as meaningful as possible for all who participate. I’ll publish Part 1 sometime this weekend.
What do you think?
Related posts:
Part 1-The Family: How to Define It
Part 2-The Family: The Fundamental Unit
