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I was raised in Utah and was, apparently, very sheltered. In my tiny, mostly Mormon bubble, I
don’t remember anyone who had parents that were divorced. By the time I
went to high school we had moved to Illinois I was not quite so sheltered. Even
so, I can’t think of any of my close friends who had divorced parents.
Living in a college town for the first 12 years of our
marriage, I observed a lot of the trends that are becoming more common place. A
lot of cohabitation and having children out of wedlock. People who thought that they should "try out" marriage before actually committing to the act. There were also the people who were either
putting off marriage in the pursuit of something “better” or rushing
into marriage without taking the time to really know one another, increasing
their odds of divorce.
What we see from these trends is a negative effect on children. According to research in The State of our Unions (2012), "among women under 30, more than half of births--53 percent--now occur outside of marriage." (p. 2) That means more than half of children born each year are born without the benefit of a mother and father who are committed enough to enter into a marriage relationship.
President Spencer W. Kimball (1980) said, "The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to reserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us." We all need to make sure that our children are acquainted with the importance of the family. They need to know God's truths about the family, and we are the ones who need to teach them. I want my children to know that the family is central to our Heavenly Father’s plan. I want them to know the Family Proclamation and how it does apply to them. I want them to have a testimony of that proclamation and I want them to have a desire to start their own eternal families.
We all need to remember that families are the foundation of our society. Families are how our Heavenly Father wants us to live and to serve. If we make sure we are being humble and serving one another, it will be much easier to live as families and avoid the pitfalls that we are faced with.
References
Kimball, S.W. (1980). Families can be eternal. Ensign, 4.
The National Marriage Project. (2012). The State of our Unions: Marriage in America.
What we see from these trends is a negative effect on children. According to research in The State of our Unions (2012), "among women under 30, more than half of births--53 percent--now occur outside of marriage." (p. 2) That means more than half of children born each year are born without the benefit of a mother and father who are committed enough to enter into a marriage relationship.
President Spencer W. Kimball (1980) said, "The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to reserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us." We all need to make sure that our children are acquainted with the importance of the family. They need to know God's truths about the family, and we are the ones who need to teach them. I want my children to know that the family is central to our Heavenly Father’s plan. I want them to know the Family Proclamation and how it does apply to them. I want them to have a testimony of that proclamation and I want them to have a desire to start their own eternal families.
We all need to remember that families are the foundation of our society. Families are how our Heavenly Father wants us to live and to serve. If we make sure we are being humble and serving one another, it will be much easier to live as families and avoid the pitfalls that we are faced with.
References
Kimball, S.W. (1980). Families can be eternal. Ensign, 4.
The National Marriage Project. (2012). The State of our Unions: Marriage in America.
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