L'importance de la Famille

     I come from a family background of an estranged sibling and separated parents.  With that in mind, I thought to myself a lot: "Is this normal?  It seems like everyone I know has parents that are divorced or missing."  I went about life thinking that it was a norm to have a single parent and I thought it was a commonplace to discuss child custody-- but it's not.  It never was supposed to be.  In this day and age, the family unit is constantly under attack-- one of our church leaders, Boyd K. Packer, summed it up like a snake creeping into the nest of a lark. 

     Insidiously ingraining our minds, Satan tempts and tricks us to believe that the family unit is unnecessary to live a happy life; divorce is normal.  Illegitimate kids are results of a fun lifestyle.  However, the family-- that means mom, dad, brothers, and/or sisters all together-- is ordained of God.  There's a reason why Adam had Eve with him.  There's a reason why they begat children who started the human race (figuratively or literally, whichever way you want to believe).

     Idealistically-- this is how I think.  I believe in a mom, dad, a brother, and a sister.  Unfortunately, life doesn't turn out how you want it to.  However, with so much of the challenges in life, your family is a bastion of hope that you should be able to return to to find comfort and solace.  The dad is supposed to win the bread so that the mom can care for the kids.  Both responsibilities are tough as it is.  Doing so, there is placed an equality among the roles of the family members so that they may live in harmony.  Why is family so important?  Our family = us.

     Let's look at life like this: if a teenager storms into the place of his dwelling with not a mom in sight and a dad at work and his siblings too young to talk to, where is he going to turn?  He's going to find another father figure or a mother figure.  By doing so, family relationships become alienated and he may turn to other things for solace-- the smile of the blade, the influence of the girlfriend, the aroma of the substance-- bad things.  A family can prevent one from turning to such things that may eventually ruin one's life!

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities (The Family: A Proclamation to the World par 7).

     I believe in a better future for us.  I believe that we as a generation can restore the family as it was intended to be.  We can lead happier, fuller lives that way.  Centered on the teachings of Jesus, it can bring a sense of calmness and reassurance in an uncertain time.  I can't tell you exactly how you can raise kids and get hitched, but I know that in due season, you will feel the blessings of it.  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.