Mormon Family

Mormon doctrine teaches that the family can be, and should be, forever. This gives the Mormon family a unique perspective on relationships. While one would always hope that parents would be loving to each other and to their children, and that siblings would be loving towards each other, this is sadly not always the case.

The family seems to be under attack in society as being old-fashioned and outdated. The world is telling us that parents don’t need to be married and that if things don’t work out, then it is better and easier to just give up and start over again with someone else. Mormon doctrine teaches that a marriage should be eternal when performed in the temple. When a couple is married in a Mormon temple, they are married for “time and eternity,” not just “until death do you part.” Though many people seem to believe that they will be with their spouses after they die, no other church actually teaches this doctrine, other than the Mormon Church.

Temples are so important because it is only in them that a Mormon family can be sealed together for eternity. When a couple’s marriage begins in the temple, under the sealing power of the priesthood, all children born to them are sealed to them automatically through the covenants they have already made. If a couple gets sealed after they have children, or if they adopt children later, the children can still be sealed to them, but have to be present in the temple ceremony.

With an eternal perspective, parenting and Mormon family relationships become much more important than anything else in our lives. We should nurture and strengthen each other, make sure our spiritual needs are met as well as our physical and emotional needs.

Though there are certainly Mormon families who do have problems, who do struggle with such things as abuse, abandonment, and worse, these things are always due to individuals’ choices. Mormon doctrine is very clear on how serious the sins are which tear a family apart.

Mormons believe that men and women have unique, but complementary, attributes and characteristics which are both essential for raising a family in the best possible environment (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World“). This is why mothers are encouraged to stay home with their children when possible, rather than pursue a career. Children need this love and guidance as a foundation in their lives, and mothers can give a type of love and understanding that men are incapable of. The opposite is also true, however. Men have their own contributions which no mother can give. This is why the Mormon Church is opposed to same-sex marriage.

Families are units of eternity and should be treated and protected as such. We should cherish our families and do all we can to build them up and to strengthen them.