Defending the Family

Making a Home Happy

In the August 2015 issue of National Geographic there was a quote from Pope Francis:


In tandem with the Pope’s statement, there is another statement by then Elder Spencer W. Kimball that has been a constant reminder of my own fallibility and the necessity of ever increasing my efforts to be that “good man” Elder Kimball speaks of.


This past Thursday, September 25, 2015, Elder D. Todd Christofferson’s, attented the eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, a triennial gathering organized by the Roman Catholic Church. In a breakout session, Elder Christofferson shared the following three-minute video.


Posted September 26, 2015

Marriage

Marriage is more than your love for each other. … In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom. In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, an office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man. … So love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God.


Posted August 25th, 2015

Dehumanization

In 1932, Adolf Hitler began down a road that led to the death of millions of people.  He started with the mentally ill.  Soon his cleansing efforts would include the gay communities, the Roma people (called Gypsies at the time), the Jewish people, the Jehovah Witness community, and more.  I would specifically like to write about the Jewish people, because their history is most familiar to me.  With them, the process of dehumanization began with a simple requirment; wearing a yellow Star of David.  This is how all dehumanization begins.  The Jews were soon moved from their homes to ghettos.  Before they had been required to wear the Star of David, you would have been hard pressed to identify them out of the general population.  Once they were moved to ghettos, they were obviously different; they lived in a different area than the "normal" people.  Moving them to concentration camps alone would have been another step in identifying them as being "different", but shaving their heads, in particular, especially for the women, made them look very different.  The addition of a uniform didn't help.  Once they were in the extermination camps, they really didn't look "human"; they didn't look like the people the Germans lived next to.  It was easy to see them as filthy, monstrous creatures.  This is the process of dehumanization.  Once the Jews, gays, Romas and Jehovah Witnesses were no longer "human", they were easy to liquidate.  

The same process of dehumanization occurs today.  Pornography is the most agredious in this regard, but it is not the only offender.  If one is not careful, women, children, the poor, the gay community and any number of people that are "different", can be targets.  DEHUMANIZATION IS WRONG.  ANY BEHAVIOR THAT LEADS YOU TO DEHUMANIZE ANOTHER, IS WRONG.  

Posted August 16th, 2015

Comments on "The Family:  A Proclamation to the World"

You may view/download a copy of the Proclamation here

The Proclamation starts out, “We… solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan…”  This is straight out of Genesis.  “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1)”.   “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Genesis 1:27)”.   “God blessed them, and… said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28)”.   “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:  and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:24)”.   “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living (Genesis 3:20)”.  

The second paragraph reads, “All human beings – male and female – are created in the image of God… Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity…”  As for gender, if you have an X chromosome, you’re a female, if you have a Y chromosome, you’re a male.  This is basic genetics. 

The fourth paragraph reads, “We… declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.”  Procreation requires both a man and a woman.  Throughout recorded history, marriage has long been the standing requirement for men and women who wish to procreate.  It benefits society to know to whom a child belongs. 

In the seventh paragraph it reads, “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.”  My wife has always wanted to stay home and raise our family.  Fiscally, we have never been able to do this.  As a result, both of us provide for the nurture of our children, and both of us work. 

The eighth paragraph is very succinct in its condemnation of those who do not take their responsibilities as parents seriously.  It reads, “We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.”  Additionally, we have criminal codes that can protect those who are in abusive situations.  Divorce, in such situations, is not something to look down upon.  It allows children and spouses to be freed from circumstances that no spouse nor child should be subject to. 

Remarriage, when possible, is preferable to raising a family as a single parent.  Creating a blended family is difficult, but worth it.  As stated in the seventh paragraph, “Children are entitled to… be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

Posted August 12th, 2015, modified September 14th, 2015