"THE FAMILY"

I have had the privilege of studying "THE FAMILY: A Proclamation to the World" this semester for a religion class.  We were invited to memorize it.  From past experience, I have gained great treasures of knowledge and understanding as I have memorized different passages of scripture.  I have to confess, I was not to eager to tackle this big project, I knew what it said, but oh how wrong I was.  This has been such a thrilling experience as my understanding of "The Proclamation" has deepened.  Just today, I am working on the final paragraphs and realized how each word has been so carefully chosen, or revealed.  The last paragraph is calling for "responsible" citizens and officers of government to defend the family.  The word responsible struck a chord with me.

I was minimally involved in civic affairs when I lived in Utah.  It takes courage to stand up for something, for there will always be opposition.  Even is a simple issue like having the city purchase  an old school to become a much needed community center, got me a scathing review in the "Letter to the Editor" of our local paper.  My experience has taught me, that many people that get involved are those who are not necessarily "responsible," nor do they care about the society as a whole.  They seem to care more about their own agenda.  Many well meaning people enter the political arena with a desire to make needed changes. They need our help!  It is getting more and more difficult to make legislation that supports moral values, especially the value of "families as the fundamental unit of society." (The Proclamation).   I always marvel when there is a story on the radio about the quality of education, or delinquency and they always mention studies that support the decline of the family to be to source of the problem in society, then the conversation quickly moves on the trying to fix the problem without addressing the source, even the failing families.

I guess what I am trying to say, is that we who know the importance of family, have been "called" forth to let our voices be heard.  In our studies we compared Moroni's "Title of Liberty" to "THE FAMILY: A Proclamation to the World."  That was so exciting.  Here is a link to a comparison by Cheryl Esplin, check it out!  Title of Liberty

I have added a widget to my blog, that will include talks addressing family issues that I have loved and learned so much from.  I invite you to read them.  One I just read about standing up for defending families from the forces that attach us is "Let Our Voices Be Heard" by Elder M. Russell Ballard (General Conference, October 2003)link