The Family Proclamation is Doctrine

 

The Family Proclamation—Words from God

By Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

When presented, the proclamation did not align with the views of many in the world. Not then. Not now. There are those who take issue with the declaration on family, marriage, and gender. Some suggest the Church pull it back, revise, or even set the proclamation aside.

The proclamation on the family is, as President Hinckley stated, doctrine, my dear brothers and sisters. The principles are not out of step but perfectly in step with the ways of the Lord and His covenant path. The teachings of the proclamation were revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ to His Apostles then and now. This is His Church; He has established the truths by which we live.

Satan Discourages Childbearing

Truth and the Plan

By President Dallin H. Oaks

First Counselor in the First Presidency

[Satan] also seeks to confuse gender, to distort marriage, and to discourage childbearing—especially by parents who will raise children in truth.

The Proclamation and the World

The Plan and the Proclamation

By Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

 In our day, the differences most evident are cohabitation without marriage, same-sex marriage, and the raising of children in such relationships. Those who do not believe in or aspire to exaltation and are most persuaded by the ways of the world consider this family proclamation as just a statement of policy that should be changed. In contrast, Latter-day Saints affirm that the family proclamation defines the kind of family relationships where the most important part of our eternal development can occur....

We must try to balance the competing demands of following the gospel law in our personal lives and teachings, even as we seek to show love for all....

Just 20 years after the family proclamation, the United States Supreme Court authorized same-sex marriage, overturning thousands of years of marriage being limited to a man and a woman. The shocking percentage of United States children born to a mother not married to the father came more gradually: 5 percent in 1960,532 percent in 1995,6 and now 40 percent.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 9

This Month’s Selection

“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. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

“We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”

How to Explain This to Children

Heavenly Father knows how we treat our family. People who hurt their family members will have to answer to Him one day. Many prophets have taught that families are important. Families make neighborhoods and countries stronger. We should tell our government leaders that we care about families and ask them for help making our families as healthy and happy as they can be.

Activity Idea

Learn about who your local government leaders are. Write them a letter asking for something that would help your family or thanking them for something that already does. For example, you could thank them for a park near your home, or ask them for more family-friendly community activities. What have you learned about the family proclamation this year?

Teaching the proclamation to Children Part 8

This Month’s Selection

“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. 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. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.”

How to Explain This to Children

Heavenly Father teaches us how families can be the most happy. He says children should be born to moms and dads who are married, love each other, and teach about Jesus Christ. Faith, prayer, kindness, and having fun together can all make your family stronger. Fathers and mothers both do important things. They work together to care for their families. Even if life doesn’t go as planned, we should do the best we can to have a happy family.

Activity Idea

Explain what “wholesome recreational activities” are, and then go do something fun!

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 7

This Month’s Selection

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”

How to Explain This to Children

Moms and dads are supposed to take care of each other and their children. This is very important to Heavenly Father because He loves His children! He wants parents to teach their children to love and serve each other, keep the commandments, and obey the law.

Activity Idea

Draw these three large shapes on pieces of paper or a whiteboard: (1) an outline of a heart, (2) an outline of the commandment tablets, and (3) an outline of a stop sign. Talk about the different ways your family shows love, keeps the commandments, and obeys the law. Write or draw your answers in the matching shape. With a different color pen, write or draw goals your family could work toward in each area.

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the familyproclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 6

This Month’s Selection

“The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.”

How to Explain This to Children

Adam was the first man on earth, and Eve was the first woman on earth. They were husband and wife. God told Adam and Eve to start a family. Today, Heavenly Father still wants men and women to get married and have families.

Activity Idea

Make a family paper-doll chain. Take a piece of paper and cut it in half lengthwise. Fold one of the half pieces accordion style into four sections. Draw a figure of a person on the top layer (you can use the template below if you’d like). Cut the figure out, being careful not to cut the ends of the arms, which will connect the figures together. After you unfold the chain, write something you love about your family on each of the figures (you may need to tape together several paper chains!). You could also write words that describe the kind of family you hope to have one day.

From July 2017 Ensign

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 5

This Month’s Selection

“The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”

How to Explain This to Children

Because we know about Heavenly Father’s plan, we know we can be a family even after we die. In the temple, we make promises with Heavenly Father and learn how to be obedient. We can also be sealed as a family in the temple, which means that if we are faithful, we can live with Heavenly Father and our families forever.

Activity Idea

Hang a picture of a temple somewhere in your home—cut a picture out of the Church magazines or draw a temple if you wish. Look at the picture as a family and talk about what you can do to live together with Heavenly Father someday. If you haven’t already been sealed as a family, make a plan to get to the temple. If your family has been sealed, share your testimony of what happened on that special day, and set goals to continue making faithful choices. Visit FamilySearch.org and learn more about family members who have died. Talk about meeting them again someday. Are there any family members who need temple ordinances done?

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 4

“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

How to Explain This to Children

Before we were born on earth, we lived with Heavenly Father as His spirit daughters and His spirit sons. Heavenly Father told us He had a plan for us. In this plan we would get a body by being born on earth. We would have experiences that would help us grow. We could choose to learn and become more like our Heavenly Parents. One day we would return to Them. We loved Heavenly Father and accepted this plan.

Activity Idea

Review the plan of salvation by labeling different places in your house as different parts of the plan (for example, pre-earth life, life on earth, spirit world, eternal life). As you move from place to place, talk about why that part of the plan is important. If possible, find a picture of Jesus Christ to take with you. At each stop, talk about why Jesus is important to that part of the plan and how He can help us get to the next place successfully. Talk about why Heavenly Father’s plan is sometimes called the “plan of happiness.”

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 3

“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.”

How to Explain This to Children

Every single person on earth is an important child of Heavenly Parents. We can grow up to be like Them! Each person here on earth was created as a girl or a boy even before they were born. They are here as a girl or a boy for a reason. And after this life, they will continue to be a girl or a boy.

Activity Idea

Give each child a piece of paper and invite them to fill it with a collage of pictures and words showing what makes them unique. They could cut pictures out of magazines, draw their own, or print pictures from online. Talk about how wonderful it is that people have different talents and interests. Point to two different tools that were used to create your collages—a pair of scissors and a bottle of glue, for example. Although these tools look different and do different things, they worked together to create something beautiful. Explain that boys and girls are created to be different, but neither one is better than the other. Men and women work together to create beautiful families.

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the familyproclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 2

“We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 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 for the eternal destiny of His children.”

How to Explain This to Children

This proclamation was written to the world by the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It teaches what Heavenly Father wants us to know about families. Heavenly Father wants men and women to be married and create families because families are one of the most important parts of the plan of salvation. Families help us reach our “eternal destiny,” which is to learn and grow to become more like our Heavenly Parents.

Activity Idea

Show your children pictures of your wedding or the wedding of grandparents or other couples in your family history. Tell your children the story of how you and your spouse met, or share other stories from family and friends. Invite your children to draw pictures of what they imagine their wedding and family will be like someday. Testify of the blessings that have come into your life because of marriage.

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.

Teaching the Proclamation to Children Part 1

Read out loud the full title of the proclamation: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”

How to Explain This to Children

A “proclamation” is a very important announcement. Sometimes kings and queens make proclamations to the people in their land. This proclamation wasn’t written by a king or a queen—it was written by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles! It teaches us important things that Heavenly Father wants us to know about families. It warns us about actions that will hurt our families or our communities. It also teaches us how we can stay safe and happy in this life. These teachings are so important that we want everyone in the entire world to hear this message. President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), who was the prophet before President Monson, first read this proclamation at a general Relief Society meeting in September 1995.

Activity Idea

Imagine your family had the chance to share a message when the entire world was watching. What would you say? Create your own proclamation by writing or drawing your testimonies onto a large paper or poster board. Take turns standing on a chair and reading the statements of testimony out loud in a bold way, as if you were making an announcement. How does sharing your testimony make you feel? Why would it be important to listen to the proclamations and testimonies of the First Presidency and the Apostles?

Find other teaching tips and a copy of the family proclamation at ProclamationKids.lds.org.