The Family:A Proclamation to the World

The Family: A Proclamation to the World,  788943600000

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

© 1995, 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
English approval: 5/08. 35602

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. We further 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.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

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.

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.

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.

God is literally the Father of our spirits, and we lived with Him as His spirit children in a premortal existence before we were born on this earth.

Your life did not begin at birth, nor will it end at death.  You have a spirit body (sometimes called the soul) and a physical body.  Heavenly Father created your spirit, and you lived with Him as a spirit before you received your physical body and were born on earth.  This period is called pre-earth life or premortal life.

Throughout your pre-earth life, you were taught the principles and commandments that would lead to happiness, with freedom to choose to grow in intelligence and love of the truth, or not.  During this pre-earth life, Jesus Christ, then known as Jehovah was chosen as the Savior and you learned that, through Him, you would be able to overcome the effects of any wrong choices.

God’s purpose—His work and His glory—is to bring to pass the immortality (resurrection) and eternal life (life with God) of His children.  He desires every one of His children to find peace in this life and a fulness of joy in His presence after this life.  Heavenly Father knew that you could only progress to a certain point without the experience of mortality.  In order to become more like Him, you would need to:

• Receive a physical body.

Thus, God our Father is the creator of our spirits, and we are created in His likeness physically.

• Gain experience from overcoming trials and temptations.
• Learn to walk by faith.
• Learn to choose between good and evil.

Thus, your Heavenly Father instituted His plan to help you reach your divine potential.  

Such questions as “What is the purpose of life?” or “Why am I here?” can be answered by understanding God’s plan for the happiness of His children.

In the scriptures God's plan is called the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption, the plan of happiness. The plan is centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  Throughout time, people have often pondered questions such as “Where did I come from?” “What is my purpose in life?”  and “Where will I go after this life?”  God has a plan for the happiness of His children: the plan of salvation?, which is centered on the Atonement? of Jesus Christ.  As you follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, you will find answers to these questions, gain lasting inner peace in this life, and earn eternal joy after death.

Before you began your life on Earth, you lived with your Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children.  Although it was a joyful existence, God knew that you could not continue to progress unless you left Him for a time.

He allowed you to come to Earth, where you would gain a physical body and would have experiences that would help you to learn and grow, fulfilling the purpose of the plan of salvation: to help you become more like your Heavenly Father. 

According to the plan, you could not continue to progress continually without the opportunity to enter mortality and receive a physical body. Here on earth you would have experiences that would help you learn and grow, and you would be proven to see if [you would] do all things whatsoever the Lord would command ( Abraham 3:25). The purpose of the plan is to help you become more like your Heavenly Father.  The fact that you are living on Earth means that you accepted Heavenly Father’s plan and came here wanting to do all you could to receive all He has to offer. 

Knowing that we would commit sin in mortality, your loving Heavenly Father provided a Savior, Jesus Christ, who by His sacrifice would make it possible for all people who would comply with His gospel teachings to be forgiven through repentance and return to live with Him.  Having a divine nature as a child of God, you can with the assistance and power of Christ, progress to become one day even as He is.

Understanding this eternal perspective can help you find happiness in your life, even amid trials and challenges.  As a child of a loving Heavenly Father, you can view your struggles as stepping-stones bringing you closer to Him.  As you ask for help and strength in earnest prayer, you can have the assurance that you are not alone.  God loves you and will help you as you turn to Him.

God has blessed us with gifts to help us navigate our lives.  One of the most precious gifts He has given everyone is the ability and power to make choices.  Your Heavenly Father respects your freedom to choose and will never force you to choose what is right, nor will He stop you from being able to make poor choices.  He will however, invite and endeavor to entice you ‘to do good continually’( Moroni 7:13).

He knows that whatever your choice, you are also choosing a consequence.  Consequences may appear immediately or may come much later. But choosing good eventually leads to happiness, and wrong choices eventually lead to unhappiness.  Heavenly Father allows you to make choices and experience their consequences so you may learn the difference between good and evil.  In learning to choose good, you are creating a pattern that will help you become more like your Heavenly Father.

God is our Heavenly Father and we are His children.  He loves us and wants us to be successful in this life and to return to live in His presence.

God is your Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9).  We call God Heavenly Father because He is the Father of our spirits and we are created in His image ( Genesis 1:27).

God has a body that looks like yours, though His body is immortal, perfected, and has a glory beyond description.  He knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend.  To help you find happiness in this life and guide you to return to live with Him, Heavenly Father provided a plan called the gospel? of Jesus Christ, a guide based on the life and teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ.

From the beginning, Heavenly Father has called prophets? to testify, record His word, and provide His plan for His children on the earth.  The teachings of prophets are found in sacred? books called scriptures? ( Amos 3:7). 

Your Heavenly Father knows you and loves you and wants to help you return to Him.  Your life on Earth is part of His plan for you to gain a body, learn, grow, and find joy.  Sometimes life is hard, lonely, or frightening, but your Heavenly Father is always there.  He sorrows when you suffer and rejoices when you do what is right.  He wants to communicate with you as you sincerely pray to Him, and He stands ready to give you comfort, peace, and guidance in your life.

Jesus Christ taught that you must know the only true God to have eternal life ( John 17:3).  As His child, you must know who He is and what He is like to find greater peace and joy, both in this life and in the life to come.