1. The Family: A Proclamation to the World

2. THE FAMILY: FACTS ABOUT SOCIETY 1.The marriage rate in the United States has fallen to an all-time low: 6.8 marriages per 1000 people. 2.Today, an all-time low 44.2 percent of Americans in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket are married. 3.51 percent of all adults in the United States are currently married. In 1960, 72 percent of all adults in the United States were married. 4.100 years ago, 4.52 were living in the average U.S. household, but now the average U.S. household only consists of 2.59 people. 5.The United States has the highest percentage of one person households on the entire planet. 6.In the United States today, more than half of all couples "move in together" before they get married. 7.For women under the age of 30 in the United States, more than half of all babies are being born out of wedlock. 8.In 1970, the average woman had her first child when she was 21.4 years old. Now the average woman has her first child when she is 25.6 years old 9.The United States has the highest divorce rate in the world. 10.Approximately one out of every three children in the United States lives in a home without a father.

3. THE FAMILY: FACTS ABOUT SOCIETY 11.Approximately 42 percent of all single mothers in the United States use food stamps. 12.Approximately 50 percent of all U.S. children will be on food stamps at some point before they reach the age of 18. 13.The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world, more than twice as high as Canada, more than three times as high as France and more than seven times as high as Japan. 14.In the United States today, approximately 47 percent of all high school students have had sex. 15.One out of every four teen girls in the United States has at least one sexually transmitted disease. 16.The average young American will spend 10,000 hours playing video games before the age of 21. 17.The United States actually has the highest child abuse death rate in the developed world. 18.It is estimated that one out of every four girls will be sexually abused before they become adults.

4. THE FAMILY PROCLAMATION Part 1

5. THE FAMILY: A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days 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.”

6. Intelligence Spirit World Veil Earth Life Paradise Spirit Prison RESSURECTIONRESSURECTION Celestial Terrestrial Telestial No Glory 6 How is the family central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children? JUDGEMENTJUDGEMENT The Great Plan of Happiness

7. THE PROCLAMATION 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.

8. ETERNAL IDENTITIES “The distinction between male and female is no condition peculiar to the relatively brief period of mortal life; it was an essential characteristic of our pre-existent condition” (Elder Dallin H. Oaks, “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993; emphasis added.) What modern day issues does this doctrine help clarify?

9. HELP MEET – MEANING? Note the descriptive title the Lord uses to introduce Adam to Eve – help meet – in Moses 3:18, 20. The Hebrew words [ ] for ‘help meet’ are ‘ezer kenegdo and means  = power equal, and suited to  = equivalent opposite, or complimentary עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ

10. EQUAL WITH HIM Woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be loved. (Matthew Henry in Thomas S. Monson, Favorite Quotations from the Collection of Thomas S. Monson, 33.)

11. MEN, WOMEN, & THE PRIESTHOOD “The priesthood is God’s power. It is His power to create, to bless, to lead, to serve as He does. “The priesthood duty of every righteous man is to qualify to hold the priesthood so he can bless his family, while the priesthood duty of sisters is to create life, nurture God’s children, and prepare them to make covenants with the Lord. “Don’t confuse the power of the priesthood with the keys and offices of the priesthood. The power is limitless and is shared with those who make and keep covenants. Too much is said and misunderstood about what brothers have and sister’s don’t. This is Satan’s way of confusing men and women so that neither understands what they really have.”

12. MEN, WOMEN, & THE PRIESTHOOD, CONT. “Our responsibility is to make sure that our homes are blessed with priesthood power, as the Primary song says, “every hour” (Children’s Songbook, 190). It isn’t just when Dad is there. It isn’t just when Mom is there. It isn’t just when a priesthood ordination or blessing is being performed. It’s every hour as covenants are made and kept…. “I’m just beginning to have a glimpse of what the Lord has in mind for His daughters. The vision that comes to me sometimes is so glorious and staggering and humbling and thrilling that it is difficult to contemplate. It’s part of the vision of Daniel and the stone rolling forward to bless the whole earth (see Daniel 2:34–35). The Lord expects and requires His daughters to be involved.” Sister Julie B. Beck, “Sister Beck Shares Lessons from Relief Society History,” Church News and Events, 4 May 2011.

13. DO YOU LIVE IN A HOME THAT IS BLESSED BY PRIESTHOOD POWER?

14. PROCLAMATION – DIVINE NATURE Divine Nature Find one attribute from the following passages about divine nature: 2 Peter 1: 4-7 D&C 121: 41-46 4 Nephi 1: 2-3, 13, 15-16 Mosiah 3:19 vs. the Natural Man Find one attribute from the following passages about the natural man: Moses 5:13; 6:15 Romans 1:29-31 2 Nephi 28:19-22 Mosiah 3:19 Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny…

15. GENDER Part 2

16. TRUE MANHOOD DEFINED “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.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World).

17. TRUE WOMANHOOD DEFINED A woman not of our faith once wrote something to the effect that in her years of working with beautiful women she had seen several things they all had in common, and not one of them had anything to do with sizes and shapes. She said the loveliest women she had known had a glow of health, a warm personality, a love of learning, stability of character, and integrity. If we may add the sweet and gentle Spirit of the Lord carried by such a woman, then this describes the loveliness of women in any age or time, every element of which is emphasized in and attainable through the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “To the Young Women,” General Conference, Oct. 2005.

18. SAME-GENDER & THE CHURCH We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God. We believe that marriage may be eternal through exercise of the power of the everlasting priesthood in the house of the Lord. People inquire about our position on those who consider themselves so-called gays and lesbians. My response is that we love them as sons and daughters of God. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. Most people have inclinations of one kind or another at various times. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church.

19. SAME-GENDER & CHURCH, CONT. If they violate the law of chastity and the moral standards of the Church, then they are subject to the discipline of the Church, just as others are. We want to help these people, to strengthen them, to assist them with their problems and to help them with their difficulties. But we cannot stand idle if they indulge in immoral activity, if they try to uphold and defend and live in a so-called same-sex marriage situation. To permit such would be to make light of the very serious and sacred foundation of God-sanctioned marriage and its very purpose, the rearing of families. (Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1998, 71)

20. CONTROLLING INCLINATIONS Strength and Safety comes when inclinations are disciplined and mastered in the pre- feeling stage well before any behavior can become a temptation.

21. PROCLAMATION – DIVINE DESTINY … and as such each has a divine nature and destiny. … Ye shall come forth … and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions … and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a continuation of the seeds forever and ever. Then shall they be gods, because they have no end … Then shall they be gods, because they have all power … (D&C 132:19,20)

22. COVENANT OF MARRIAGE Part 3

23. PONDER / OPINION QUESTION What are the chances of a marriage lasting and being fulfilling and happy if one or both spouses never change from the day they married? A.Excellent B.Good C.Poor D.Nearly Impossible E.Forget About it

24. THE LAW OF CHASTITY AND THE SANCTITY OF LIFE Part 4

25. THE FAMILY: A PROCLAMATION 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 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.

26. DOCTRINES AND PRINCIPLES What is the doctrine behind the Law of Chastity? What principles pertain to the Law of Chastity?

27. DOCTRINES AND PRINCIPLES VIDEO: “Chastity: What are the Limits” (Mormon Message)

28. SCRIPTURES Find one principle in these passages about the Law of Chastity.  Ex. 20:14  Matt. 5:27-28  Matt. 15:19-20  Romans 1:28-29  D&C 59:6  D&C 63:16  Alma 39:5

29. HOW FAR CAN YOU GO AND STILL NOT SIN? WHERE IS THE LINE?

30. Just Friends“The Line of Sin”

31. Hi-5 Handshake Hold hands Side hug Quick hug Sigh hug Kiss on the cheek Quick kiss on the lips Long kiss Making out Touching private parts Everyone stand up. Sit down then you feel that ‘the line’ has been crossed Just Friends

32. “The Line of Sin” “A line you set for yourself to keep from ever getting close to the line.”

33. ULTIMATE IRONY W e should not be surprised that Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, invites and entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have and cannot use is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to physical and spiritual destruction. (Elder David A. Bednar, “Things as they really Are,” CES Fireside for Young Adults, May 3, 2009, Brigham Young University–Idaho )

34. PROCLAMATION PRINCIPLES Why... “employed only between a man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.” Is there a Law of Chastity for Married Couples? Is it the same or different?

35. ELDER HOLLAND: “In matters of human intimacy, you must wait! You must wait until you can give everything, and you cannot give everything until you are legally and lawfully married. To give illicitly that which is not yours to give (remember, “you are not your own”) and to give only part of that which cannot be followed with the gift of your whole self is emotional Russian roulette…

36. ELDER HOLLAND: “...physical intimacy...is also symbolic of a shared relationship between [us] and [our] Father in Heaven....These are moments when we quite literally unite our will with God’s will, our spirit with His spirit...we quite literally take something of that divinity to ourselves.”

37. THE SACRED DUTY OF PARENTS Part 5

38. THE PROCLAMATION - RESPONSIBILITIES 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.

39. PROCLAMATION PRINCIPLES “God’s commandment [to multiply & replenish] remains in force.”  Why do you think this principle was included in the proclamation for the world?

40. PRIESTHOOD IN THE CHURCH & HOME ChurchHome  Hierarchal Church Government  Partnership w/a distinct line of authority  Service is by call  Service is generally temporary  Hierarchal Church Government  Partnership w/a distinct line of authority  Service is by call  Service is generally temporary  Patriarchal Family Government  Equal partnership of husband and wife  Service is by choice  Service is eternal  Patriarchal Family Government  Equal partnership of husband and wife  Service is by choice  Service is eternal

41. Partnership of Equals “Marriage, in its truest form, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have.” - Gordon B. Hinckley, Aug. 1992, Ensign, p. 6

42. Happiness in Family Life Part 6

43. Is there such a thing as an ideal family? What are the components of such an ideal family?

44. HAPPINESS HOW? Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when 1.Founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2.Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

45. ESTABLISHED AND MAINTAINED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF... Faith Prayer Repentance Forgiveness Respect Love Compassion Work Wholesome Recreational Activities

46. WHOSE JOB IS IT? MothersFathers How should the roles and responsibilities of mothers and fathers be conceived? separate and distinct? complimentary, but supportive ? the same?

47. DIVINELY APPOINTED ROLES 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. By divine design Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.

48. HUSBANDS LEAD OUT? Are you kind and supportive of your own wife and children? Do you assist your wife by doing some of the household chores? Do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of attention leaves in the home? (Elder Richard G. Scott, “Honor the Priesthood and Use It Well,” Ensign, Nov 2008, 45.)

49. TEN THINGS FOR SPIRITUAL PROTECTION With love in my heart for the fathers in Israel, may I suggest ten specific ways that fathers can give spiritual leadership to their children: 1. Give father’s blessings to your children. Baptize and confirm your children. Ordain your sons to the priesthood. These will become spiritual highlights in the lives of your children. 2. Personally direct family prayers, daily scripture reading, and weekly family home evenings. Your personal involvement will show your children how important these activities really are.

50. TEN – SPIRITUAL PROTECTION 3. Whenever possible, attend Church meetings together as a family. Family worship under your leadership is vital to your children’s spiritual welfare. 4. Go on daddy-daughter dates and father-and-sons’ outings with your children. As a family, go on campouts and picnics, to ball games and recitals, to school programs, and so forth. Having Dad there makes all the difference. 5. Build traditions of family vacations and trips and outings. These memories will never be forgotten by your children.

51. TEN – SPIRITUAL PROTECTION 6. Have regular one-on-one visits with your children. Let them talk about what they would like to. Teach them gospel principles. Teach them true values. Tell them you love them. Personal time with your children tells them where Dad puts his priorities. 7. Teach your children to work, and show them the value of working toward a worthy goal. Establishing mission funds and education funds for your children shows them what Dad considers to be important. 8. Encourage good music and art and literature in your homes. Homes that have a spirit of refinement and beauty will bless the lives of your children forever.

52. TEN – SPIRITUAL PROTECTION 9. As distances allow, regularly attend the temple with your wife. Your children will then better understand the importance of temple marriage and temple vows and the eternal family unit. 10. Have your children see your joy and satisfaction in service to the Church. This can become contagious to them, so they, too, will want to serve in the Church and will love the kingdom.

53. THE FINAL ANALYSIS: FATHERS I am confident that when we stand before the bar of God, there will be little mention of how much wealth we accumulated in life or of any honors which we may have achieved. But there will be searching questions concerning our domestic relations. And I am convinced that only those who have walked through life with love and respect and appreciation for their companions and children will receive from our eternal judge the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21). (Pres. Hinckley, “Personal Worthiness…” Ensign, May 2002)

54. THE FINAL ANALYSIS: MOTHERS Many of you are mothers. You are responsible for the nurture and upbringing of your children. When you grow old and your hair turns white, you will not ask about the fancy clothes you once wore, the cars you drove, or the large house in which you lived. Your burning question will be, “How have my children turned out?” If they have turned out well, you will be grateful. If otherwise, there will be only small consolation for you. (Pres. Hinckley, “In the Arms of His Love,” Ensign, Nov. 2006)

55. THE JOY OF ETERNAL, ENDEARING RELATIONSHIPS “It was Joseph Smith who taught me how to prize the endearing relationships of father and mother, husband and wife; of brother and sister, son and daughter. “It was from him that I learned that the wife of my bosom might be secured to me for time and all eternity; and that the refined sympathies and affections which endeared us to each other emanated from the fountain of divine eternal love. … “I had loved before, but I knew not why. But now I loved—with a pureness—an intensity of elevated, exalted feeling, which would lift my soul from the transitory things of this grovelling sphere and expand it as the ocean. … In short, I could now love with the spirit and with the understanding also. “Yet, at that time, my dearly beloved brother, Joseph Smith, had … merely lifted a corner of the veil and given me a single glance into eternity.” (Elder David A. Bednar quoting Orson Pratt, “Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan,” Ensign, June 2006; emphasis added

56. The Family: A Proclamation to the World