Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Families
Mormons, a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, consider families to be a critical part of God’s plan for His children. When He created Adam, He also gave Adam a wife and instructed them to have children. He intended for humans to be part of a family.
Mormons believe that God also intended these families to be eternal. Because He teaches that divorce is morally wrong, except in certain serious situations, He would not force a divorce on His children at their deaths, particularly since He promised we would be happier in Heaven than we could ever imagine, and few of us can imagine being happy without our families.
Because Mormons believe families can be eternal, they work very hard at strengthening these families so they will want to be together forever. They know that earthly trials, including severe illness or even just rough patches, are minor blips in the eternal scheme of things and so they work them out and get through them, knowing everything will be worth it in the end.
One way Mormons strengthen their families is by holding a weekly family night. This special evening, called Family Home Evening, is usually held on Monday nights. The family stays home together without friends, television, or other distractions. They hold a meeting that is similar in structure to other church meetings. In many families, the duties are rotated so everyone gets a chance to do each part, with younger children sometimes partnering with older children.
Someone in the family conducts the meeting. The meeting begins with a hymn led by a member of the family and a prayer is offered. A brief lesson on a gospel topic is taught. After the lesson there is often a family business meeting, games, and a special treat. The meeting ends with another song and prayer.
Since everyone takes turns doing the various parts of the meeting, the children learn the skills needed for church service. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a lay church and everyone participates in making the extensive programs work. By learning to lead music, conduct meetings, offer prayers, and teach lessons, the children are prepared to assist in these duties at church.
However, the primary purpose of the meeting is to allow families to learn and discuss the gospel as a family, to decide how to apply God’s teachings to their home lives, and to strengthen the family bond. Other religions have begun to implement this program under different names, because in these busy times, many are aware that families spend too little time together and that the best gospel learning will happen in the home. The family unites as a team to help each other live the commandments and to become an eternal family.
The family also prays and studies the scriptures together on a daily basis. Each member of the family who is old enough has private prayers and personal scripture study, but the parents also pray and study as a couple and then pray and study with their children. This offers another opportunity for parents to teach the gospel to their children and to strengthen their bonds of love.
Mormons tend to have extremely busy lives. They have church work, employment, school, extracurricular activities, community service and other activities. However, they are taught to always put their family first, even if it means putting aside other good but less-important activities. Nothing else they do in their lives is as important to them as maintaining a strong and loving family.
Mormons believe that in order for a family to be eternal, certain conditions must be met. It is one of God’s greatest rewards to His faithful children and so it requires a commitment to the goal.
Most marriages in the ordinary world are made “until death do you part.” This means that at the moment of death, the marriage ends. However, Mormons believe that God has promised we can have more than just a mortal life if we are married by a person with the proper authority in the proper place.
Mormon temples are a well-recognized symbol of the religion. The temple is literally God’s home, and there we can make covenants with God. A covenant is a two-way promise, in this case, between mortals and God. God chooses the terms of the covenant and will always fulfill His part if we fulfill ours. It is only in these holy temples that a marriage can last forever. A marriage ceremony in a temple is a beautiful and simple process in which the man and woman kneel across a lovely white alter, holding hands. The sealer, a priesthood holder with the authority to marry two people for eternity, marries, or seals them for “time and all eternity.” This means they are married for this life, but that the marriage will continue after death as well. Children born into this marriage will also be sealed or joined to their families forever. If a couple joins the church after they are married, they must still go to the temple a year after their baptism to be married for eternity. Their children are permitted to enter the temple to be sealed to their parents. (Normally, children may not enter the temple.) Adopted children also enter the temple to be sealed to their new families for eternity. Children born to parents already sealed are automatically sealed to their families.
God placed a knowledge of this doctrine into the human heart. Although many deny that families are forever when all is well, at the time of death, many will make statements showing their hearts know what their mind does not. “At least Mom and Dad are together again now.” “I’ll see my daughter again when I die.” Something deep in our hearts whispers to us at these moments that God never intended to rob us of our families after death. However, He does expect us to demonstrate to Him our families are important enough to warrant great sacrifice in order to have them forever. This is why Mormons work hard on building and strengthening their families and on learning to keep the commandments.
Only those accepted into God’s presence will be able to have their families forever. This requires us to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, to keep the commandments, and to work on creating a strong and loving family. It is sometimes said of Mormons that Mormons believe women can’t get into God’s presence without their husbands, but it is seldom noted that the same is true of men. Mormons believe we enter God’s presence as families.
Those who do not have the opportunity to marry or have children in this life will have the opportunity to do so in the eternities and no worthy child of God will be kept out of Heaven because of the choices of others. While we do not always understand how all of this will work, we do know God is loving and fair and that He will make everything right in the end. Mormons learn to trust God and so they do the best they can to build a loving eternal family.
