Mormon Teachings Regarding Family

The Family

• In 1995, during a worldwide meeting of the Mormon faith̵7;s female members -- The General Relief Society Meeting -- the prophet of the church, Gordon B. Hinckley, read ̶0;The Family: A Proclamation to the World.̶1; This proclamation spells out the Mormon Church̵7;s view on family. This document lists the Mormon Church̵7;s beliefs on gender, marriage and the raising of children.

Eternal Family

• The Mormon Church believes that families can remain together forever through the bonds of temple marriage. Temple marriage takes place in a temple of the Lord where the couple agrees to follow the teachings of the church and raise the children born of the marriage in the Mormon Church. Temple marriage often takes place on a couple̵7;s wedding day, though couples who are married in a civil ceremony can later attend the temple for a sealing. The Mormon Church believes that without a sealing in the temple, families will not be reunited in heaven after death. Temple marriage is also necessary for members to reach the celestial kingdom, the highest kingdom of the three levels of heaven.

Multiply and Replenish

• Members of the Mormon faith are commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. The church teaches that children are a gift from God and discourages members from taking permanent measures that would prevent procreation. While the church does not encourage a specific number of children for each family, it encourages couples to pray about the number of children the couple should have and listen for an answer from the heavenly father.

Values

• The Mormon Church is run by clergy on a volunteer basis. The main leaders of the church are male who hold the priesthood. Traditional gender roles are in force within the family with the male member of the couple responsible for being the head of the family and the female member of the couple responsible for rearing the children. Children learn in coed classes until the age of 12, which is the age when the Sunday instruction is separated by gender with the males attending Priesthood and females attending Young Women̵7;s. The church teaches that women cannot attain the highest level of heaven without a spouse and vice versa. The church does not condone homosexual relations or premarital sex. Teaching morals and values is essential in the Mormon faith to raising children who will follow in the parent̵7;s path within the church.