The world seems to be spiraling ever downward, but we can have faith that the Lord understands our circumstances and that our families will be protected from the evil around us.
Have you ever wondered how your personal family situation fits into God’s plan? It might sometimes feel like Church leaders expect you to be living in the perfect family. The idea of a perfect family sometimes includes the looming pressure to get married and have kids. Perfection in family life might just feel out of reach.
In a 2005 address to Brigham Young University titled “Faith and Families,” Elder Russell M. Nelson speaks about the importance of families while we press forward during this life. Elder Nelson also emphasizes that God understands that our family situations aren’t always perfect. While talking about eternal families, he said, “Apostles and prophets teach the rule. We don’t teach exceptions to the rule. Exceptions are left to individual agency and accountability. The Lord knows we live in an imperfect world.… His judgments will be fair, just, and merciful.”
Elder Nelson addresses some of the challenges young adults face while preparing to start families of their own. These include temptations, selfishness, entitlement, moral inversion, and more. However, the young adults are the ones who must “hold the line,… know the Lord’s teachings,… [and] teach them to [their] own children and grandchildren.”
Today, when sin seems to be increasing all around us, couples bringing children into the world must have strong faith in God’s plan. Elder Nelson says that “faith will not prevent life’s problems, but will help when things go wrong.” This means that our family circumstances might look different than we had anticipated. But in the midst of life’s challenges, we can “be righteous, be patient, keep an eternal perspective, and we will be protected.”
Read more from Elder Russell M. Nelson’s address “Faith and Families” to discover how you can center your own family on faith, no matter the circumstances.
—Abby Carr, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY JESSICA SYSENGRATH
Find more insights
If you wonder how your family situation might fit into the gospel plan, read the article “Seeing Yourself in the Family Proclamation.”
Read more about how faith and families connect in “Eternal Marriage” by Marion D. Hanks and “Why Marriage, Why Family” by D. Todd Christofferson.