In order to rise above this world’s moral confusion, we must strengthen family relationships with faith in Jesus Christ.
Photo by Sathya Tripodi
It’s possible that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have never been more “peculiar” (1 Peter 2:9) than we are today. In a world ever shifting toward selfishness and immorality, we are expected to keep our feet firmly planted in defense of the family.
But how do we follow the Lord’s plan for families when the devil’s voice seems to be so much louder?
In his talk “A Banquet of Consequences—The Cumulative Result of All Choices,” Elder Quentin L. Cook boldly addresses what he calls “paradigm shifts”—shifts in the usual way of thinking—that the adversary has successfully established in our world. In one section of his address, Elder Cook examines the following three paradigm shifts that threaten families today:
- Education and careers bring more happiness and fulfillment than marriage and family.
- Having children negatively disrupts a person’s life, and it’s OK to terminate a pregnancy when it’s inconvenient.
- Immoral conduct can replace marriage without negative consequences.
Along with sharing the word of God, Elder Cook also shares results from studies that support the family. Here are three things that the devil doesn’t want you to know about family:
- “Good relationships keep us happier and healthier.” A 75-year-long (and counting) study has found that it’s not fame and fortune that bring us happiness, but family relationships—especially “healthy, stable marriage[s].”
- We are experiencing a “demographic winter.” Elder Cook shares that “many countries are not having enough children to replace the generation that is dying.” Along with being part of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness, children are a source of sunshine that combats this winter.
- Pornography and lust turn us from truth. The world’s unrealistic expectations for relationships destroy the faithful, meaningful relationships that are proven to bring us lasting happiness.
Read Elder Quentin L. Cook’s complete remarks in “A Banquet of Consequences—The Cumulative Result of All Choices.”
Source: lds.org
—Sophia Parry, Mormon Insights
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Find more insights
To find out more about the Harvard Study of Adult Development, watch this TED Talk.
Watch Elder Quentin L. Cook’s demonstration of the “demographic winter.”
Read Allen Warner’s Mormon Insights article “Pornography Is Not Love” to learn about the damaging effects of pornography on our relationships.
It makes me really sad that so many people have bought into the Devil’s skewed paradigms about family. Every time I hear about rising divorce rates and the number of children who come from broken families, I feel so grateful that my parents are married and committed to each other and to the Gospel.