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Why We Must Act to Preserve the Families of the World

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WORLD FAMILY POLICY FORUM 19991The prophet Isaiah gave a prophetic warning aboutwatchmen who are “blind” and “ignorant, dumb dogs[that] cannot bark,” “sleeping, lying down [and] loving toslumber” (Isaiah 56:10). The prophet likened them to “shep-herds that cannot understand . . . [who] look to their ownway, every one for his gain” (v. 11). When this happens, hedeclared, “the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it toheart” (Isaiah 57:1).I am grateful that watchmen on the tower have alerted usto enemies and conditions that threaten to undermine thefamily—the foundation of societies and nations in every partof the world. Ironically, some of these enemies are workingthrough the UN and using its stature and authority on theworld stage to pursue anti-family efforts that must be of con-cern to us all. Before this conference is over, I trust there will be ampledemonstration of these assertions of alarm, and a clear con-sensus on the reality that international law has the capacity todirectly impact the family. Informed by these facts, we mustbe sure that we, who should be watchmen on the tower, arenot like the blind and slumbering watchmen that the prophetIsaiah condemned.Basic PrinciplesA passage from the Old Testament stresses God’s concernfor children and the responsibility of parents to teach them:Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thoushalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, andwith all thy soul, and with all thy might. And thesewords, which I command thee this day, shall be inthine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently untothy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest inthine house, and when thou walkest by the way, andwhen thou liest down, and when thou risest up(Deuteronomy 6:4–7).The word family is used 296 times in the King James ver-sion of the Old Testament. The Old Testament is a record of asuccession of families. The Abrahamic covenant, between theLord and Abraham, was a covenant whose blessings weresecured through the government and the family and descen-dants of Abraham. There is a profound eternal truth in thestatement in Genesis, “It is not good that the man should bealone” (2:18). In truth, a family consisting of father, mother,and children, is not a human creation, but a divine institution.I am indebted to a Brigham Young University publication,Religions of the World (Provo, Utah: Brigham YoungUniversity, 1997), by professors Palmer, Keller, Choi, andToronto. It taught me that most great religions of the worldare family-centered in their theology and their thinking. Thisis obviously true of all the religions that trace their ancestrythrough Father Abraham. To Christians, Jews, and Muslims,the family is the sacred hearth around which the truths of lifeand religion are taught and practiced (Ibid., at pp. 174,180–182, 231–233, 236). The same can be said of other greatreligions and philosophies of the world, notablyConfucianism and Zoroastrianism (Ibid., at pages 102,105–106, 154–155, 159).Our Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whichsponsors Brigham Young University, is known as a family-cen-tered church. Our theology centers on the family. It beginswith heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to attain thisstatus ourselves. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ isthe plan of our Heavenly Father for the benefit of His spiritchildren. That plan is made possible by the sacrifice of ourelder brother, Jesus Christ. As earthly parents, we participatein the gospel plan by providing physical bodies for the spiritchildren of our heavenly parents. We solemnly affirm that thefullness of eternal salvation is a family affair and that familiesare central to the Creator’s plan for His children. We may trulysay that the gospel plan originated in the council of an eternalfamily, it is implemented through our earthly families, and ithas its destiny in our eternal families. The mission of ourchurch can be expressed in terms of the mission of the family.In September 1995, the First Presidency and the Quorumof the Twelve Apostles, the two presiding councils of ourchurch, issued “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,”solemnly declaring that “marriage between a man and awoman is ordained of God and that the family is central tothe Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” Inview of the purpose of this gathering and the nature of thiskeynote, I believe it appropriate to read key paragraphs ofthis proclamation. Our proclamation declares:All human beings—male and female—are createdin the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son ordaughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has adivine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential char-acteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternalidentity and purpose.Why We Must Act to Preserve the Families of the WorldElder Dallin H. Oaks, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsOur proclamation concludes by calling upon responsiblecitizens and officers of government everywhere to “promotethose measures designed to maintain and strengthen thefamily as the fundamental unit of society.”Any questionsabout why we wanted to sponsor this conference are surelyanswered by the content of the proclamation.Disturbing TrendsThe noted British legal historian, Sir Henry Maine,observed that modern society has been characterized by ashift from status, such as kinship, to contract. Maineobserved that the unit with which civil laws is concerned ismore and more an individual contracting party and less andless the family entity. This shift from kinship to contract hasbeen accompanied by the emergence of individualism as thefundamental principle of Western thought.A central theme in the emergence of individualism is theweakening of laws and expectations concerned with respon-sibilities, those institutions that characterize family relationsand increase reliance upon rights that characterize individu-alism (See Dallin H. Oaks, “Rights and Responsibilities,” 36Mercer Law Review, 427–442, 1985).For example, consider the matter of children’s rights. All ofus would affirm that children have rights, and they need to


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