Chapter 29

The Proclamation: A Guide, a Banner, and a Doctrinal Summary

 of the Church's Emphasis on the Family

by: Lloyd D. Newell

One of the many reasons I love this Church is because that everything we do, we do to make life better for ourselves as well as others. 

Newell starts off this chapter by saying, "The Family: A Proclamation To The World has been used wisely and widely since President Gordon B. Hinckley first announced it on September 23, 1995, at the annual general Relief Society meeting. As the name suggests, it is addressed to all the world: all nations, all faiths, all families. It continues to be a light in a darkening world and a bulwark in defense of the family. Elder M. Russell Ballard (2005) called the proclamation 'a clarion call to protect and strengthen values and misplaced priorities threaten to destry society by undermining its basic unit.'"

The proclamation is the word of God, and being such, is scripture to all people of all nations of all races, of all sexual orientations everywhere in the world. Gods law is not the law of man, but a higher law that is no respecter of persons. If we don't obey it, we all will suffer the same consequences. 

I leave this post with another quote from Dan Roberts who is a former bishop from the Alpine Utah North Stake. 

"While serving as bishop I continually referred to the proclamation in my talks, in my meetings with the adults and youth, and in my counseling with ward members. I always felt that if I could just get our members to really internalize the principles of the proclamation, they would have the answers they needed and the pathway to a happy family life. The proclamation is truth, and I've seen its truth and power change lives."

I know that if we will all try to implement the proclamation into our own lives, we can have the same type of testimony that Dan Roberts is already enjoying.