Elder M. Russell Ballard's recent remarks at General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints:
"And, of course, societies at large are strengthened as families grow stronger. Commitments to family and values are the basic cause. Nearly everything else is effect. When couples marry and make commitments to each other, they greatly increase their chances of economic well-being. When children are born in wedlock and have both a mom and a dad, their opportunities and their likelihood of occupational success skyrocket. And when families work and play together, neighborhoods and communities flourish, economies improve, and less government and fewer costly safety nets are required.
So the bad news is that family breakdown is causing a host of societal and economic ills. But the good news is that, like any cause and effect, those ills can be reversed if what is causing them is changed. Inequities are resolved by living correct principles and values. Brothers and sisters, the most important cause of our lifetime is our families. If we will devote ourselves to this cause, we will improve every other aspect of our lives and will become, as a people and as a church, an example and a beacon for all peoples of the earth."
I fell that this coincides so well with my feelings from this week's materials and discussions. I feel Elder Ballard's remarks ring true. This week we learned some trends in today's society including:
Delayed Marriages
Lowered Birth Rates
More Unwed Births
Mothers working (especially when children are 6 or younger.)
Premarital Sex
Cohabitation
All these trends move us further away from the needed structure of the family. With these trends, Population is lowering and slowing down, Education trends head in the wrong direction, and with lower population and productivity levels, our economic successes falter.
Devoting ourselves to family will only stabilize the foundation of our society.
