Elder M. Russell Ballard
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"I believe the mission statement for mortality might be 'to build an eternal family.' "
This year is the 10th anniversary of the "Proclamation To the World on the Family." The proclamation is "a clarion call to protect and strengthen families and a stern warning in a world where declining values and misplaced priorities threaten to destroy society by undermining its basic unit."
In an environment that is "ever more toxic" to traditional family values and relationships, the proclamation "calls for the priority and emphasis families need ..."
"The world needs to know what the Proclamation teaches because the family is the basic unit of society, of the economy, of our culture, and of our government. And as Latter-day Saints know, family will also be the basic unit in the celestial kingdom."
Latter-day Saints should consider the proclamation as a banner like the Title of Liberty, and commit to live by its precepts. "Indeed, nothing is more critically connected to happiness — both our own and that of our children — than how well we love and support one another within the family."
To protect and strengthen homes and families, three simple suggestions can be followed: be consistent with family prayer and family home evening, teach basic gospel principles in the home, and create "meaningful family bonds."
Other institutions in society should also support the family. "No matter who or what we are, we help ourselves by helping families."
