The Family: A Proclamation to the World

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

Tibet

When the Chinese armies marched into Tibet in 1950 it brought a sudden and violent end to centuries of isolation beyond the Himalayas. Since then more than a million Tibetans have died of torture, starvation and execution at the hands of the invaders.

More than 6,000 monasteries and their contents, irreplaceable jewels of Tibetan culture, have been destroyed. Monks, and nuns, have been slaughtered because of their non violent Buddhist faith. For decades the world has tried to forget Tibet, and even now with growing community awareness of the plight of the Tibetan people, governments do little to bring China to a realization of the wrongness of its ongoing policy of cultural and literal genocide within the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region.

Everyone of us can do something to help. The following sites may help you to find your way of supporting Tibetans:

http://www.tibet.com/
http://www.tibet.org/Activism/Rights/religion.html
http://www.savetibet.org/
http://www.tchrd.org/

The religion of Tibet is a modified form of Buddhism introduced from neighbouring countries between the seventh and eleventh centuries. The Dalai Lama has been the spiritual and political leader of Tibet since approximately 1543. The title was bestowed by a Mongolian Khan and is translated "All Embracing Lama" or "Great Ocean". However, Tibetans may also refer to him as "The Precious Protector", "The Presence", or "The Inmost One". He is believed to be an incarnation of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. The fourteenth, Tenzin Gyatso, was forced to flee his homeland in 1959 because of Chinese aggression. In the tradition of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, he has become one of the great exponents of non-violence. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.

During 1995 His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso recognized Gendun Chokyi Nyima as the 11th incarnation of the Panchen Rinpoche. Within a few days of the announcement the Chinese government had placed the boy, his family and several senior monks from the Tashilhunpo monastery under arrest. They then proceeded to enthrone their own puppet Panchen Rinpoche, a boy known as Norbu Rinpoche. Gendun Chokyi Nyima is still missing making him the youngest political prisoner in the world.

The status of the Panchen Rinpoche as the second most senior lama in the Tibetan theocracy is such that he may play a major role in identifying the next Dalai Lama. Norbu Rinpoche as a stooge of the totalitarian Beijing regime has the potential to create significant problems concerning the recognition of any future Dalai Lama. This could lead to widespread confusion allowing the Chinese to exercise even more repressive control over the Tibetan homeland. As Australians we are in a position to register our concerns both with the Chinese and Australian governments by writing to:-

President of the People's Republic of China
C/- The Ambassador, Embassy of the People's Republic of China,
Canberra, ACT 2600

or

Hon Kevin Rudd, MHR

Prime Minister of Australia,
Parliament House,
Canberra, ACT 2600

Just a thought

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and
let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. "

George Washington

First president of US (1732 - 1799)

A prophet for our times...

"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."

Amos: 3:7

As "latter day saints" we accept that in accordance with Bible prophecy (examine New Testament references including 2 Thessolonians 2:1-12; Acts 20:28-30; 2 Timothy 4:3-4; 2 Peter 2:1-2 and you will find many others) a universal apostasy must occur before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. With such a widespread loss of the true gospel it follows that ultimately there must also be a restoration of all things.

Evidence supports such a "great" apostasy was well underway within three hundred years of Christ's earthly ministry ending.

We believe the restoration commenced in 1820 when "two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description" visited with a fourteen-year-old boy in the woods near his home in Palmyra, western New York. One of them spoke calling the boy by name "and said, pointing to the other - This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" The boy was Joseph Smith Jr, the personages, our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

There followed through this chosen prophet a restoration of the fullness of the gospel.

We testify that The Book of Mormon as translated by Joseph Smith Jr is a divinely inspired record - another testament of Jesus Christ.

One of "The Articles of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" states "We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where or what they may."

Despite this many are critical of our beliefs charging that we are not christian. This even though we bear the name of Christ, teach and testify of Him, and accept His infinite atoning sacrifice. What then is a Christian? In examining the Holy Bible you will only find the term mentioned three times (Acts 11:26; 26:28: 1 Peter 4:16) and not one of these passages defines the meaning of it. However, if we refer to a reputable standard dictionary a christian is defined "as one who believes in Christ or one who has accepted the christian religious and moral principles of life." A definitive dictionary may go on to define the meaning as also including "a member of a church or group professing christian doctrine or belief." It is true what Benjamin Diraeli said "How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct."

Rather than placing your trust in any person or their individual bias we would encourage you to obtain and read The Book of Mormon for yourself, and follow the invitation contained in its introduction and the promise outlined in Moroni Chapter 10.

http://www.lds.org/

http://www.lds.org.au/

http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/

http://www.jesuschrist.lds.org/

http://www.josephsmith.net/