Mormonism and the Family

For members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (i.e., Mormons) the family plays a major role both in everyday life and as an integral part of Mormon theology. “Family: a Proclamation to the World” states that, the family is the “fundamental unit in society” and that “the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

At least two ideological paradigms (e.g. Romanticism and the Enlightenment) are represented in the Mormon concept of the family.

Romanticism

The romantic period was an artistic movement where the ideals of beauty, nature, imagination, idealization of the past were emphasized. According to the Bible and Book of Mormon, the first earthly family, Adam and Eve, began their journey in nature in a beautiful garden (the Garden of Eden) in an idealized state.

Moving through out time, many of the successful families in the Book of Mormon found themselves working in and enjoying the fruits of nature, “And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance.” (2 Nephi 5:11)

A central and motivating doctrine for Mormons is the belief that family relationships can last beyond this life. The idea of living together with one’s family requires hard work, faith, and, perhaps, “imagination” (i.e. the ability to visualize a future goal that is not yet present). The state of being an eternal family or living together with one’s family death is often idealized as the perfect setting for families and acts as a motivating influence to motivate members of the LDS church to work hard at maintaining good family relationships.

Enlightenment/Scientific Method

This post is already long, but if I had more time/space I would talk about how there are elements of the Enlightenment/Scientific Method present in the Mormon view of the family. For Mormons, finding happiness and success in a family setting does necessarily come naturally, rather it requires discovery and the application of specific principles to achieve this knowledge/goal. Such principles include: “faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

I haven’t had a lot to develop my thought s on connections to this second ideological paradigm, but these are a few of my initial thoughts.