The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Elder Robert D. Hales gave a talk in October of 1996 entitled The Eternal Family
 He spoke about the introduction of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, just one year prior.

 

Elder Hales said, "As taught in this scripture, an eternal bond doesn’t just happen as a result of sealing covenants we make in the temple. How we conduct ourselves in this life will determine what we will be in all the eternities to come. To receive the blessings of the sealing that our Heavenly Father has given to us, we have to keep the commandments and conduct ourselves in such a way that our families will want to live with us in the eternities. The family relationships we have here on this earth are important, but they are much more important for their effect on our families for generations in mortality and throughout all eternity."

I feel that the issue of the proclamation was brought to us at the perfect time. We can from the timing of the proclamation that the prophets are truly called of God, and they are used as His mouthpieces today. When the proclamation was first introduced, there were probably a lot of people who viewed it as a nice refresher, but little did they know that 20 years later, the principles that are taught in the proclamation would be so valuable and even more special because now, because of the knowledge that the prophets were able to foresee. The concept of the family today is taken so lightly by many people in the world. As members of the church, we can stand as believers and witnesses that the family truly is ordained of God.