Eternal Families, Really?

FPP#2, Chapter 32 - The family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children... 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 family, para, 1,3).

The distortion and eventual loss of the doctrine of the eternal family is no doubt a part of what the Prophet Joseph Smith was describing when he observed, “Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion” (Watson, 1971, p. 530). The loss of the doctrine and covenant of eternal marriage has confused the vast majority of the inhabitants of the world concerning the eternal nature of the family and has led many to believe that such relationships are not part of God’s plan for the salvation and eternal destiny of His children.

In addition to the Creation, Fall, and Atonement of Jesus Christ being literal, historical events, each is doctrines that have direct application to our personal lives. We each have experienced the Creation both spiritually and physically. Our heavenly parents created our spirit bodies in the premortal realm (Abraham 2:22–23). Our earthly parents provided our physical bodies, and we were born into mortality (see Moses 3:5–7). Each of us experiences the Fall as we are born into a fallen world and separated from God’s presence (Alma 12:22). We also experience the Fall as we face the realities of our fallen natures and suffer the consequences of our sins and mistakes, as well as those of others (D&C 93:38–39). We learn of and receive the blessings of the Atonement of Jesus Christ as we repent of our sins, are healed from our infirmities, and eventually experience the resurrection of our physical bodies (Alma 7:11–12, 1 Corinthians 15:21–22).

How do we live the creation, the fall and atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives today?

For some reason, this week’s reading resonated with me. I wanted to write a little bit about all the talks, but that would have been counterproductive of my time. Therefore, I chose something out of Sister Beck’s speech which I knew but had forgotten the significance of, the family. And I found an excellent paragraph in our textbook with examples.

“In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a theology of the family that is based on the Creation, the Fall, and the Atonement.” (Beck, 2009).

Have you ever taught the theology of the family using these concepts at the same time? “The Theology of the Family?” It’s seemed a bit crazy, but when I read this phrase all, I said to myself was “yeah, the church does focus on the family a lot.” I continued to reflect a little more; then I realized that I couldn’t remember even teaching my kids with this wording. Yes, we've educated them about these three concepts but not all together like in Sisters Beck’s talk. I’m going to ask Bishop if someone could do a talk in sacrament based on this talk. I then found myself reading our textbook where it gave examples for each of the stages in our lives.

The doctrines of the Creation, Fall, and Atonement can also serve as metaphors as each can have interpretive application to many of the significant events in our lives.

Each of us experiences periods of creation, such as the beginning of a marriage, the birth of a child, beginning a new school year or semester, receiving a new Church calling, starting a new job, or starting any other important process. These periods of creation are times when we are optimistic and hopeful concerning the future.

Activity - read - Teaching the doctrine of the family by Julie B. Beck.

References

Judd, D., K., (2016). The eternal family: A plain and precious part of the plan of salvation. In Hawkins, A. J., & Dollahite, D. C., & Draper, T. W., (Eds.), Success marriages and families – proclamation principles and research perspectives. pp. 341-349. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University