Lessons on the Book of Mormon 2020
Lesson No. Forty

Strengthening the Family is the Answer to the Unraveling of Society

After Jesus’ resurrected ministry, 4 Nephi describes 200 years of righteousness – This “Golden Age” began when the “church of Christ” was formed and “the people were all converted unto the Lord….And there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another…. And they had all things in common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free and partakers of the heavenly gift” (Vs 1-3)

For 200 years the love of God did well in the hearts of the people….And surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God” (Vs 15-16).

Strong eternal families enabled the Nephites to sustain 200 years of righteousness –  Key to this remarkable 200 year period was the eternal family.  The blessings of eternal families was passed from one generation to the next. “And they were married, and given in marriage, and were blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them” (Vs 11-12). 

During these 200 years Nephite families were sealed together for eternity in celestial marriage.  They had heaven on earth because they believed “the promises which the Lord had made unto them.”  These are the promises the Lord made to Abraham and are known as the Abrahamic Covenant to which the eternal family is central  (See Bible Dictionary, Abraham, Covenant of).  The eternal family was a primary reason the Nephites were able to sustain 200 years of righteousness.

Today, we create eternal families and receive the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant when we go to the temple and enter into the covenant of celestial marriage. The eternal family is central to passing on the traditions of righteousness from generation to generation.

The Millennium will be much like the first 200 years recorded in 4 Nephi 1:1-18 – People will be married and given in marriage, and be blessed according to the multitude of the promises which the Lord had made unto them.  (See 4 Nephi 1:11).  Society will be defined by strong eternal families.

But we do not have to wait for the Millennium to enjoy the blessings of eternal families because thousands upon thousands of such families are continually organized in temples throughout the earth. 

President Russell M. Nelson, our living prophet, has said that “exaltation is a family affair.”  He has also taught that no righteous person will be denied the blessing of an eternal family whether in this life of the next.  He continually stresses the importance to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ. This will usher in the Millennium, a thousand years of worldwide peace and righteousness.  There is no better way for us to prepare for the Second Coming than by strengthening our individual family.

The loss of eternal families lead to the destruction of the Nephites – After 200 years things began to change, and by 231 years “there was a great division among the people….and they did teach their children that they should not believe….And they were taught to hate the children of God, even as the Lamanites were taught to hate the children of Nephi from the beginning” (4 Nephi 1:35-39).

Love was replaced by hate, and eternal families were lost. This was a primary reason the Nephites were destroyed.

The decline of the family and the unraveling of modern society – Latter day prophets “warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets” (The Family – A Proclamation to the World, hereafter Family Proclamation)  I will quote from the Family Proclamation and also the insight of good friends, Richard and Linda Eyre (hereafter Eyre) from their article If America is Unraveling, Why? And How to Fix it.

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.  ‘Children are a 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” (Family Proclamation).

“Among the most common and most dangerous of cause-and-effect confusion is the prevailing belief that marriage and family decline is the effect of poverty—or of greed and materialism—or of racism—or of excessive debt and consumerism—or of amorality—or of our workaholic culture….But we have it exactly backwards.  It is the decline, disinterest, devaluing, disillusion, and decimation of marriage and committed, prioritized families that causes all of the above.  It is not about the decline of America precipitating a decline of families—it is just the opposite—the decline of families is causing, leading to, and resulting in the decline of America” (Eyre).

The family as the fundamental unit of society must be strengthened - “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” (Family Proclamation).

“The individual is not the basic unit—it is too small, too finite and short-lasting, too self-centered and disconnected to be the unit that bonds and holds together society….But just as the individual is too small and isolated to be the basic unit of society, so the community or even the neighborhood is too large and too blasé’—too impersonal to be the basic unit….Between the individual and the community is the unit that is neither too small and self-interested or too large and disconnected to be the reliable builder and nourishing safeguard of our society—that unit is, of course, the family—the most committed and other-centered core of a flourishing culture” (Eyre).

Having the sacrament at home during COVID-19 strengthened many families – The current pandemic has allowed families to experience the blessings of the sacrament in a unique and remarkable way.  Parents have had a chance to teach their children, in their homes and by example, the importance and the blessings that come from partaking of the sacrament.

President Dallin H. Oaks has taught:  “The ordinance of the sacrament makes the sacrament meeting the most sacred and important meeting in the Church.  It is the only Sabbath meeting the entire family can attend together” (Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament, Ensign, November 2008, p. 17).

Partaking of the sacrament at home during the current pandemic has created a sweet memory for many of us, and I believe that it will create a powerful and lasting memory for our children and grandchildren.  In their homes they saw, and will long remember, their fathers presiding over and their mothers organizing family centered sacrament meetings.  This will increase their testimony of the importance of the ordinance of the sacrament, not only to individuals, but also to families.  The testimony of the importance of families and of the sacrament will be implanted in their heart and passed on from generation to generation.