Family
If you know anything about Mormons, you probably know that they have a tremendous focus on families. For the last several decades, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has frequently run public service announcements with the slogan “Family, isn’t it about time?”
Family is a central focus of Mormon teachings. For example, President David O. McKay taught that:
Parenthood should be held as a sacred obligation….No success can compensate for failure in the home.
Given this focus on family, you might expect strong family relationships to be commonplace in the Mormon faith…and you would be right.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are married in an LDS temple have a very low divorce rate. While other Mormons divorce at the normal rate, those married in the temple have only a 6% divorce rate according to a study by professor Daniel K. Judd.
As cited in the San Diego Union-Tribune on November 9, 2008, Utah has the lowest rate of out-of-wedlock births in the nation at 18% (compared to Mississippi with 53% as the highest) and the lowest abortion rate.
According to the 2008 Kids Count data released by the Maryland-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, Utah has the lowest rate of single-parent families at 18%. The next lowest is Idaho at 23% (where 27% of the population are also Mormons) with the national average at 32%.
So what are the secrets behind these successful families?
For the answers, read more about:
— Doctrinal focus on family
— Family Home Evening
— Marriage principles