Mormon Family Values and Centrality of Families to the LDS Gospel Plan

Posted by Jenny Evans Sep 25, 2009

Spend any time in a Latter-day Saint church service, and it won't be long before you hear a whole lot about the importance of the family.

Mormonism says that the family is the fundamental unit of the gospel, even more important than the church as an organization. In 1995 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued an official statement entitled The Family: A Proclamation to the World which explains fundamental LDS beliefs about family life and family values.

Mormons believe that from our pre-existence as spirits to our exaltation in the celestial kingdom, God organizes people in families.

Other Latter-day Saint teachings related to the sanctity of marriage and family are:

• The importance of a temple marriage, where spouses are sealed to one another for eternity (temple sealing is necessary for exaltation); and
• The law of chastity, which outlines the Lord's boundaries for sexuality before and during marriage.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gay marriage is not performed or recognized. The Mormon position on homosexuality is that it is contrary to God's plan for families.