Week One

What I wish the World Knew about Trends in the Family

I have come to believe that it is very important to be aware of the trends in the world, and the consequences of those paths, so that you can be aware that it is acting on you, and make conscious choices. Here are a few examples of some such trends in our world today:

Delayed Marriage: The average age at first marriage is 26 for women and 28 for men. The average ages for LDS women and men respectively is 22 and 24. The interesting thing is that both ages are increasing- at the same rate. This made me nervous. We are counseled so often as Young Adults to not postpone marriage. To me, it is not so much a matter of problems caused by older spouses and parents, but that this wouldn’t be a trend if other things weren’t becoming more important to people than family. The idea that “it can wait” is a dangerous one.

Unwed Births: This rate is also rising. It was recently said that in America there are now more children being born outside of marriage than inside of it. That is really scary. Especially when you consider the Proclamation’s statement that children are entitled to being born within the bonds of matrimony, with a Father and a Mother to care for them.

Birthrates: The overall rate of births, however, is decreasing. This wouldn’t be a big deal if the world was in fact overpopulated as many believe. But that is just not the case. We watched a Documentary called the Demographic Winter that explained the problems that society will face with such a drop in human capital. Many nations are even now reproducing below  the replacement rate. The effects of this choice, when made by so many families will have a far reaching effect beyond the individual families, across nations and cultures. And it will happen more quickly than we probably realize. Again, the Proclamation counters with the fact that the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.

Mom’s Working outside of the home: This rate is also increasing. The highest rate is for those children under 6. This is very scary as well, considering all of the counsel given by our prophets for mothers to stay in the home.

Premarital Sex: Again, a rate that is rising. Many agree that this is a problem, but there is disagreement as to why. Many believe that the problem is only unprotected sex- that as long as it is protected or birth control is used, that it is fine. There is a push to educate young people along those lines, rather than encouraging them to wait until within the bonds of marriage.

Cohabitation: Rates are rising here too. The thing that worries me, is that in many cases, people enter into cohabitation with good intentions. They have seen divorce and unsucessful marriages so many times, that they want to make sure that they get it right- so they try it out before tying the knot. But this shows that they don’t really understand what marriage is. Statistics show that marriages that began with cohabitation are even less successful. Why? Because they are just sliding into marriage. Marriage is a commitment. And that can’t be practiced. You are either committed to each other or you aren’t. That commitment is crucial to marriage’s success. If you are simply trying it out or practicing, it is not going to work the same way.

Household Size: Going down. This again relates to the overall rate of birth, as well as families that have been split by divorce.

It is scary to me, that so many of these trends run directly contrary to the counsel that we are given by our Church leaders- which comes directly from Heavenly Father. Nothing that runs contrary to those principles will bring happiness. I am so grateful for the principles taught so timely in the Proclamation to the World on the Family. How I wish that the whole world understood and acted upon those principles.