This church has a strong focus on families. With families being such an essential part of God's eternal plan, and such a great place to learn Gospel principles at an early age, it's no wonder that we emphasize the importance and sanctity of families. But this causes complications, as not all people have families that resemble the ideal family. Some children are missing one or more parents, or have more than one of one kind of parent. Some families remain technically together, but are emotionally broken. Some parents have lost children or are unable to have children. These and other family situations can make life hard for people in the church we they hear us talking about the ideal family.
In Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk, “Whoso Receiveth Them, Receiveth Me,” he shares a few heartbreaking examples of people who struggled in the church for having less-than-ideal families. Elder Andersen then encouraged us to be sensitive to the situations of others, and to be mindful of their feelings. While there is such a thing as an ideal family, most people simply don't have one, and we should be mindful of them so we don't cause them any more emotional harm than they already feel.
The church should be a place of warmth and welcoming, so while many members of our congregation come from broken families, we shouldn't draw attention to that fact and make them feel uncomfortable. It's usually not best to dwell on a person's familial situation too much. Rather, we should be loving and kind, and we should assure every member of the congregation that they have a place in the ward family, regardless of what their personal family situation is. So, while it's important to teach the importance of families, we should acknowledge that not all people have ideal families, and we should be especially mindful of those people's emotional needs.
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