Families: the Fundamental Unit of Society

I know many people who think having a family is nice if that’s the kind of life you want to have and don’t think much more about it. They don’t realize how far reaching the choice of whether or not to have children affects the world and perhaps the positive affect it can have on their individual lives. Family is much more important to our lives and the world we live in than some might think. Not only does family help us each live happier and healthier lives, it leads to a happier and healthier economy.

Each year that passes by, people around the world are having less children. Looking at the statistics for the United States fertility rate – meaning the ratio of how many children the average woman has in her life time – it has gone from 3.65 in the 1960’s to 1.80 in 2016. That’s 16% below the rate needed to replace the amount of people living here – or the self-replacement fertility rate – which is 2.10. There are several factors that have affected this change throughout the years: more available and reliable birth control, changing roles for women in the women’s movement, the sexual revolution, normalcy of abortion, individualism, the no fault divorce bill, and the increase of cohabitation to name a few.

You might ask what affect these numbers will have on this world. The Family: A Proclamation to the World states, “Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. 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.”

With the amount of people on the Earth moving closer and closer to depopulation, we may see problems begin to rise such as more seniors and less people left in the working force to support them. That would likely result in higher taxes and less benefits for the elderly. It takes a lot of people’s taxes to support a retiree and if there were more retiree’s than there are people in the work force, who would support them? Some nations such as Germany, Japan, Russia, and Taiwan have already been experiencing depopulation and begun paying their citizens to have more children. It’s a problem that we may be faced with on a world level soon.

Who will bring this new generation of children into the world? President Brigham Young said, “There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty?—To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can.”

The decision to have children will always be between a husband and wife and God, but many blessings await those who choose to bring these “pure and holy spirits” into their lives and homes. I have had the blessings of being raised in a home focused on the righteous teachings of Jesus Christ. As a result, I have the knowledge of Christ’s gospel on the Earth today and have a strong desire to carry this knowledge forward to the next generation. It is our responsibility as those who have such access to such truth to help prepare the world for the second coming of the Savior. I believe in large part that preparation can be found in the increase of righteous families. We need parents preparing their children to press onward in this life ready to serve and share goodness.

Sources: World Bank, United States Census Bureau; “The New Economic Reality: Demographic Winter”; NPR.org “When Governments Pay People to Have More Babies.”