7 - Priesthood, stake and family

Summary

It is the Church's theology of the family that underpins the practicalities of daily life, weekly church activities and periodic LDS temple rites. Not only does the family provide the integrating link between chapel and temple activities but it also furnishes the background for the Church's plan of salvation. Together the family, chapel and temple make calls upon individual commitment which, when all works well, provides the energy that makes the LDS Church a great success but they can also demoralize some Saints through sheer volume of activity and high level of expectation. With that in mind, this chapter will not only describe some of these fundamental aspects of LDS church and community life but will also briefly revisit the broad Christian theological issue of grace in relation to the occasional sense of failed endeavour. At the outset, it is important not to over-romanticize the Mormon family, for while it is easy to describe this aspect of LDS life as though it always functions perfectly and is fully co-ordinated through the Church's doctrine, very few Saints would wish to ignore the problems that emerge in their families, as in most families. It is no accident that The Proclamation on the family made by the First Presidency in 1995 (see below), alluded to the violation of chastity, to abuse of spouse and children and to the disintegration of the family.