What is a family? This is a question the world has been trying to answer in the past few years. A family used to be a mother and father with their children, but now the term family has no limits. Now it can be two fathers or two mothers with their children, it's a group of close friends, it's someone and their pet, or a family can be just you. But is it a family?
This week in my family studies class we talked about this APA article that was used when our country was trying to legalize gay marriage. This article was used for the purpose of proving that same sex marriages wouldn’t have any negative impact on their children. The interesting thing though was that this article never once mentioned the children and the studies done to see how same sex marriages affected the physical, mental, and emotional health of long term. They only talked about the parents’ viewpoints and how they thought it was impacting their children. I mean, if you want to build a case, shouldn’t you ask the people involved? Another part of the document that left me wanting more answers is that it kept mentioning that same sex relationships did not put the children at a disadvantage, but they never mentioned in what way. Socially, mentally, financially, what? The main issue this case had was how same sex marriage would affect the children, but they never presented any evidence for it. Overall, I thought the article missed the mark on what it was trying to achieve, which was proving that even if children are brought up in a same sex parent household, the children are going to be all right.
I grew up in a traditional home, raised by two loving parents, a mom and dad, and my five older siblings. I know, big family, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we believe that a family is a man and woman who are married and their children. In 1995, the church came out with The Family Proclamation, which has caused a lot of commotion and debate in our society today. People argue that our views are old-fashioned or outdated when it comes to family, but that isn't the case. The reason why we advocate the family so much is because we know that people that grow up in a strong, loving family are better prepared for the challenges ahead in life. Families are there to support you every step of the way and to lift you up when you fall. I know for certain that if it wasn’t for my family and their constant love and support, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Families also has to do with happiness, eternal happiness. We believe that in the next life we will be with our families forever. That's why creating the traditional type families is so important to us because we know that is the family that can last forever. I personally believe that everyone has the right to make their own choices when it comes to the type of family they want to build because everyone has agency and deserves to find happiness in this life. But I also know that certain kinds of families won't be able to exist in the next life, and so I can't support it because I know it can't last. I want people to find happiness in this life, but I want them to find the kind that can and will last for eternity.
