Current Trends Within the Family

Hello all! 

This is my first blog post. Let me just explain a little bit more about the purpose of this blog. I attend Brigham Young University-Idaho, and I study Marriage and Family with a Home and Family Emphasis. The topics on this blog will be from my Family Relations Class, where we identify connections between scholarly and revealed observations about the family, understand a range of theories regarding the family, utilizing them and predicting family relations, and strive to change our own assumptions that we have of the family. After this class is over I hope to continue this blog about other issues relating to marriage and family to further my own observations and be a teacher to those who follow! I recommend following this blog if you are interested in learning about family issues that occur around the world in modern society, and how you can better improve your own family and families around you! 

My first topic revolves around current societal trends within family systems and different family styles. Elder Boyd K. Packer says, "we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." This is basically saying that the traditional family is losing its strength. In the article "Why You're Being Invited to Fewer Weddings," Ben Steverman explains that fewer Americans are being married. This is caused by a few different factors including postponed marriage, cohabitation, and career choices. This article predicts that marriage will keep falling within the next 5 years. This is a concern because it lowers the replacement rate. To dig a little deeper into what replacement rate is, it is better to understand what fertility rate is. Fertility rate is the number of births a woman is able to have. Replacement rate is basically if a current generation will be able to replace the generation before them. In "The New Economic Reality: Demographic Winter, they explain that the needed replacement rate in the world is around 2.2. As of now, the United States is the only country that has a replacement rate that meets this criteria. This means that as the years go by, population will eventually reach a peak of increase and then decline. 

Many fear that the world is overpopulating. In the Demographic Video, you see that many couples that were interviewed do not believe that a traditional family is necessary. Some even claim that they believe that they do not need children to fulfill their role as a couple. While this can be true, we must look at the facts. The less children that the world has in general, the more future generations will have to work while earning less money. 

It is our personal decision to decide how many children have. However, I inquire that you consult with Heavenly Father, along with looking at the facts. The average woman is having less children as the years continue, and while it seems like it may not have a direct effect on you, it does. It is also important to remember that children are not born simply to help stimulate the economy or to make work easier. We should remember that children are a blessing and out duty upon this earth. In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, we learn that husbands have individual purposes, but they are equal in purpose. There are spirits in the heavens that are waiting to be called forth under our care. 

I would like to end with a quote that applies to all couples. Whether you are married or not, religious or not, or if you have opposing opinions, we should consider why children are important to our personal being and for the economy.  President Brigham Young states, "There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty? To prepare tabernacle for them; to take a course that will not tend to drie 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."

September 20, 2017

Here are the following links that were mentioned in this post if you would like to learn more about the subject: 

• https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-28/why-you-re-being-invited-to-fewer-weddings?cmpId=flipboard
• https://creation.com/where-are-all-the-people
• https://youtu.be/_O0bkcYTd94