Because we want them!

Also because key points of our doctrine focus on family life.

1. We believe that we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father before we came to earth. We also believe that all of God’s children need to obtain a body to progress.

2. We believe that the commandment God gave to Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth is still in effect.

3. Because of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, and through ordinances performed in temples, family relationships can continue beyond the grave. Children can be a source of joy and happiness not only in this life but in the life to come.

The most succinct document explaining our Church’s doctrines on children is The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Here are some quotes from that document that highlight what Mormons believe about children and family.

“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”

“In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.”

“We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.”

“We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.”

“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”

“Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“…fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”

The choice to bear and rear children is a sacred and personal one. There is absolutely no doctrine of our church that prescribes the number of children a couple should have. Agency, or the ability to choose (and the accountability for our choices) is a critical tenet of our faith. There are many LDS couples as well as single individuals who desperately long for children and family. Others consider personal circumstances like the health of the mother or financial restrictions that may influence family planning decisions.

Individual circumstances and choices vary but as we strive to be disciples of Jesus Christ we seek to follow His example of loving little children.

Mark 10:14 – Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: For such is the kingdom of God.

“It is our solemn duty, our precious privilege—even our sacred opportunity—to welcome to our homes and to our hearts the children who grace our lives.” Thomas S. Monson, “Precious Children, a Gift from God,” Ensign, June 2000, 2

You might also be interested in the following:

lds.org article on birth control
Ask a Mormon Woman: What are Mormon views on pregnancy, childbirth, and medical intervention?

**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” reflect the thoughts, perspectives, and experiences of individuals. Although here at Mormon Women: Who We Are, we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

Have a question you would like to ask? Send an email to us at gmail, with username ‘mormonwoman’

The post Ask a Mormon Woman: Why Do Mormons Have So Many Kids? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I have had many times in my life when I have been made aware that God knows me and what I need and want in life. My husband and I had been married for almost two years when we realized that we were ready to open our hearts and give love to a child. The next month we found out that I was expecting. We were thrilled. Our baby boy was born the following March.

We were sure that we wanted two kids, and we wanted them close in age. So when our baby was a mere three months old, we started trying for another baby. Before long, we realized that something wasn’t right. My body wasn’t back to normal. After rounds of tests, and infertility treatments we decided to look into adoption. We didn’t jump in blindly…we fasted, and prayed, and thought, and pondered, and realized that this was the way that God wanted us to build our family. We knew that He knew that we wanted another child, and we felt a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that this was the way to add to our family.

We researched agencies. We looked into private adoptions. We were drawn to the private agency that a neighbor of ours worked with. We attended the agency’s classes and started the long process of adoption which included writing a birth-parent letter, putting together a family profile, getting background checks and having home studies done. We finally had all of our paperwork submitted on Feb. 27, 2003.

Six weeks later we got the phone call that changed our lives – a baby girl was in Tennessee awaiting an adoptive family. A few days later we were in Memphis meeting her — our new daughter. We knew that this was what God wanted, and that she had been guided into our lives. Six months later, the adoption was finalized and we were able to have her sealed to us in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple in American Fork, Utah. When she was sealed to us, it was as if she knew what was happening. She looked at the worker in the temple that was performing the sealing with an expression of impatience. She smiled at my husband as if she knew that this is what would bind us together for eternity.

We were happy with two kids. We were sure that we wouldn’t have any more babies. Not quite two years later though, we discovered that I was once again expecting. Another little boy would join our family.

People often ask us why we adopted our middle child. My answer is always that she was meant to be with us. She was meant to be our daughter and Heavenly Father made this possible for us and for her. He was aware of what we needed. Of this I am sure.

——-

For more Sharing Our Voices content, including First Person essays, see here.

The post First Person: Adoption appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

——-

“Future happiness and even the future of nations is linked to children. Families with children need to be re-enthroned as the fundamental unit of society. We simply must value children more than we do.”
Elder Russell M. Nelson Participates in International Conference on Families

Elder Nelson’s wife, Wendy Watson Nelson, also spoke at this conference, The World Congress on Families, which was held in Amsterdam “We need families who look to God and who remove anything from their lives that is spiritually corrupting….” Sheri Dew also participated, and spoke on the importance of sexual purity. “A virtuous life is…one of the most powerful keys to strengthening families and therefore to strengthening our world…. [T]oday I invite you to consider that the single most pervasive threat to the stability and future of the family is sexual immorality in all its forms. Nothing would do more to strengthen the families of the world than a resurgence of moral virtue, particularly sexual purity….”

Transcript from Elder Nelson’s talk

Transcript from Sister Nelson’s talk

More quotes from Sister Dew’s talk

——-

“When all is said and done, the most important thing about you and your testimony is that you base your beliefs on what Jesus Christ taught, and you try to follow Him by living your life in a way acceptable to our Heavenly Father and to the Lord. This is your foundation. It was Joseph Smith’s foundation. He said: “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, he was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”
Elder Ballard Speaks at BYU Graduation (transcript here)

——-

Mormon Missionaries Provide Language, Hosting Assistance at World Games

The post Links We Like: LDS Leaders Speak; LDS Missionaries Help in Taiwan appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.