Official Statement: New Years Message

The New Year’s message of the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ for 2014 is family unity and family commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ, this is the most important thing that we the church wish to advocate this year. The adversary has turned his attention to the destruction of the principle of the family in our society today and he will stop at nothing to bring it down or reduce its significance in the world we live. We find that on every side there continues to be a sustained attack on the basic integrity of the family as the foundation of what is good and noble in the world. It has become apparent that many efforts are being made by governments across the globe to limit the size or even the effectiveness of families, sometimes under the guise of saving the world from overpopulation or discrimination against those who choose not to have families. Many of these government proposals include placing some sort of legal penalties on those who may choose to have more than two children, such as stopping or decreasing child benefit or stopping married couple’s tax breaks or stopping tax breaks for family’s altogether. Their ultimate aim? To destroy the family unit and its effectiveness in the world. Even many more governments are now adopting ever more liberal views on abortion which would suggest to the church the ever more blatant disregard for the sacredness of human life and the family.

In a world which in the grip of the adversary and governments blind to his power we find that families are more and more being torn apart by increasing use of illegal drugs and the abuse of legal drugs without the governments of the world doing much to stem the problem and instead allowing many drugs to be legalised, this action is putting more and more strain and demand on the families already under great strain. Because of this great strain families are becoming fractured and the ever more present contempt for authority in our society by more and more young people is beginning in the home with disrespect and disobedience towards parents whom the governments of the world are bemoaning every minute of everyday.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ and I as Prophet know that today more than ever the forces of evil attack the individual by tearing away at the roots of the family and it is becoming critical for Latter Day Mormon parents to maintain and strengthen the family every day. There very well may possibly be a few very strong individuals in the world who can survive without the support of a family unit around them, but more and more of us find ourselves in need of the love, teaching, and support that come from those who care very deeply for us. The primary function of a Latter Day Mormon home is to insure that every member of the family works to create the climate and conditions in which all can grow toward perfection. For all parents, this requires dedication of time and energy and this means providing for more than just their children’s physical needs but also for their spiritual needs as well. We need to make sure that in this new year of 2014 that we spend more time making our families and our homes successful in devoting our best creative energy to the most important unit in society, our families. We need to ask ourselves some very important questions. What is our relationship towards our family? Is it merely a routine, unrewarding part of your life? No, it is not! Both parent and child must be willing to put family responsibilities first in order to achieve family unity and peace and salvation.

My brothers and sisters we must remember that although we live in wondrous times, full of many marvellous things there are also great challenges and temptations all around us. I pray that our Heavenly Father will give all of us the strength in this coming year to reach our one true potential. I pray that his Spirit rests upon the homes of the Church, and indeed the all the home sin all the world, that there may be love and harmony found within them. May our Father in heaven preserve and protect our families this year, God bless you all in 2014 and remember who we are and what we have been placed here to do, God Bless you all and have a Happy New Year.