On the Mormon Issues forum of Beliefnet, Bill, one of our resident philosophers over there has issued his Family Proclamation to the Church:
A PROCLAMATION TO THE CHURCH
We solemnly proclaim that romantic love between two people is a good thing and that their familial arrangements are their own business.
All human beings, regardless of gender or orientation, are beloved spirits with their own divine nature and destiny. Gender and orientations are natural gifts, giving each individual a special identity and purpose.
The image of Adam and Eve, being commanded to "multiply and replenish the earth," presents a limited view of the potential and dignity of each individual whose value is not to be determined by his or her capacity to breed. We declare that any organization which honors polygamy - secret, in violation of the law, to persons already married to someone else as well as to children - is in no position to judge the family relationships of others.
Parents have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children, 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, and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Parents are responsible for the discharge of these obligations - including the obligation to make every child feel loved.
Families are important. Children are better served when their parents remain together, but the definition of family has more to do with function than form. Single parents are not necessarily bad parents, nor are dual parents necessarily good. What matters most is that children are protected from abuse and neglect - and surrounded by those who love them dearly.
We warn that well-intended church folk who arrogantly denigrate familial relationships that differ from their own - or who violate the dignity of persons whose orientation differs from their own - are accountable for the violence and hardship that results from the intolerant attitudes they help foster.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote the separation of Church and state, as well as to maintain the rights and dignity of all persons within society.
I think the family as a unit is an important concept. It does not need to be limited by the contemporary understanding of the family as only a nuclear family. A family can be extended like a clan. A family can even be all unrelated persons that function together as a point of reference and support. Families can be for heterosexuals and homosexuals. The good the family unit does can be extended to all and celebrated by all. As Bill has demonstrated, a Proclamation of the Family need not be a club to beat gays over the head with, but rather an acknowledgment that the family can help enhance the social and spiritual lives of its members.
China has restrictions on number of kids. And, the government enforces it. Boys are favored.
It is one way of controlling population growth.
I mentioned overpopulation to Gaz, because I think for most Mormons they are encouraged by the church to think that getting married and having large families is a good moral thing to do. For the betterment of the world it may not be.
by the way, my husband's younger brother adopted 2 girls from China.
