Latter-day Saint Life

President Oaks Talks LGBT Issues, Mental Illness, and Families

46499.jpg

“Our relationship to God and the purpose of earth life are explained in terms of the family," President Dallin H. Oaks said as he addressed young married couples from 11 stakes in the Los Angeles area. "We are the spirit children of heavenly parents. The gospel plan is implemented through earthly families, and our highest aspiration is to perpetuate those family relationships throughout eternity."

The Church cannot be strong if a majority of its leaders and members come from weak families, said President Dallin H. Oaks on Aug. 24.

“Conversely, if most of the families in a ward or stake are strong, the ward or stake will also be strong,” he said. “The same is true of the Church.”

Directing his remarks to the sometimes “neglected group” of “extraordinary importance,” President Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency, addressed young married couples from 11 stakes in the Los Angeles area.

During the devotional, held in the Los Angeles California Santa Monica Stake Center, President Oaks answered important questions raised by young couples “on the frontline of what is vitally important to the Church.” He addressed questions dealing with Church leadership, mental illness, Church history and the Church’s policies relating to children raised by gay couples. He also counseled the couples on how to strengthen their marriages and families and spoke about the Church’s efforts to simplify programs that take leaders out of the home.

Lead image from Church News

Share
Stay in the loop!
Enter your email to receive updates on our LDS Living content