The Family Proclamation—Words from God
The proclamation has a divine origin, so we must treat it with the reverence deserving words from God.
This general conference of October 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the announcement of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” By divine design, this proclamation, with its revelatory words, was created to “maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.”
Everyone belongs to a family, whether you are a mother, father, daughter, son, grandchild, grandparent, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, or cousin. Most importantly, each of us is, as the proclamation states, “a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents … [with] a divine nature and destiny.”
When I was called to the holy apostleship in 2015, I was advised, “This proclamation is now yours. Your name [pointing to the words ‘Council of the Twelve Apostles’ in the title] is right here. Feel it and teach it like you own it.”
I love the family proclamation. I have testified across the world from Africa to Australia and everywhere in between of the role of the family in God’s eternal plan. The proclamation has a divine origin, so we must treat it with the reverence deserving words from God.
Remember, brothers and sisters, as I said in a previous general conference from this very pulpit, “Words matter.”
Let me give you some background about the proclamation as a core message of what we believe.
In 1994, a year before the proclamation was presented, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles discussed how society and governments were pulling away from God’s laws for family, marriage, and gender. “But that was not the end of what we saw,” President Russell M. Nelson later explained. “We could see the efforts of various communities to do away with all standards and limitations on sexual activity. We saw the confusion of genders. We could see it all coming.”
The Twelve determined to prepare a document, an official proclamation, summarizing the Church’s position on family. During that year, these Apostles, seers called of God, prepared a declaration about the family. President Dallin H. Oaks recalled they prayerfully turned to the Lord for “what [they] should say and how [they] should say it.” They presented it to the First Presidency—Presidents Howard W. Hunter, Gordon B. Hinckley, and Thomas S. Monson—for their consideration.
Just months later, in March 1995, President Hunter passed away, and President Hinckley became the 15th President of the Church. The proclamation was now in his hands. When would be the right time to make this declaration to the Church? That time came six months later.
Days before the September 23 general Relief Society meeting that preceded general conference, President Hinckley and his counselors met in counsel with the Relief Society General Presidency. The sisters, like the Apostles, had been weighing concerns about women and families. They had focused the upcoming meeting on families.
President Hinckley was scheduled to address the women at the gathering. He had been pondering the direction of his remarks. As the discussion progressed, he referred by name to the newly created but not yet public “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Was this women’s meeting the right setting to make the decisive declaration about family?
Relief Society General President Elaine Jack later explained: “We didn’t know what the proclamation on the family was at that time. … [W]e could tell by the title, but we felt anything on the family … would be a positive thing. … I felt very positive that we had members of the Quorum of the Twelve that were receiving revelation.”
The Relief Society meeting that Saturday was historic. President Hinckley introduced the family proclamation with these important words: “With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn … of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history.”
He then read the proclamation in its entirety. As the Lord has said, “Whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”
The proclamation states, “The family is ordained of God.” I love the clarity of that statement. The proclamation is a call for us to live in mortality ever mindful of the divinity within us and the eternal future that lies before us. President Nelson taught: “You are literally spirit children of God. … Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become.”
When presented, the proclamation did not align with the views of many in the world. Not then. Not now. There are those who take issue with the declaration on family, marriage, and gender. Some suggest the Church pull it back, revise, or even set the proclamation aside.
The proclamation on the family is, as President Hinckley stated, doctrine, my dear brothers and sisters. The principles are not out of step but perfectly in step with the ways of the Lord and His covenant path. The teachings of the proclamation were revealed by our Lord Jesus Christ to His Apostles then and now. This is His Church; He has established the truths by which we live.
Some of you may reflect on the proclamation and say, “This isn’t working for me.” “It seems insensitive.” “My family doesn’t look like that.” “I don’t fit.”
For those with concerns, know that you are a child of heavenly parents, part of your Heavenly Father’s family. No one knows you better or cares more deeply about you than He does. Turn to Him; pour out your heart to Him; trust Him and His promises. You have family in your Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves you. He came to earth to atone for our sins and bear the burden of our mistakes and our very bad days. He understands what you are facing and feeling. Turn to Him; trust He will send the Holy Ghost to be with you, lift you, and guide you. Feel Their love that “sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; … it is the most desirable above all things … and the most joyous to the soul.”
All of the Lord’s Apostles love you dearly. We pray for you and seek the Lord’s guidance for you. Stay with us. You live in challenging times when the adversary seeks to make you his. Do not be drawn off. And if you are, come back. Our arms reach out to you, as will those of others who love you.
The proclamation states, “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness.” The Book of Mormon provides a second witness to this truth. In the first verse of the first chapter, we read, “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents.” How many of us have started the Book of Mormon—and started again and again—and in the process committed those words to memory? Commit them to heart.
One of my favorite statements in the proclamation is this: “Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of … Jesus Christ.”
Who does not want to be happy?
And what are the teachings of Jesus Christ? Again, in the proclamation: “Faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”
Whose life will not be better by applying these key principles? None of us are going to do perfectly; but we can follow President Hinckley’s wise words: “Do the very best you can.”
We read in the proclamation, “Fathers are to preside … in love and righteousness,” and “mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” Preside does not mean dominate, and nurture does not mean a secondary role. God has given men and women different but equal and essential roles that complement each other.
Let me share a personal story.
My wife and I learned to work better at being equal partners after one day when I decided to make an important decision without consulting her. My action surprised her, took her off guard, and put her in a very difficult situation. Afterward, she put her hands on my shoulders and firmly said, “Ron, please, never do that to me again.” We have pretty much been on the same page ever since.
We find in the family proclamation: “Fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”
Equal is a word that matters. Over the years, as Sister Rasband and I have worked together in what the proclamation describes as our “sacred responsibilities,” we have shaped an equally yoked marriage. As each of our children is now married, Sister Rasband and I have continued to counsel them and their spouses on how to be equal partners.
When we live with our eyes single to the glory of God, we respect one another and support one another. Those divine patterns of righteousness lead to stability in our individual lives, our families, and society.
Our Father in Heaven has provided the proclamation on the family to help guide us home to Him, to help us learn and be filled with love, strength, purpose, and eternal understanding. With all my soul, I plead with you to live close to Him and His Beloved Son. I promise as you do so, the Spirit will inspire and guide you and help you feel in your heart Their promised peace that “passeth all understanding.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.