Can the American Family Crisis Be Solved?

Communities, states, and nations are stronger when families are strong because the family unit is the core unit of society. According to a newsletter to Heritage Foundation members, the “family is the cornerstone of any successful country.”

The newsletter stated that “the American family is in crisis” and then gave several solid pieces of evidence for the statement: (1) “Marriage rates are near historic lows” with “One in three Americans … projected never to marry.” (2) “Birth rates continue to fall.” (3) America faces an epidemic of broken homes.”

America is in crisis. “If we don’t solve this crisis, we will face an unprecedented level of societal decline in America. We must act now.”

The Heritage Foundation is working to solve the crisis and “launched a groundbreaking new report, “Saving America by Saving the Family: A Foundation for the Next 250 Years.” The report is summarized as follows. 

To end America’s family crisis, policymakers and civic leaders should treat restoring the family home as a matter of justice, driven by two truths. The first is that all children have a right to the affection and protection of the man and woman who created them. The second is that the ideal environment in which to exercise this right is in a loving and stable home with their married biological parents. In contrast, the default in American culture today is to put the desires of adults over the needs of children. Children are too often called to sacrifice what is due to them – the presence of their mom and dad under the same roof for the entirety of their childhood.

The report posted three key takeaways from the material.

1. The family is the foundation of civilization, and marriage – the committed union of one man and one woman – is its cornerstone. It is the seedbed of self-government.

2. The question that will determine the course of America’s future is: What happens to a nation when its citizens largely stop having children and eschew marriage?

3. The only way for America to thrive in the future is to rebuild the family – which can only happen with a societal commitment to revive the institution of marriage.

According to the newsletter, “This report provides a full breakdown of the tragic state of the American family along with innovative policy solutions to encourage family formation.” The newsletter then offers the following three policy solutions.

1. Stop Punishing Married Families

Right now, America’s welfare programs heavily discourage marriage and traditional family formation. This must be reversed….

That is why Congress and the administration should eliminate all marriage penalties in welfare programs, impose work requirements, and end waste, fraud, and abuse that take resources away from hardworking American families.

2. Restore the American Dream

The President should issue a series of executive orders requiring every federal policy, regulation, or grant to explicitly measure how it helps or harms marriage and family, and block or support those actions accordingly.

Congress must also reform and cut large spending programs that feed off the work of Americans and drain them of the ability to save and build a future for their children.

3. Actively Support Marriage and Working Families

The federal government should also make up for the wholesale damage it has done to the family across generations. This includes deposits into new investment accounts for newborns redeemable when Americans get married.

Policymakers should also apply the current child adoption tax credit to married parents for each of their newborns. And they should make every credit, program, and tax benefit provided for paid childcare available for at-home parental child raising. Saving the American family will also require a society-wide cultural renewal….

When political think tanks and prophets are both sounding the same alarm, we can know that there is a fundamental problem. President Dallin H. Oaks – then-President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and now-President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – spoke about the importance of marriage and bearing children six months ago at the bi-annual general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church News summarized his remarks as follows, but his entire talk can be found here. 

The Church’s doctrine centers on the family. “Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family.” The gospel plan’s intended destiny is to exalt God’s children in eternal families.

Marriages and birthrates are declining. “It is vital that Latter-day Saints do not lose their understanding of the purpose of marriage and the value of children. That is the future for which we strive.”

Latter-day Saints have a God-given responsibility to teach their children to prepare for eternity. They can do this even through divorce, death and separation.

Parents, single or married, and others like grandparents who fill that role, are the master teachers for children.

Have love and patience for family members who do not embrace gospel values and expectations. Repentance and spiritual growth are still possible.

Families unite when they do meaningful things together, such as gardening, camping, sports activities, recreation, reunions, working in the yard and home, learning languages and more. Families flourish when they learn together and counsel together.

Blessings come to families as they pray and worship together, share family stories, create traditions and share sacred experiences.

            The sealing powers in the temple bring families together for eternity.