Because they are encouraged to notice the blessings family life brings, they are more likely to enjoy a houseful of children and all the fun chaos that goes with it. Mormons believe we lived with God before we were born. Contraception was very much in the news.). (Research on Utah fertility patterns from 1960 to the present confirms much of what we are seeing in the NMS.). What’s more, on the third question—how many children respondents believe is the “ideal” family size—Mormons’ perfect number was about 3. This is entirely untrue. Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Mormon Church distributes free copies of the King James Version of the Bible and the. Elective abortion as a method of birth control, however, is contrary to the commandments of God.”. Outside Utah, it could be 2-7 kids depending on the family. And while they are told not to judge each other in this matter, I’d be willing to bet that somewhere, Joseph F. Smith is rolling in his grave. The 1969 statement was also followed by a list of certain allowances: husbands should respect their wives’ limitations and wishes about family size, women’s health should be a primary concern, etc. If this language sounds unusually formal for the 1960s, that’s because the announcement was based on an earlier—and considerably more incendiary—statement from Pres. A third of Arab families number six persons or more, compared to less than 10 percent of Jewish families. [fn1] Okay, trouble already. The lds church encourages its members to have families but doesn't say as to how big they should be. This was higher than the … What the media isn’t saying about the history of Mormon polygamy in Mexico, Why it’s important that Mormon women can now be official witnesses to a baptism, Calling former Mormons to participate in research study, © Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. They also tend to be family-oriented. They are dealing with the same realities as the rest of us. Pew said that Mormon women ages 40-59 had had, on average, 3.4 children. You can see the evolution here. Support RNS and get your donation doubled, Get the RNS spiritual guide to the 2020 election. For the official Church websites, please visit LDS.org or Mormon.org. After Smith's death in 1844 the movement split into several groups following different leaders; the majority followed Brigham Young, while smaller groups followed Joseph Smith III, Sidney Rigdon, and James Strang. They can’t imagine Heaven without their families. Moreover, since some significant portion of Mormon families are younger than 40, presumably the median family size is smaller. For example, we have LDS and national data from the early 1980s that indicates that when Americans as a whole had a total fertility rate of 1.81 children, Mormons were having an extra kid and a half: a 3.31 fertility rate. We were spirits there, and in order to gain our bodies and to have special experiences necessary for our eternal salvation, we need to come to earth. That don’t-ask-don’t-tell approach has effectively been the Church’s policy for the last 20 years. Issues to consider include the physical and mental health of the mother and father and their capacity to provide the basic necessities of life for their children. Poor People’s Campaign mourns 250K COVID deaths, calls for stimulus relief, Churches return land to Indigenous groups as part of #LandBack movement, Scandal-plagued Catholic hospital’s story reads like a guide to Vatican turmoil, Sean Feucht protest worries Los Angeles homeless advocates. This website is not owned by or affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). Mormon Rules: Do Mormons Really Want Eternal Families? 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