September ‘Liahona’ Commemorates ‘The Family Proclamation’ 30th Anniversary

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By Mary Richards, Church News

The September 2025 issue of the “Liahona” commemorates the 30th anniversary of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” 

“Thirty years after the proclamation on the family was introduced to the world, its divine principles are more prescient and valid than ever,” noted the magazine under the headline, “For Our Day.” 

The “Liahona” reprinted the entire proclamation, which was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in the Salt Lake Tabernacle and broadcast throughout the world. 

Before reading the proclamation, President Hinckley said, “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. … 

“We commend to all a careful, thoughtful and prayerful reading of this proclamation. The strength of any nation is rooted within the walls of its homes. We urge our people everywhere to strengthen their families in conformity with these time-honored values.” 

Words From the First Presidency on ‘The Family Proclamation’ 

An article titled “By Divine Design: Apostolic Teachings on the Family” includes the following words from the First Presidency regarding the family and the importance of “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” 

The Family Is Central to God’s Plan 

“Pivotal to God’s plan is the family. In fact, a purpose of the plan is to exalt the family. The earth was created so that we as premortal spirit children of our Father in Heaven could come to the earth and obtain physical bodies. We are here to be tried and tested [see Abraham 3:24–25]. We are here to ‘choose liberty and eternal life … or to choose captivity and death’ [2 Nephi 2:27]. And best of all, we are allowed to fall in love, to be married, and to invite children into our families” (President Russell M. Nelson, “Faith and Families,” “Ensign,” March 2007).

‘The Family Proclamation’ Is Founded on Eternal Doctrine 

“Those who do not fully understand the Father’s loving plan for His children may consider this family proclamation no more than a changeable statement of policy. In contrast, we affirm that ‘The Family Proclamation,’ founded on irrevocable doctrine, defines the kind of family relationships where the most important part of our eternal development can occur” (President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Divine Love in the Father’s Plan,” April 2022 general conference). 

Family Life in Mortality Prepares Us for Eternity 

“The family unit is not only fundamental to society and to the Church but to our hope for eternal life. We begin to practice in the family, the smaller unit, what will spread to the Church and to the society in which we live in this world and what then will be what we practice in families bound together forever by covenants and faithfulness” (President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, “The Family,“ Brigham Young University devotional, November 5, 1995). 

Other September 2025 ‘Liahona’ Articles 

Other articles in the September issue include “Blessed by Priesthood Authority and Power” by Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and “Lessons Learned in Inviting Christ to Author My Story” by Relief Society General President Camille N. Johnson in the “Covenant Women” series. 

The “Liahona” also points to the Topics and Questions entry for Family in the Gospel Library. 

“No matter our marital status or personal circumstances, each of us belongs to the family of God, we are each members of an earthly family, and we are each preparing to be eternal parents,” noted the magazine. 

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