Making Strong Families a National Priority | Melissa S. Kearney | 2024

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Two-parent homes are a privilege. Making strong families a national priority will improve children’s lives and reduce poverty and inequality.
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[@jeff3olsen]

Turns out The Family Proclaimation was the most profound prophetic document written in the last several hundred years! 🎉 MFGA = Make Fmilies Great Again! ❤

[@hennore]

“…we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets. We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” Great talk! Thank you, Melissa 🙏🏾

[@taylorstrickland4395]

It amazes me how many people, including members of the church, feel The Family Proclamation is an outdated and unnecessary piece of literature. The warnings are literally taking place before our eyes.

[@briangarrison8732]

This is definitely the reality we live in. I am a college educated male and sole earner in my household. My wife is also college educated, but opts to take care of things on the home front including homeschooling our children. While we are fortunate to be in this situation financially, we are still having to cut it close. I would like to pay less taxes since we are raising 4 children (the future generation of America). My childless coworkers seem to have money coming out their ears and live lavishly even with higher tax rates. I think they need to be taxed more so families aren't strained so much. Thanks for the data Melissa, the trends are alarming and certainly indicate there needs to be priorities made to emphasize the importance of stable families in society. I would like to see some inclusive data of those without college degrees (e.g. the skilled trades) because some of my colleagues are trades educated and make more than me ($100-200k range).

[@azhyrbooth5982]

Thank you for sharing ideas for what we can do! Family is essential!❤

[@jordanjenkins1671]

This is such great research and analyses! Thank you Dr Kearney!

[@drewandwendyjex3949]

Her data informed list of "What Can and Should Be Done" 25:27 is useful, to the point, and encouraging.

[@JanelKing-z1f]

As a divorced single mom for 10 years, this is all truth. I can be the absolute best mom, but I will never be a dad. I have done my best to provide and teach, but I do not have as much time, as much energy, as much money, and as much safety as my married friends. Two parent families are critical for the raising and nurturing of our children. I am interested to know how the porn industry has played into all of this. Most of the women I know who are divorced want to be married and feel it is vital to our kids but we struggle to find men who aren't addicted to porn and respect us. It isn't their income or that we feel like being a single mom is normal. It is that we don't like being compared to women on Instagram, we don't like men expecting we satisfy them everyday so they can sleep, and we don't like the cheating men do by looking at pictures of other women. We would all rather stay single than be married to that man. This is the complaint most of the single women I know express. Stop men from looking at porn and more women will get married. And I have yet to meet someone who has done the church's sex addiction program and have it work.

[@ildenete3235]

É um mundo assustador olhando assim. Observando as familias. Cada caso é diferente. Muito diferente. Estou disposta a trabalhar na minha formação ganhar menos, trabalhando fora de casa mas perto de casa menos horas no trânsito e mais perto do filho, que não está pronto para trabalho fora, ainda que sobre ofertas de emprego para menor aprendi sobrem. Enfim cada um focado na familia faz o seu sacrifício para haver paz e harmonia no lar. Não abandonaria minha paz no lar ,filhos tendo pesadelos por minha própria realização, falando que é para o bem de todos, mas com um filho aos dezesseis depois de uma fase de adaptação de manter os mesmos habitos, quero voltar aos meu futuro. Manter a saúde e saber esperar, é mais um desafio, quem quer esperar? Quem quer passar por algum tipo de privaçao financeira? ficar solteiro? A salvação da minha alma faz ela se desdobrar se preocupar com o meu próximo e dar espaço para a fé em Deus ser prioridade nas escolhas da vida e um mundo tão desesperado por atenção de olhos humanos.

[@thawts9087]

Great presentation. BYU should have Abigail Shrier on as well.

[@taylor-sanchez]

No girl we know exactly what you are talking about! Thank you for your message!

[@deborahjones8175]

Excellent information! So true. Thank you.

[@cycan3809]

Thank you so very much for your scholarship and openness. We are benefitted greatly by your speech. The spirit of truth is of God (D&C 93).

[@rebeccachambers419]

I will say that the best family model is one that has the grandparents in the home too.

[@can_ye_feel_so_now]

amazing talk!

[@trelainamobley6254]

Awesome, awesome address, Melissa! ❤

[@michellemarchant8013]

We need more men who are elementary teachers. From my observations at 4 different elementary schools my children have attended, there are 2-4 men who work at the school TOTAL. This includes regular teachers, principals, janitors, PE teachers, and perhaps an art teacher. Elementary school is where kids form their attitudes about learning. By middle school, where there are more male teachers, it is often too late. When 50% of the student population (boys) have no men in the adult faculty/staff, they begin to believe that school is not a place for them. Men teach differently than women. And in a society where there is a huge rise in single motherhood, elementary male teachers are needed to provide more adult male positive influence on our boys. In every statistic--high school graduation, bachelor degrees, and masters degrees, women are outperforming men. More really great male teachers would be one idea to help our boys.

[@gabbihoopes5337]

🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@StandforTruth712]

More emphasis needs to be put on the value of motherhood and having children. Even the Church has lost its way on this front. Recently, in a my 10 year old primary class, I mentioned the most important role someone can have is to be a father or a mother. One girl wrinkled up her nose with a puzzled look on her face said, "Really? I thought it was having a career. " Although it's between a husband and wife on how many children they have, I am taken back at the number of our general leadership who only have 2 or 3 kids. The women in leadership or the wives of our general priesthood leadership tend to be working professionals. It seems we as a Church value professional life and the prosperity that comes with it rather than having children. I recognize I am opening myself up for criticism because I don't have a full view of circumstances and who am I to judge. When I was growing up in the Church, if you came from a family with less than six or seven kids, it was the exception. Families were far less proserous then but our moms stayed at home. Our mother's weren't focused on signing up each of their children in multiple extra curricular activities and as a consequence not burdened by the cost or the stress of driving us everywhere. We played outside, formed our own sports teams and used our imaginations. We weren't underfoot all the time and learned to solve our own problems. Even in the Church today, if a woman chooses family over career, she's looked down on. Our society would be far better off if motherhood and children were valued again.

[@julietaylor9344]

So why make a comment like that when you know it’s judgmental?

[@Abigaillavelle]

Agreed. Most women do not want two fulltime jobs. If we want families to be stronger, motherhood and homemaking has to be valued.

[@9X9977]

Because judging is necessary and the comment is accurate observation

[@bethanytredway6111]

I think the reason why the women with fewer children and prosperous careers are called to leadership positions in the church is that they have more capacity to serve outside their homes. I do not think this should be set up as the new standard. Often, they are women whose personal challenges and circumstances led them into those opportunities.

[@JustinJones_now]

Ok brother. I grew up in Utah Valley and I’m still here. Let’s set aside your wanton disregard for others seeking personal revelation regarding family size. You’re going to lift your heel against good members in “general leadership” just because many of them have fewer children than “back in the day”? As if the only proxy of whether someone is a good is a simple math equation about their progeny? Also, the expectation for women to NOT work outside the home is still very much alive and well here, to an unhealthy degree, to the point that women who have to help in dire circumstances (husband is injured, disabled, etc) are STILL being perceived as “less faithful” somehow.

[@Sunsaintsandwaves]

🔥

[@9X9977]

And there is the nation, squabbling over the "right" to feticide. Such a low bar and sad state. Thank you Dr Kearney for pointing to a much higher and productive discussion.

[@jordanjenkins1671]

If John B. Calhoun's observations of mice colonies is a predictor of human colonies, then we're going to continue to see a decrease in married families and an increase in single, lonely, distracted, childrenless, and overstimulated men and women. Hopefully as we turn our hearts to Christ, we can reverse these trends.