All of the gospel

"The way forward likely includes a recognition that we’re each at different points along the path to the same heavenly home.  And we must testify with our actions that, no matter where along the path we may be, all of the gospel is indeed for all of us."

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LDS singles can easily feel like second-class citizens in the family-centered culture of the Church.  The continual focus on something we don’t have just makes feeling like we belong and staying positive and optimistic more difficult.

Of course, the Church must teach the doctrines related to the family.  How could they not?  “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” begins with the solemn declaration “that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

Yet teaching the gospel as though everyone has the ideal situation serves more to alienate those who are different than invite them to continue participating.  We need to teach the doctrines related to the family while at the same time help those who don’t have that ideal situation to feel fully included in the Kingdom.

The way forward likely includes a recognition that we’re each at different points along the path to the same heavenly home.  And we must testify with our actions that, no matter where along the path we may be, all of the gospel is indeed for all of us.

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Embrace inclusion

That recognition will carry more weight when we truly care for everyone around us.  Words in Sunday School about a wonderful and inclusive ward family mean little when singles are left to confront the storms and other challenges of real life on their own.

Often, lessons about the family focus on the needs of those who are married.  Broadening that focus to recognize those who don’t have the ideal family structure in their lives can provide a foundation for inclusion.

Spending some time during lessons applying the family doctrines to singles as well as to marrieds can further that sense of inclusion.  For example, we read towards the end of the Family Proclamation,

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Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

Whereas marrieds strive to maintain their families, singles strive to create new ones.  Why must lessons focus solely on those who already have families?  Why can’t they include those who are trying to create them?

For instance, we can include examples of applying the principles in the Family Proclamation to dating.  When considering a dating prospect, do we truly prize qualities such as faith, forgiveness, respect, and compassion?  Or do we refuse a prospect who may have those qualities in spades but lack the more worldly qualities not mentioned in the Family Proclamation?

Look inside

Of course, that street runs both ways.  LDS singles should seek to develop within themselves the same qualities they look for in others.

I like the list of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, etc. the Family Proclamation provides.  But I find the descriptions of the primary responsibilities of fathers and mothers especially adept for adoption by single brethren and sisters, respectively.

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.  Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.  In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.

My single brethren, how are your presiding skills?  D&C 121 is a great start if you need a refresher.  How is your ability to provide the necessities of life?  Note the word necessities doesn’t include fancy sports cars or weekly shopping sprees at the mall but does include putting a roof over people’s heads, food in their bellies, and a pillow under their heads at night.  If you find your ability to provide lacking, what are you doing to improve?

Single sisters, don’t think you’re getting left out here.  How are your nurturing skills?  Again, if you find your ability lacking, what are you doing to improve?

Let all help all

As a divinely inspired document, the Family Proclamation is filled with wonderful sentences that can both teach the doctrine of the family and help everyone regardless of their situation to feel included in the larger community of the Saints.

However, of all the sentences in the Family Proclamation, I do have a favorite.  It’s this one: “Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.”  I love that sentence!

Why do I love that sentence so much?  Here the Brethren acknowledge that life is sometimes less than ideal and those who find themselves so situated are still acceptable before God so long as they do their best with what they have.

Note that “individual adaptation” applies to more than just those who find themselves in less-than-ideal situations.  It applies to everyone.  We’ll never truly live in Zion until all of us labor to help all of us along the path home.  That’s because we can’t live in Zion without embracing all of the gospel.  And all of the gospel is indeed for all of us.

Ministering to everyone around us and not just those who are like ourselves may be difficult at first.  But if pursued honestly, it will bring us more joy in our journey.

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