Episode 121: The Family Proclamation in Context (Michael A. Goodman)
Y Religion
BYU Religious Education
4.9 • 1.8K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2025
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Contemporary views on marriage and family have changed significantly over time. How much of our understanding of marriage and family is shaped by societal norms versus prophetic guidance? In this episode, professor of Church history and doctrine Michael A. Goodman examines the secular and spiritual context surrounding "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." He discusses how the rise of expressive individualism, the sexual revolution, divorce rates, cohabitation, and other factors have played into the cultural and legal shifts in marriage norms. As he delves into the spiritual context of the proclamation, Professor Goodman outlines how it serves as more than a mere policy statement but a reaffirmation of eternal truths and doctrines.
Publications:
- "The Family Proclamation: The Secular and Spiritual Context" by Michael A. Goodman and W. Justin Dyer (Religious Educator, 24.2, 2023)
- "Religion and Perfectionism" (BYU Studies Quarterly, 63.4, 2024)
- "Individual, family, peer, and religious community predictors of adolescent religious deidentification" by Sam A. Hardy, Russ Amelang, and Michael Goodman (Applied Developmental Science, 2024)
- "Religion and LGBTQ Suicidality: A Systematic Review" (Archive for the Psychology of Religion, 2023)
- "Constancy amid Change: Latter-day Saint Discourse on Gender and Sexuality" by Michael A. Goodman and Daniel Frost (BYU Studies Quarterly, 61.3, 2022)
- "'Oh Say, What Is Truth?': Approaches to Doctrine" (BYU Studies Quarterly, 60.3, 2021)
- "'Line upon Line': Joseph Smith's Growing Understanding of the Eternal Family" (Religious Educator, 20.1, 2019)
- "The Influence of Faith on Marital Commitment" in By Divine Design (Religious Studies Center, 2014)
Click here to learn more about Michael A. Goodman
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, why religion friends. John Milton here. |
| 0:03.0 | Imagine this. |
| 0:04.0 | You have the rare opportunity to meet with the Pope and present him with a gift. |
| 0:10.0 | What would you give him? |
| 0:12.0 | When President Russell and Nelson met with Pope Francis, he gifted him two significant items. |
| 0:18.0 | One was a Christus statue. |
| 0:20.0 | Can you guess the other? It was the family, a proclamation |
| 0:24.5 | to the world. Since its introduction in 1995, this inspired document has become one of the most |
| 0:31.1 | influential statements of the restored gospel, quoted more than 250 times in general conference, |
| 0:37.3 | displayed in homes across the globe, and referenced in meetings with world leaders, it continues to shape lives and conversations. |
| 0:45.3 | Perhaps in part because of its prominence, the purpose and place of the family of proclamation to the world have been topics of discussion both within and outside the church. |
| 0:56.7 | Some view it as a declaration of eternal truths, |
| 0:59.8 | while others see it as a response to cultural and legal challenges of its time, |
| 1:04.9 | raising questions about its enduring relevance. |
| 1:08.0 | If you see this as a political, legal document, or if you see it as a doctrinal pronunciation |
| 1:13.6 | from God, it completely and utterly changes how you approach it. |
| 1:18.6 | What led to the creation of the family proclamation? |
| 1:21.6 | Was it merely a legal response to shifting cultural and legal trends? |
| 1:25.6 | Or a timeless declaration of divine truth. |
| 1:29.5 | In today's episode, we'll explore the origins, impact, and continuing relevance of this |
| 1:35.2 | prophetic proclamation. I'm your host, Professor John Hilton, and this is why religion. |
| 1:44.6 | Each year, religion professors at Brigham Young University produce hundreds of publications |
... |
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