Elder Ballard Addresses World Conference of Families

Posted on by

Today Elder M. Russell Ballard addressed the World Conference of Families being held in Salt Lake City. The address is only 21 minutes long. Watch it and let us know what you think about his address in the comments.

This entry was posted in General and tagged , , , by Joyce Anderson. Bookmark the permalink.

About Joyce Anderson

Her family and friends call her the Queen of the United States...and Mom -- Joyce Anderson has been involved in LDS apologetics for over 20 years and with the Millennial Star since 2010. Since the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic she has added homeschooler to her list things she does in addition to being the butcher, baker & candlestick maker. When not schooling the children, she reads, paints, declutters, teaches primary, and is happy to share a bowl of chips & salsa with anyone who stops by.

17 thoughts on “Elder Ballard Addresses World Conference of Families”

  1. I was there in person this morning, and for the uninitiated, this is not an LDS conference, nor is it an exclusively Christian group. The invocation was offered by a Salt Lake rabbi, and the program this morning featured catholics, orthodox, evangelical, Hindu and other religious traditions. In that light, Elder Ballard bore a great testimony of the plan of salvation and the role of families in LDS doctrine.

    Additionally, I really liked his counsel to refuse strident tones in these discussions, and felt he gave great counsel regarding conduct in the cultural realm.

  2. I enjoyed this. Knowing that this is a group of people from different faith traditions, I was struck how Elder Ballard unapologetically asserted that we are brother and sisters, literal spirit children of God, and that Christ is our Savior.

    I also liked the points where Elder a ballad clarified the international agreements that grant parents the right to raise their children according to their beliefs, as he discussed the story of the school which refused to inform parents before reading to the kids a fairytale with two princes in love.

    Finally, the discussion of the way the LDS Church has worked with the LGBT community in Salt Lake to ensure they are not discriminated against with respect to employment and housing was a very good example of what it means to love all as children of God, while acknowledging fundamental ideological differences.

  4. I finally had a chance to listen this morning as I was getting ready — love my little tablet that I can take around the house with me. It was so uplifting to hear the truths of the gospel explained to clearly for an non-LDS audience.

    As was expected, there has been push back on this address, and toward the World Congress of Families. On the Mormon Newsroom’s facebook page, many people — some of who I know to be LDS — were calling the WCF a “hate group”. A few cited the SPLC’s hate group list. I just want to say that supporting and defending traditional marriage is not hateful. Latter-day Saints should understand that. And to say that Elder Ballard some how had “blood on his hands” for addressing this congress is a very serious accusation, and one that should not be made by covenant remembers of the Church. Elder Ballard, by defending the Lord’s definition of the family, and by addressing this congress is fulfilling his apostolic duties of being a special witness of Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation.

  5. Joyce, you are spot on. I am attending all four days of the Congress, and may just submit a guest post or two on my experiences here if the group might find it interesting.

  6. I think it’s safe to say that the only hating going on is coming from the social justice warriors and is aimed at groups with traditional values.

  7. Michael, I hope you do write for us. I always love your posts and would love to hear your impressions. I was actually invited to go, but our family schedule did not work for me to go, so I’ve been really following this from many different sources. Your the third person I know who is there.

    And Geoff, you are totally right the SJWs are just foaming at the mouth that a lot of people still hold fast to the traditional and right definition of marriage and family and have the audacity to actually fight for those things.

  9. One of the things I see in the dispute over the value of conjugal marriage is then dual concern that the world should contain fewer people along with the demand that the world make amends for the marginalized populations involved in non-traditional sexuality. These folks are able to decry traditionalists on the basis that traditionalists are too stupid to understand the terrible implications procreation poses to the future of this world. And they are able to decry any attempt to teach traditional values based on the assertion that this continues the horrible oppression of those who have suffered so much in the past.

    But when one ignores the emotion and screaming, it is possible to look at data, which shows that traditional families thrive, giving their children a clear advantage in life, and providing prosperity and stability to their communities and nations.

    Those who advocate for the oppressed of the past will suppose that this difference is due to past oppression. Based on that supposition, they would destroy tradition in order to create a brave new world, where they hope to find that all may thrive, without bonds of biology, commitment, or restraint.

    They have faith in a hoped for world. But in this I assert a possibility that they hope for that which is not true, and thus their faith is not true faith, but wishful thinking.

Comments are closed.