Attending World Congress of Families 9

 Yesterday I had the opportunity to attended the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City. I was blessed to go with my twin who attends BYU. It was a life changing experience! I LOVED it!!! When we were driving home from the conference my sister asked what I was thinking. My reply was, "what I've learned today has changed everything, I cannot live my life the same after this experience." 

We were able to listen to several speakers speak on issues regarding the current state of the family. I loved hearing educators speak on their ideas of overcoming the present challenges of the family. Many I had never thought of before. Over 65 countries were represented at the conference. It was encouraging to see people from all over the world come together to stand for the family. 

My sister and I were so excited. We were running on adrenaline the entire day! The conference was held at the Grand American Hotel. 

The bathroom was bigger than my apartment. The paper towels were like little wash clothes. The hotel had 24 levels. You can bet we rode the elevator to level 24 and went exploring. 

Highlights of the Conference: 

- The family is ordained of God, just as the sacrament is administered, and a baptism is performed etc. We don't go to the government to know how they work, we go to God. This is the same with the family. God makes the decisions. 

- "The most extraordinary is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman with their ordinary children." G. K. Chesterton 

- Paster Jenkins, from Glenarden Maryland gave a powerful talk on Psalm 127. He explained that God will build are houses and guard are cities on the condition that we embrace are children and raise them unto Him. He explained that parents today are not doing this. They are having kids, but not raising them. He said that our culture today has rejected children, between abortion, abuse, and neglect. How can we expect God to build are homes and guard our cities if we are not going to raise children unto Him? In verse 4 in Psalm 127 children are likened to an arrow of a solider. A skilled solider can conquer anything with his arrow in the right place. As righteous parents raise children, they will be a force for good and influence. 

- Warren Cole Smith, author of Restoring All Things, gave three suggestions for promoting the traditional family. I loved all the suggestions! They were 

     - 1). be known for what you stand for rather than what you stand against

- 2). recover art of storytelling (share your experiences with others)

- 3). remember and serve victims of self exploitation 

- We were able to hear from Clay Olsen, founder of Fight the New Drug, and Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad. They talked about sexual exploitation. Their stories and organizations are amazing. I learned so much from them. They are amazing individuals who are fearless and live true to their beliefs. 

I am beyond grateful for the opportunity I had to attend the World Congress of Families. I know that the most important part of attending the conference will be what I will do with what I learned. I'm excited to research these topics further and do what I can to stand for the family.