Church promotes family values for safer society 

Job Osazuwa 

Poised at promoting sound morals, fear of God and other values that can strengthen families, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has re-echoed the need to inculcate sound doctrines in children and youths for a better society 

At a briefing at its Ikeja Stake Centre in Lagos, the church reminded Nigerians that the family was the most important unit in the society, with the capability to positively or negatively shaping the society.

Speaking on the “2020 strengthening families conference” with the theme: “The family, the building block of society,” the Area Authority Seventy, Christian Chigbundu, said a family gives birth to a community, through which a state is made and a nation formed.

He said the stronger the family as a pillar that holds the society, the stronger the society.

Chigbundu said the essence of the virtual programme was to re-awake those values, principles, doctrines and cultures that were essential in strengthening the family at this point in time, where most homes were passing through turbulent waters.

The conference brought together stakeholders from West Africa to deliberate on critical issues confronting families in the region and identify both short and long term strategies to help resolve those challenges.

Chigbundu said the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints particularly places strong emphasis on family as the basic unit of the church and society, because families are the building blocks of any society.

He noted that the COVID-19, especially during the total lockdown, was able to strengthen love and togetherness in many homes as family members had nowhere else to run to for comfort.

But he quickly added that it also affected the family negatively, pointing out that poverty was increased in the land as a result of job losses and other economic crises.

He advised that strong marriages should be built on faith in God, love, self-respect, transparency, forgiveness and repentance among the couples.

President of Agege Stake, Asuquo Udobong, said  satan was working round the clock to ensure marriages fail. But he strongly believed with patience, mutual respect and selflessness, most marriages would succeed.