The Turning

This is my parent’s newest book.  And I’m pretty sure they feel like it’s their most important one yet.  This book is like their other books in that it’s packed with practical ideas that any family can connect with and put into action.  But it’s more than that too.  It’s really a call to action.  It lays out the forces turning our society away from the family and compels us all to turn back towards it. 

For as long as I can remember my parents have been passionate about the family.  Their whole lives’ work has been dedicated to building and strengthening their own family and to bringing others along with them in their journey.  And they’ve planted this seed in all of us kids….this drive to build our own strong families, to see this work as our most important contribution to the world.  

Because really, the family is the bedrock of our society.  Where families are failing, communities and cultures and countries are failing. 

I read a really thought provoking talk recently by a Mormon feminist, Valarie Cassler, about gender equality, which is a huge Mormon hot topic right now (which I have actually a lot to say about, but that’s not really what this post is about).  One point that she made was this:

"The central drama in all societies is not what you see on page one of the Deseret News or Salt Lake Tribune.The real drama of human societies is what’s happening between men and women. It isn’t treaties and wars and the price of oil or how the stock market is doing……the situation of women [and families] is a barometer of how near death a civilization is. It is because where love and equality between men and women do not exist, you cannot live the Gospel.”

The real drama of the world right now is not what is happening in governments or at war, it is what is happening within and around families.  I’m no sociological guru, but it seems to me that where government and policy are supporting families, society is thriving and where families have no social or political support societies are dying. 

Sure, it’s a little bit of a simplistic view of things, but at my heart of hearts I believe that the work we do in our most intimate relationships will far outweigh anything we do outside of them.  The family is more than just the bedrock of our society, it is the essence of eternity. 

“What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone?” – Winston Churchill

“There is no cause that will be more effective in meeting the needs and solving the problems of today’s world than the strengthening of families.”   - Richard Eyre (I just couldn’t resist putting my dad up there with Churchill)

So, if you’re looking for a cause, this is a pretty good one!

So turn with us.  Join the cause. 

Click here for more information: http://the-turning.com/