Answer

Is It Okay to Have Questions About Parts of the Proclamation?

Something in The Family: A Proclamation to the World may be difficult for you. It might be what the proclamation teaches about gender, marriage, or family responsibilities. It may feel personal because someone you love does not agree with it or does not seem included by it.

You may also wonder whether it is acceptable to ask questions about the proclamation at all. It is. Asking honest questions is part of learning the gospel. The important thing is to pay attention to what you are looking for and where the question is leading you.

God Invites Us to Ask Questions

When James wrote to the early Saints, he taught that anyone who lacked wisdom could ask God. He promised that God gives “liberally” and does not criticize people for asking (James 1:5–6).

Joseph Smith read those verses when he was fourteen years old and did not know which church to join. He took his question to God in prayer. That question led to the First Vision and eventually to the Restoration of the gospel.

Your questions may not have the same consequences, but the principle is the same. You can bring honest concerns to Heavenly Father. You do not need to pretend that something makes sense when it does not yet make sense to you.

Not Every Question Begins in the Same Place

The scriptures also show that a question can be used to create doubt. In the Garden of Eden, Satan asked Eve, “Yea, hath God said” (Moses 4:6–7). He was not sincerely trying to understand God’s commandment. He was encouraging Eve to question whether God’s word could be trusted.

This does not mean that every difficult question comes from Satan. Honest questions are a normal part of faith. But it can help to ask yourself what you are hoping to discover.

Are you asking because you want to understand what God has revealed? Are you willing to follow the answer even if it requires patience or change? Or have you already decided that the teaching cannot be true and are looking only for reasons to dismiss it?

The words of the question may sound the same, but the purpose behind them can be different.

How Should We Understand the Proclamation?

The Church presents The Family: A Proclamation to the World as a statement of doctrine and eternal truth, not simply as an opinion about family life.

In “The Plan and the Proclamation,” President Dallin H. Oaks, who was involved in preparing the proclamation, described it as a statement of eternal truth and the will of the Lord for His children.

That does not mean you will immediately understand every sentence or know how every teaching applies to every situation. It does mean that a difficult reaction is not, by itself, evidence that the teaching is wrong.

You may need time to study the scriptures, pray, listen to prophetic teaching, and talk with someone wise and trustworthy. If the question involves someone you love, you may also need to acknowledge the pain or conflict involved rather than treating it as a simple debate.

Questions Worth Considering

• Am I asking this because I want to understand what God has revealed, or because I have already decided I will not accept it?
• Am I starting with what I know about God, or allowing one difficult question to determine what I believe about everything else?
• What teachings or spiritual experiences have I already received that I would need to dismiss if I rejected this one?

Having questions does not mean you are losing your faith. You can bring them honestly to God while remaining willing to listen, learn, and follow Him.