Wide Interest in Families

Published October 21, 1982. Last week was a hectic but enjoyable week. I attended the annual meeting of the National council on Family Relations along with nine hundred others from the nation who are interested in marriage and family life. This year we met in Washington, D.C.

Father Donald Conroy from the National Institute for the Family in Washington, D.C. and I sponsored a session on Religion and Family Life. We had more than 200 attend our session, and I was impressed with the great efforts so many religious denominations are making to promote marriage and family. I also noticed the many diverse religious groups--Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims and others who are all dedicated to promoting family life in our country.

While there I had another unique experience. Dr. Blaine Porter from BYU has a son, Roger, who is one of President Reagan’s chief administrative aides. Roger arranged for a few of us to have a private tour of the White House. But before we could go, our names had to be phoned in and cleared by the FBI.

During our visit to the White House I told one of the secretaries I had to have something to take back to prove to my children that I actually was here. There were no jelly beans in sight, so she gave me a book of matches with the presidential seal and President Reagan’s name on it. I also asked for and received a White House paper clip, and for those interested, I will send you an exact replica of it if you send me a self- addressed, stamped envelope.

On the way back from the conference on Saturday, I flew from Washington, D.C. to Chicago, and from there to Kansas City, Missouri. During a two-hour stopover I met with representatives from the University of Kansas and some community leaders who are interested in starting classes for married couples similar to those we have recently begun at Brigham Young University. As far as I know, we are the only university in the nation at the present time offering courses on marriage specifically designed for and offered to married couples.

The University of Kansas, in conjunction with the Lutheran Church and other family life agencies in the community, is also going to sponsor a two-day conference on Education for Newlyweds in Kansas City in December. They have invited me to participate, and we discussed plans for the future meetings.

Then I flew from Kansas City to Denver and from there to Salt Lake City. The flight to Salt Lake City was late at night. There were few others on the plane. And I was tired. I sat there and tried to recall all the things that had happened during the past four days of conferences and meetings. Thinking about all those talks and seminars on marriage and family actually made me dizzy.

While sitting there alone on the plane thinking about all these things, I was touched by two things I saw. Directly across the aisle from me was a young married couple, both asleep in each others arms. Such contentment I have seldom seen.

And right behind me was a young mother holding her new baby in her arms. She was singing to her sleepy infant. I turned around and looked for a moment. She smiled and kept right on singing.

Then the whole week’s worth of meetings and conferences suddenly came more into focus during that late night setting. I was a first-hand witness to what marriage and family life is all about. Truly,  “. . .  love never faileth” (1^st Cor. 13:8).