Addressing the Fear

For some people family is the most exciting thing about their lives, the element that holds them together and the one group they want to be a part of when they are struggling. Family then becomes a safe haven, a place of refuge and the calm in the midst of the storm. Ideally, this is how everyone should feel about family. Unfortunately, this is not the case for everyone.

Research shows that the feeling of peace within the family has decreased. One 21 year old male said, "Having the family as a safe haven sounds like a dream. But it is hard to believe in that when you have gone through the storm of divorce and feuding. I want to make a difference for my family, but I can't imagine how I'll really be able to do something different than what I've seen my whole life." Another victim of divorce explained that she "wish[ed] fighting wasn't the norm but it was kinda expected".

It's not only divorce that is decreasing the belief in peace for the family. Alina from Los Angeles described her feelings about family: "...just saying the word family is weird to me. I love my family, like don't get me wrong, but my dad was an abuser so family doesn't really sound like where I wanna be." And Jake from New York used one word to describe his feelings on family: "confused".

With so many attacks from the adversary on the family, it is no wonder many of our youth today are struggling with the idea of family. After all, how can they understand the family can offer peace when all they have felt is contention?

This blog is meant to address these concerns about the family by researching what many of the youth in the LDS community have said concerning the family and provide faith and hope from experts on the subject. It is my hope that at the end of this project family will no longer be a trigger word for fear.