Strengthening Our Families: An In-Depth Look at the Proclamation on the Family

Reviewer Connie Lamb

In 1995, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement titled The Family: A Proclamation to the World. The proclamation on the family, as it has come to be known, has engendered considerable discussion, and this book joins that discussion with a probing and extensive commentary of the declaration. The book was produced by the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University under the editorial direction of David C. Dollahite, professor of marriage, family, and human development. The title of the book's introduction provides its purpose in a nutshell: "The Proclamation as Prophetic Guidance for Strengthening the Family."

Initiated in 1997, the project purposed to create a one-volume book to teach and support the principles of happy and successful family life as revealed in the proclamation. More than one hundred authors representing over thirty academic disciplines and a wide variety of professional and personal backgrounds were involved. All of the authors have been at BYU at some time as faculty or students. The editorial board provided peer review; in addition, over one hundred students reviewed drafts of papers and provided feedback.