Here Goes!

Okay, I really debated on how to reply to this if at all. I finally decided that you said you invited more people to your blog because you wanted new perspectives. Plus, we are family, so we have to love each other no matter what! =-) So here goes! I am glad that you went into the history of feminism, etc. I learned a lot. But, I don't know my history well enough to really contribute to this conversation. However, it still sounds like you are saying the same thing as the TJED book--that feminism didn't used to be anti-family, but it has changed to mean that to most people. So, I still take the stance that I am not a feminist or anti-feminist.

However, you did really make me think about the original feminists and what they have given to us women today. I kind of equate them now with the pioneers bringing us the gospel and the founding fathers bringing us freedom, etc. So, thank you. I now want to do more personal research on the topic.

However, there is one thing that I completely disagree with you on. I thought about not even mentioning it, because I really hate confrontations and disagreements etc. But the topic is so dear to my heart, and as there are other readers of this blog, I wanted them to hear the other side of it. Also, I think that is how truth is found out. People have to be willing to talk and discuss to discover truth. It makes me think of the conversation in "The Virginian" by Owen Wister with the Judge and the girl where he asks her to "play fair" and basically have an ear for truth. Okay, here goes--

I do not believe in birth control. Studies show that IUD's cause abortions and that the pill may do the same thing. I believe that preventing Heavenly Father's spirit children from coming to earth is contrary to the gospel. In fact I believe this was the very choice that Eve had to make. I believe in letting God guide the size of our families. I believe this is another principle of faith. I have done a lot of pondering and searching and researching and have found many, many quotes by general authorities that support what I believe.

Quotes By General Authorities:
This is a letter from the first presidency when David O. McKay was president of the church. “Presidents of Stakes, Bishops of Wards, and Presidents of MissionsDear Brethren:The First Presidency is being asked from time to time as to what the attitude of the Church is regarding birth control. In order that you may be informed on this subject and that you may be prepared to convey the proper information to the members of the Church under your jurisdiction, we have decided to give you the following statement:We seriously should regret that there should exist a sentiment or feeling among any members of the Church to curtail the birth of their children. We have been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth that we may have joy and rejoicing in our posterity.Where husband and wife enjoy health and vigor and are free from impurities that would be entailed upon their posterity, it is contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children. We believe that those who practice birth control will reap disappointment by and by.However, we feel that men must be considerate of their wives who bear the greater responsibility not only of bearing children, but of caring for them through childhood. To this end the mother's health and strength should be conserved and the husband's consideration for his wife is his first duty, and self control a dominant factor in all their relationships.It is our further feeling that married couples should seek inspiration and wisdom from the Lord that they may exercise discretion in solving their marital problems, and that they may be permitted to rear their children in accordance with the teachings of the gospel.”- First Presidency (David O. McKay, Hugh B. Brown, N. Eldon Tanner ), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Office of the First Presidency, April 14, 1969

"It is contradictory to this covenant to prevent the birth of children if the parents are in good health.“Thirty-five years ago when I first started practicing medicine, it was a rare thing for a married woman to seek advice about how she could keep from having babies. When I finished practicing medicine, it was a rare thing, except for some faithful Latter-day Saint women, for a married woman to want to have more than one or two children, and some did not want any children. We in the Church must not be caught up in the false doctrines of the world that would cause us to break sacred temple covenants.” - Seventy J. Ballard Washington, April 1995

General Conference“The world teaches birth control. Tragically, many of our sisters subscribe to its pills and practices when they could easily provide earthly tabernacles for more of our Father's children. We know that every spirit assigned to this earth will come, whether through us or someone else. There are couples in the Church who think they are getting along just fine with their limited families but who will someday suffer the pains of remorse when they meet the spirits that might have been part of their posterity.” - Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1969, p. 12

“True to form, many of the people who desire to frustrate God's purposes of giving mortal tabernacles to His spirit children through worldwide birth control are the very same people who support the kinds of government that perpetuate famine. They advocate an evil to cure the results of the wickedness they support.” - Prophet Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 539

“Today the cry is heard in some quarters that these statements calling upon parents to provide bodies for the spirit hosts of heaven are outmoded. Massive birth control programs are being sponsored on a national and international scale. Fears are expressed that the earth cannot support the number of people that unrestricted births will bring. But God's decree and the counsel of the prophets remain unchanged. The real need is not to limit the number of earth's inhabitants, but to learn how to care for the increasing hosts which the Lord designs should inhabit this globe before the last allocated spirit has been sent here to gain a mortal body. Amid all the cries and pressure of the world, the position of the true Church remains fixed. God has commanded his children to multiply and fill the earth, and the earth is far from full.” - Apostle Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 86

“It is an act of extreme selfishness for a married couple to refuse to have children when they are able to do so.”- Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1979, p. 6

“Many good people, being influenced by the bold spirit of the times, are now seeking surgery for the wife or the husband so they may avoid pregnancies and comply with the strident voice demanding a reduction of children. It was never easy to bear and rear children, but easy things do not make for growth and development. But loud, blatant voices today shout ‘fewer children’ and offer the Pill, drugs, surgery, and even ugly abortion to accomplish that. Strange the proponents of depopulating the world seem never to have thought of continence!”- Prophet Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, April 1971, p. 7

“In this birth control effort man places himself in direct opposition to the plan and laws of God. The Almighty made this world, and He made us. All human beings are His children, His spirit offspring, and it is His intention to provide each one of us with a body of flesh and bones. This body is essential to eternal progress. With this in mind He gives us the powers of procreation and permits us to join with Him in a divinely sponsored act. But by preventing or aborting legitimate births, we oppose this plan. His spirit children are born into bodies of flesh and bones by His own design. Then who are we to prevent it?”- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, The Way to Peace, p. 266

“Some who have been perfectly healthy and able to bear children have avoided this responsibility, and in doing so have resorted to the use of harmful practices and devices resulting often in physical injury to the wife and demoralization to both parties. Some have wondered if the Church would approve such practices. Of course it never has and never could.”- Apostle Mark E. Peterson, Your Faith and You, p. 121

“The Church has always advised against birth control and that is the only position the Church can take in view of our beliefs with respect to the eternity of the marriage covenant and the purpose of this divine relationship.”- Apostle Hugh B. Brown, The Way of the Master, pp. 114

“Another of the great evils of the age is race suicide. This also is not consistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Providing opportunity for the spirit children of our Father in Heaven to come to earth and work out their own salvation is one of our sacred privileges and obligations. We teach that among the choicest of eternal riches are children.”- Prophet Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, p. 154

“The only legitimate ‘birth control’ is that which springs naturally from the observance of divine laws, and the use of procreative powers, not for pleasure primarily, but for race perpetuation and improvement. During certain periods—those of gestation and lactation—the wife and mother should be comparatively free to give her strength to her offspring; and if this involves some self-denial on the part of the husband and father, so much the better for all concerned.“‘Birth control,’ under God's law, is a problem that solves itself. I have no faith in the sophisms of those who reject His law, and try to substitute therefor their own vain theories for sex regulation. The eugenists may mean well, but they don't know enough to lead the world out of the wilderness.- Apostle Orson F. Whitney, Relief Society Magazine, v. 3, no. 7, July 1916

“The efforts on the parts of Eastern magazine writers to educate the people of the United States, particularly parents, to the doctrine that they limit the number of their offspring to three or four children, and how this can be accomplished, is both pernicious and an abomination in the sight of the Lord; and it robs both man and his Maker of their glory and increase.”- Apostle and Patriarch George Franklin Richards, Relief Society Magazine, v. 3, no. 7, July 1916

“[W]e declare it is a grievous sin before God to adopt restrictive measures in disobedience to God's divine command from the beginning of time to ‘multiply and replenish the earth.’ Surely those who project such measures to prevent life or to destroy life before or after birth will reap the whirlwind of God's retribution, for God will not be mocked.”- Prophet Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1972, p. 63

“Those who attempt to pervert the ways of the Lord, and to prevent their offspring from coming into the world in obedience to this great command, are guilty of one of the most heinous crimes in the category. There is no promise of eternal salvation and exaltation for such as they, for by their acts they prove their unworthiness for exaltation and unfitness for a kingdom where the crowning glory is the continuation of the family union and eternal increase which have been promised to all those who obey the law of the Lord. It is just as much murder to destroy life before as it is after birth, although man-made laws may not so consider it; but there is One who does take notice and his justice and judgment are sure.“I feel only the greatest contempt for those who, because of a little worldly learning or a feeling of their own superiority over others, advocate and endeavor to control the so-called ‘lower classes’ from what they are pleased to call "indiscriminate breeding."“The old colonial stock that one or two centuries ago laid the foundation of our great nation, is rapidly being replaced by the ‘lower classes’ of a sturdier and more worthy race. Worthier because they have not learned, in these modern times, to disregard the great commandment given to man by our Heavenly Father. It is indeed, a case of survival of the fittest, and it is only a matter of time before those who so strongly advocate and practice the pernicious doctrine of ‘birth control’ and the limiting of the number of children in the family, will have legislated themselves and their kind out of this mortal existence.”- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Relief Society Magazine, v. 3, no. 7, July 1916

“True motherhood is the noblest call of the world, and we look with sorrow upon the practice here in our own United States of limiting families, a tendency creeping into our own Church.”- Prophet David O. McKay, Church News, June 11, 1952“When the husband and wife are healthy, and free from inherited weaknesses and diseases that might be transmitted with injury to their offspring the use of contraceptives is to be condemned.”- Prophet David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1943, p. 30

“Any effort or desire on the part of a married couple to shirk the responsibility of parenthood reflects a condition of mind antagonistic to the best interests of the home, the state, and the nation. No doubt there are some worldly people who honestly limit the number of children and the family to two or three because of insufficient means to clothe and educate a large family as the parents would desire to do, but in nearly all such cases, the two or three children are no better provided for than two or three times that number would be. Such parents may be sincere, even if misguided; but in most cases the desire not to have children has its birth in vanity, passion, and selfishness. Such feelings are the seeds sown in early married life that produce a harvest of discord, suspicion, estrangement, and divorce. All such efforts, too, often tend to put the marriage relationship on a level with the panderer and the courtesan. They befoul the pure fountains of life with the slime of indulgence and sensuality. Such misguided couples are ever seeking but never finding the reality for which the heart is yearning.”- Prophet David O. McKay, Relief Society Magazine, v. 3, no. 7, July 1916

“… since birth control roots in a species of selfishness, the spiritual life of the user of contraceptives is also weakened. Women seem to become more masculine in thought and action; men more callous and reserved; both husband and wife become more careless of each other, and increasingly indifferent to the higher duties and joys of living.”- Apostle John A. Widtsoe, Evidences and Reconciliations, p. 310-314

“Those who have taken upon themselves the responsibility of wedded life should see to it that they do not abuse the course of nature; that they do not destroy the principle of life within them, nor violate any of the commandments of God. The command which he gave in the beginning to multiply and replenish the earth is still in force upon the children of men. Possibly no greater sin could be committed by the people who have embraced this gospel than to prevent or to destroy life in the manner indicated. We are born into the world that we may have life, and we live that we may have a fullness of joy, and if we will obtain a fullness of joy, we must obey the law of our creation and the law by which we may obtain the consummation of our righteous hopes and desires -- life eternal.”- Prophet Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p. 276

“Officers, members of the Relief Society, herein you have the word of the Lord, on this subject. Can anything be clearer or more emphatic? It is a very strange thing that people can believe that the Lord of Life could countenance for one moment, the refusal of his children to comply with the first commandment given to Adam and Eve. It is so easy to avoid parenthood, if people wish to do so, and that, too, innocently, even if selfishly. Men and women can remain unmarried. That is all there is too it.”- First Presidency (Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose), Relief Society Magazine, v. 4, no. 2, February 1917, pp. 68-69

“There is one thing that I am told is practiced to some extent among us, and I say to you that where it is practiced and not thoroughly repented of the curse of God will follow it. I refer to the practice of preventing the birth of children. I want to lift my voice in solemn warning against this, and I say to you that the woman who practices such devilish arts, or the man who consents to them, will be cursed of God. Such persons will be cursed in their bodies, cursed in their minds, cursed in their property, cursed in their offspring. God will wipe them out from the midst of this people and nation. Remember it. Mothers, teach this to your daughters, for I tell you it is true. I need not pronounce any curse, whatever my authority may be, but I say to you that women who take this course, and men who consent to it, will be cursed of God Almighty, and it will rest upon them until their generation shall be blotted out, and their name shall be lost from the midst of the Saints of God, unless, as I have said, there is deep, thorough and heartfelt repentance.”- Apostle George Q. Cannon, Collected Discourses, v. 5, October 7, 1894

“The Latter-day Saints do not imitate the examples of the Eastern cities and the old commonwealths of the Atlantic seaboard in destroying their offspring. They do not patronize the vendor of noxious, poisonous, destructive medicines to procure abortion, infanticide; child murder, and other wicked devices, whereby to check the multiplication of their species, in order to facilitate the gratification of fleshly lust. We are not disposed to imitate these examples, nor to drink in the pernicious doctrine once uttered in Plymouth Church by the noted Henry Ward Beecher--that it was a positive evil to increase families in the land beyond a limited extent, and the ability of the parents to properly educate and maintain them, sustaining the idea of small families; in effect, justifying the mothers--the unnatural mothers--of New England, and their partners who sanction their efforts in destroying their own offspring, and in preventing the fecundity of the race. Fancy such a doctrine justified by the noted orator of the nineteenth century, and re-echoed by the smaller fry throughout the country! The Latter-day Saints are taught to reverence the words of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, concerning the multiplication of their species, and are called as His children to multiply and replenish the earth." - Apostle Erastus Snow, Journal of Discourses, v. 25, p. 110-112

“To check the increase of our race has its advocates among the influential and powerful circles of society in our nation and in other nations. The same practice existed forty-five years ago, and various devices were used by married persons to prevent the expenses and responsibilities of a family of children, which they must have incurred had they suffered nature's laws to rule preeminent. That which was practiced then in fear and against reproving conscience, is now boldly trumpeted abroad as one of the best means of ameliorating the miseries and sorrows of humanity. Infanticide is very prevalent in our nation. It is a crime that comes within the purview of the law, and is therefore not so boldly practiced as is the other equally great crime, which, no doubt, to a great extent, prevents the necessity of infanticide. The unnatural style of living, the extensive use of narcotics, the attempts to destroy and dry up the fountains of life, are fast destroying the American element of the nation; it is passing away before the increase of the more healthy, robust, honest, and less sinful class of the people which are pouring into the country daily from the Old World. The wife of the servant man is the mother of eight or ten healthy children, while the wife of his master is the mother of one or two poor, sickly children, devoid of vitality and constitution, and, if daughters, unfit, in their turn, to be mothers, and the health and vitality which nature has denied them through the irregularities of their parents are not repaired in the least by their education.”- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 12, pp. 120-121

"Into this happy home and pleasant atmosphere will eventually come the children for which the marriage was consummated, and who will add immeasurably to the joy and fulfillment which God the Father intended when he instructed Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. When parents understand the purpose of their existence, that they are literally the spiritual offspring of their Father in Heaven and that they have a responsibility to provide mortal bodies for others, then they rejoice in the miracle of birth as they realize they are copartners with God in the creation of each child who comes into that home.In keeping with the revelations on this subject, one of our early leaders, the late Melvin J. Ballard, said this:“There is a passage in our Scriptures which the Latter-day Saints accept as divine: ‘This is the glory of God—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ [see Moses 1:39]. Likewise we could say that this is the glory of men and women—to bring to pass the mortality of the sons and daughters of God, to give earth-life to the waiting children of our Father. … The greatest mission of woman is to give life, earth-life, through honorable marriage, to the waiting spirits, our Father’s spirit children who anxiously desire to come to dwell here in this mortal state. All the honor and glory that can come to men or women by the development of their talents, the homage and the praise they may receive from an applauding world, worshipping at their shrine of genius, is but a dim thing whose luster shall fade in comparison to the high honor, the eternal glory, the ever-enduring happiness that shall come to the woman who fulfils the first great duty and mission that devolves upon her to become the mother of the sons and daughters of God” (Sermons and Missionary Services, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1949, pp. 203–4, italics added).We reaffirm today what U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt said in 1917:“What this nation vitally needs is not the negative preaching of birth control to a submerged tenth, and the tenth immediately adjoining, but the positive preaching of birth encouragement to the eight-tenths who make up the capable self-respecting American stock which we wish to see perpetuate itself” (Metropolitan, Oct. 1917). There are various arguments for curtailing the birth of children or the size of families, but they are contrary to the laws of God. Our early citizens who were patriotic and God-fearing, and in many instances lacked for material possessions, believed in large families; and from that stock came some of our greatest statesmen and finest lawyers, scientists, and educators. They were self-made men reared in humble homes where spirituality abounded."(N. Eldon Tanner, “Celestial Marriages and Eternal Families,” Ensign, May 1980, 15 )

"As we look about us, we see many forces at work bent on the destruction of the family, both in America and abroad. Family ties are being destroyed by an ever-increasing divorce rate, by increased infidelity of spouses, by the abominable sin of abortion, which bids well to become a national scandal and is a very grave sin. Another erosion of the family is unwarranted and selfish birth control. "(Spencer W. Kimball, “‘We Need a Listening Ear’,” Ensign, Nov 1979, 4)

"A U.S. Government report issued by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare recently said, “Alcoholic beverages drain the national economy of $15 billion every year.” This is nearly three times the total given to religious and charitable causes. Living this simple principle of the Word of Wisdom would enable us to feed the starving masses of the world. What is man’s solution to this problem of starvation? It is pretty well summarized in this clipping that I took from the newspaper recently. It is datelined Singapore. It says that “parents who insist on having more than two children will lose tax benefits, face discrimination in public housing and pay more maternity costs, the government has announced.” Earlier the health ministry said that some discriminatory measures will be taken against new additions to large families in 9 1/2 months. “For the Singapore of the 1970s,” it said, “the third child is luxury. The fourth and fifth are antisocial acts.” The new measures include vigorous family planning campaigns coupled with sterilization and abortion programs. “The government hopes to reduce the natural increase in the birth rate to less than one percent by 1980.” (“Family Size Labels a Guy,” Deseret News, Oct. 25, 1972, p. A9.)And so, this is man’s solution to the problem—birth control, sterilization, and abortion to destroy the unborn children. But you can be assured that this is not the Lord’s solution. Hear the words of a living prophet as you heard reiterated this morning:“Much is being said,” said the prophet, “in the press and in the pulpit concerning abortion. This Church of Jesus Christ opposes abortion and counsels all members not to submit to nor participate in any abortion, in any way, for convenience or to hide sins.“Abortion must be considered one of the most revolting and sinful practices in this day. … To interfere with any of the processes in the procreation of offspring is to violate one of the most sacred of God’s commandments.” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Why Call Ye Me Lord, Lord, and Do Not the Things Which I Say?” Ensign, May 1975, p. 7.) "(Hartman Rector Jr., “The World’s Greatest Need,” Ensign, Nov 1975, 10)

"It is of great concern to all who understand this glorious concept that Satan and his cohorts are using scientific arguments and nefarious propaganda to lure women away from their primary responsibilities as wives, mothers, and homemakers. We hear so much about emancipation, independence, sexual liberation, birth control, abortion, and other insidious propaganda belittling the role of motherhood, all of which is Satan’s way of destroying woman, the home, and the family—the basic unit of society. "(N. Eldon Tanner, “No Greater Honor: The Woman’s Role,” Ensign, Jan 1974, 7 )

"BIRTH CONTROL CONDEMNED :Those pioneers condemned the artificial means of limiting the number of children in the family, a growing evil, not only throughout the United States but also here in our own settlements. Said the great leader:To check the increase of our race has its advocates among the influential and powerful circles of society in our nation and in other nations. The unnatural style of living, the extensive use of narcotics, the attempts to destroy and dry up the fountains of life are fast destroying the American element of the nation."(David O. McKay, Conference Report, April 1947, pp. 114-122)

"Infidelity and sexual immorality are two principal evils that threaten to weaken and to wreck present-day civilization. Unfortunately, the trends of modern life are tending to disintegrate the very foundation of the Christian home. Sexual laxity among young people, birth control, and intemperance are its insidious and vicious enemies. When family life disintegrates, the foundation and bulwark of human society is undermined.Men and brethren, what shall we do?The answer today is the same as it was two thousand years ago, the same as it will ever be throughout time.All men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name and endure in faith on his name to the end or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God ( D&C 20:29). "(David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1947, pp. 115-121 )

"So, then, what is required of parents, who have been so joined in the Lord’s house, concerning their children? First, they are to love each other—this is so vital; then they are to welcome choice spirits from the Lord and teach them to love the Lord, keep his commandments, and walk uprightly before him. When they do this, they have given these children the foundation for attaining real joy here in this world and in the world to come. For they will have eternal life, which is the ultimate success, and they will be made rich. “… Behold, he that has eternal life is rich.” ( D&C 6:7.)May this be our goal, and may we be willing to pay the price to obtain it and not be taken in by all the misinformation which is abroad in the land today about birth control, abortion and sex education, and other Satan-inspired philosophies; that we may look to the Lord and follow his living prophets and oracles today. I pray that we will, for I bear witness that God our Heavenly Father lives, and that he hears and answers prayers, and that he is concerned about his children, so much so that he sent his Only Begotten Son that we might have immortality and eternal life." (Hartman Rector Jr., “Success—A Journey or a Destination?,” Ensign, Jul 1973, 57)

"RESTRICTED FAMILIES :Another and very ominous indication of the cracking up of American homes is the decreasing birth rate. In the Reader's Digest for October there is an article which states that "in the United States at large 42% of the married women have no children whatever or only one child."That in the United States at large "approximately only one-third of the married women have a sufficient number of children to keep the population of the country even at a stationary level."That in the United States at large "the urban birth rate has fallen so shockingly low that all American cities of one hundred thousand and over would, in three generations, or one hundred years, fall to one-third their present size if left without accessions to their populations outside."That in the United States at large "the professional classes in American cities are reproducing themselves only sixty percent."That "in many local areas conditions are even far worse. Note, for instance, the city of Chicago. More than half its families have no children whatever—to be exact 534,125 out of its 842,578 families are without a single child of their own. And there are many American cities that have even a worse birth rate than Chicago. . . ."The one large group of people that remains least affected by the scourge of artificial birth control is our rural population. Were it not for them America would already be headed down the speedy slopes of decline."Seeking the pleasures of conjugality without a willingness to assume the responsibilities of rearing a family is one of the onslaughts that now batter at the structure of the American home. Intelligence and mutual consideration should be ever-present factors in determining the coming of children to the household. When the husband and wife are healthy, and free from inherited weaknesses and diseases that might be transmitted with injury to their offspring, the use of contraceptives is to be condemned. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, March 21, 1942, said in a broadcast to the world:One of the most somber anxieties which beset those who look ahead is a dwindling birthrate in thirty years. Unless present trends alter, a smaller working and fighting population will have to support and protect nearly as many old people. In fifty years the position will be still worse. If this country is to keep its high place in the leadership of the world and to survive as a great power that can hold its own against external pressure, our people must be encouraged by every means to have larger families.Former president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, said:The severest of all condemnations should be that visited upon wilful sterility. The first essential in any civilization is that the man and woman should be the father and mother of healthy children so that the race will increase and not decrease.The Census Bureau on January 31, 1941, declared:If the present birth and death rates continue, the non-white population of this country will, in the long run, increase at the rate of about seven percent per generation, while the white population (including the Mexicans) will decrease at the rate of about five percent per generation.The principal reason for marriage is to rear a family. Failure to do so is one of the conditions that cause love to wilt and eventually to die. " (David O. McKay, Conference Report, October 1943, pp. 28-33)

"If I were to name the first thing that impresses me always in these fine Latter-day Saint homes, I would say it was a love for and a desire for children. These are homes where the having of children was not delayed because of some social or educational or financial objective, and where the size of the families has not been limited by the practice of birth control.A few years ago I read some statistics taken from the United States Census Bureau which indicated that out of 180,000 divorces for that given year, 57 percent were in homes where there were no children, 21.2 percent where there was only one child; and in families with five or more children, divorces ranged all the way from none to only .7 of one percent. " (Harold B. Lee, Conference Report, October 1948, pp. 51-56)

“In Europe families are limited to a point where couples are more or less ostracized by neighbors and friends if they have more than two children. Some European nations are even now beginning to decline in population as birth control and abortion become a way of life. Far too many wives are working in order that the couple may have its own home, a car, colored television, or extensive vacation trips. Children for such couples are an unwanted handicap and a needless expense.Why bother to marry when children are neither wanted nor expected? Why burden oneself with marriage when couples expect to change partners when they tire of one another? What is the need for virtue when one’s goal is only self-satisfaction? If ever there was a need for the restoration of truth in a world where man is only interested in his own pleasure and self-gratification, it is now!”(Theodore M. Burton, “The Need for Love,” Ensign, May 1979, 72)

“In this age of selfishness and greed, of birth control and barrenness, of easy divorce, broken homes, and juvenile delinquency, in this age of cheap amusements, idleness and lack of discipline, it is well to search for basic values, to call attention to the fact that the home is the nation’s most fundamental institution and that mothers are the first professors in that character-building school.” (Vision and Valor, Bookcraft, 1971, p. 24.)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized to help the family. No other organization provides more help. The whole program of the Church is correlated to supplement the teachings of the home. The Church speaks out boldly against the common evil of this day—the deliberate limiting of families by birth control. It teaches, rather, the sacred obligation resting upon husband and wife to bring children into the world."Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth."Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them" ( Ps. 127:3-5). (A. Theodore Tuttle, Conference Report, October 1969, pp. 130-132)

"First, you can stand up for the truth wherever you are, at all times, and in all places. Sometimes our members are fearful to speak up for the truth in clubs, associations, or even, at times, among members of the Church. As the Lord has said, it should be done with boldness but not overbearance. Speak out for the Lord and for his prophet on the vital issues of the day.For example, I know of a woman, a good woman, who found herself in a very challenging situation. She was at a luncheon with a number of members of the Church; some were active and some inactive; and also a few nonmembers were present. The subject turned to abortion and birth control, and one of the nonmembers voiced for about five minutes some very strong feelings concerning these issues. She indicated, erroneously, that she felt that there is nothing wrong with an abortion, and that there should never be any kind of restriction placed on a man or a woman concerning birth control itself. This good sister in the Church was faced with a difficult challenge of whether to talk about the weather or some other noncontroversial subject, or whether to really speak out and state the truth. This choice woman chose to do the latter. After explaining what the Lord had said concerning both of those issues, she bore her testimony as to her personal feelings. As you might expect, the luncheon concluded rather abruptly. However, afterwards one of the inactive women came over to this good sister and explained that she had never before understood the Lord’s view on those issues and had felt the truth being spoken on that day.Feel free, when prompted, my brothers and sisters, to bear your testimony of those principles that you know to be true. Sincere feelings conveyed from heart to heart by means of testimony convert people to the truth where weak, wishy-washy, argumentative statements will not."(Gene R. Cook, “Are You a Member Missionary?,” Ensign, May 1976, 103)

There are books now on birth control, books on common law marriage, and many other books that are not conducive to the morals or the best thinking of those who read them. In a recent poll taken of 7,600 middle class average homes, the startling fact was revealed that forty percent of these homes did not own a Bible.(Elder Joseph L. Wirthlin, Conference Report, April 1947, Afternoon Meeting 82.)

"About a year ago, or so, we suggested that young couples should not be called into the mission field, for reasons given. Just by way of reminding you, we thought it best for the young couples not to go into the mission fields because, in the first place, in the natural course of events, the responsibilities of motherhood would interfere with the work of the sisters, and if anything were done to postpone that responsibility, the Church would become a party to birth control, and the Church will have nothing to do with that evil."(President David O. Mckay, Conference Report, April 1949, Afternoon Meeting 177.)

"Undermining of home:And so today, the undermining of the home and family is on the increase, with the devil anxiously working to displace the father as the head of the home and create rebellion among the children. The Book of Mormon describes this condition when it states, "And my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them." And then these words follow—and consider these words seriously when you think of those political leaders who are promoting birth control and abortion: "O my people, they who lead thee cause thee to err and destroy the way of thy paths." ( 2 Ne. 13:12) And let me warn the sisters in all seriousness that you who submit yourselves to an abortion or to an operation that precludes you from safely having additional healthy children are jeopardizing your exaltation and your future membership in the kingdom of God." Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, October 1970, pp. 21-25Birth Control:“The world teaches birth control. Tragically, many of our sisters subscribe to its pills and practices when they could easily provide earthly tabernacles for more of our Father's children. We know that every spirit assigned to this earth will come, whether through us or someone else There are couples in the Church who think they are getting along just fine with their limited families but who will someday suffer the pains of remorse when they meet the spirits that might have been part of their posterity. The first commandment given to man was to multiply and replenish the earth with children. That commandment has never been altered, modified, or canceled. The Lord did not say to multiply and replenish the earth if it is convenient, or if you are wealthy, or after you have gotten your schooling, or when there is peace on earth, or until you have four children. The Bible says, "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: ". . . Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. . ." (Ps. 127:3, 5.) We believe God s glorified by having numerous children and a program of perfection for them. So also will God glorify that husband and wife who have a large posterity and who have tried to raise them up in righteousness.False reasoning in population limitation:The precepts of men would have you believe that by limiting the population of the world, we can have peace and plenty. That is the doctrine of the devil. Small numbers do not insure peace; only righteousness does. After all, there were only a handful of men on the earth when Cain interrupted the peace of Adam's household by slaying Abel. On the other hand, the whole city of Enoch was peaceful; and it was taken into heaven because it was made up of righteous people.And so far as limiting the population in order to provide plenty is concerned, the Lord answered that falsehood in the Doctrine and Covenants when he said:“For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things, and have given unto the children of men to be agents unto themselves." (D&C 104:17.)A major reason why there is famine in some parts of the world is because evil men have used the vehicle of government to abridge the freedom that men need to produce abundantly.True to form, many of the people who desire to frustrate God's purposes of giving mortal tabernacles to his spirit children through worldwide birth control are the very same people who support the kinds of government that perpetuate famine. They advocate an evil to cure the results of the wickedness they support.(Elder Ezra Taft Benson, Conference Report, April 1969, First Day—Morning Meeting 12.)

“Because birth control pills and other contraceptives are on the market doesn't give license for pre-marital sex relationships nor warrant liberties for illicit sex experiences; neither do they justify married couples to use them to prevent conception. There can be harmful side effects from their use. Any drug strong enough to prevent conception and pregnancy cannot help but be harmful to the body and adversely affect its physical functions. Doctors have now decided that too many deformed and mentally retarded children (which number is increasing at an alarming rate) are caused by the use of contraceptives and/or the use of tobacco and alcohol by women. To tamper with the fountain of life can only bring ill results, with heartache and sorrow.Is this what you parents and prospective parents want? What satisfying activity, joy and happiness can mentally retarded and handicapped children look forward to in life? Parents are responsible for providing their children with normal, healthy bodies, which bodies tabernacle a choice spirit child of God.”(Elder Delbert L. Stapley, April 26, 1966, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1966 12.)

“The problem of birth control and voluntary barrenness is poisoning the very fountains of life and defying God's injunction to multiply and replenish the earth.”(Hugh B. Brown, The Abundant Life [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965], 244.)

"Young married couples who postpone parenthood until their degrees are attained might be shocked if their expressed preference were labeled idolatry. Their rationalization gives them degrees at the expense of children. Is it a justifiable exchange? Whom do they love and worship--themselves or God? Other couples, recognizing that life is not intended primarily for comforts, ease, and luxuries, complete their educations while they move forward with full lives, having their children and giving church and community service." (Spencer W. Kimball, From "The Miracle of Forgiveness" pg 41)