Latter-Day Saints moves to strengthen families against divorce

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, yesterday, expressed worries over the alarming increase in divorce rate in Nigeria, especially among young couples. The church also announced plans to hold a conference on ways to strengthen families against divorce.

The Area Communication Director, Latter-Day Saints, James Owosu-Ansah, disclosed this ahead of the conference titled, ‘Strengthening Marriages’ which is the fifth edition in African.

While calling on Nigerians to go into marriages with a full understanding, he stated that if the husband and wife go into the institution of marriage well prepared for what they will face, it would be easy for them to address challenges of divorce across the country.

In her address, the Social Media Specialist, Kehinde Olusoge, said: “The fifth edition of ‘Strengthening Families’ Conference in Abuja (SFC 2023), will take place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria during this week.

“The conference, which was held in Ghana for four consecutive times, has contributed immensely to promoting projects and programmes that support family units worldwide and with special reference to the West African sub-region.

“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the main sponsor of the conference, and its major collaborators discovered after painstaking research that family values are fast eroding and are no longer in existence in many families. The Church and its collaborators on that note, made it a point of duty to sustain this epoch-making event in Abuja, Nigeria, as its laudable contribution towards supporting and sustaining marriages.

“The beauty of the conference is the wide spectrum of speakers and discussants drawn across all divides, religions, and races. The SFC Abuja 2023 will assemble prominent and professional individuals, and institutions within Nigeria and across the globe to feature in panel discussions, goodwill messages, and paper presentations.”

Also, West Africa Director of Seminary and Institute, Area Seventy, Raymond Egbo, added that most children bear the brunt of family disunity, especially when abandoned by their parents.

“It is difficult for children to understand what peace is when they form their own family. In fact, if a mother or a father tells a child that he or she is foolish, it will take more than a year for the child to recover.

“But if a teacher abuses a child, the parents can change the mindset of the child because of the influence and bond. Every single person is a hero irrespective of what is exciting about them, or what their friends or neighbours feel about them in their family. They can make mistakes and still laugh at themselves and not feel criticized and that is what a family is.”