By Carrie Rowe
A family outreach conference today, Feb. 6, 2004, will help students answer the call to strengthen families.
The conference theme “Share and Defend” emphasizes ways that average people can promote the “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” from the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Natalie Goddard, a conference coordinator and founder of the Family Life Education Institute, said there is a special call for students studying marriage, family and human development, but the proclamation extends further.
“The call of the proclamation is to everyone in world,” Goddard said. “For BYU students, I believe that this call is even more critical, because they”re receiving an education and they”re going out as representatives of the church and what we believe in. They can be a force for good in their communities wherever they go, and in their circle of influence now and throughout their lives.”
The conference, which is sponsored by the School of Family Life, will be held today from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Wilkinson Student Center.
Joy Lundberg, who will speak with her husband Gary at the outreach conference, said students need to be determined to have successful marriages and families now. Students should decide not just to preach the proclamation, but also to be an example of it, Lundberg said.
Goddard said the conference will give participants the chance to learn what they can do to actually make a difference.
“This [conference] is just a great opportunity to understand how they can do that,” Goddard said. “We talk a lot about the proclamation and we talk about how much we value families, but what are we really doing about it?”
The Lundbergs will discuss how to get the message out through books, seminars, firesides and marriage retreats. They will present a simple formula of how to write a book, how to self-publish and how to get an agent.
“They will be getting some very practical helps on how they can get the word out about the family,” Lundberg said. “They can use their influence by these venues to strengthen marriages and families.”
Goddard said this year”s conference emphasizes using current technology to share the message of the proclamation.
“Families are changing, so we really have to adapt to families,” Goddard said. “If we want to get the best information to them and reach more families in better ways, we have to make the best use of the Internet and the resources that are available to us in today”s technologically advanced world.”
The conference will include academic perspectives, as well as the views of renowned family speakers including Richard and Linda Eyre. The keynote speaker will be Charles Smith, professor of Kansas State University. Smith has designed award-winning Web sites that contain family courses online.
David Dollahite, a professor of family life at BYU and a speaker at the conference, said students must realize that marriage and family are important to the well-being of our society, and that they must be strengthened as institutions.
“Those institutions [marriage and the family] are under attack, and efforts are being made to redefine marriage and to minimize the value of marriage in society today,” Dollahite said.
Pre-registration is available at www.family-outreach.com or by calling 1-800-452-5662. Registration for the public is $35 and includes lunch and materials. The conference is free to students and faculty with an optional $5 charge for lunch. Students can also receive .5 credits of MFHD 395R for attending the conference at a charge of $35.
