Follow The Universe's coverage of the World Congress of Families IX in Salt Lake City. The event takes place Oct. 27-30, 2015.
Individual stories will be linked here as they are available.
Learn more about the congress here.
World Congress of Families IX: Elder Ballard and others speak in opening ceremony – The World Congress of Families IX opened Tuesday morning in Salt Lake City with calls from traditional family advocates urging participants to protect and defend religious freedom, and to engage in respectful dialogue with those whose opinions differ.
World Congress of Families IX: Abortion harms women and unborn - Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., highlighted a panel of pro-life speakers at the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake Tuesday afternoon. Panelists focused on fighting abortion, and facing discrimination against their pro-life views in a loving and Christian manner.
World Congress of Families IX: Every human life has value - Nick Vujicic didn’t walk on stage; he was carried by another man. But life without limbs doesn’t stop him from being a world renowned motivational speaker, best-selling author, and pastor.
World Congress of Families IX: Millennials discuss family, marriage and social media - Current students, graduate students and working professional millennials gathered in the Grand Ballroom at the Grand America Hotel for a panel session discussing a variety of topics, ranging from media consumption to marriage to close out the first day of the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City Tuesday night.
World Congress of Families IX: The number of Christian films is growing in Hollywood - Strategies to boost the number of family and Christian films in Hollywood was the focus of a session held on Wednesday, Oct. 28, as part of the World Congress of Families IX. The discussion focused on the number of films available and how to continue encouraging producers to create them.
World Congress of Families IX: Millennials encouraged to reverse societal shift away from family life - Hundreds of millennials were inspired by leaders of the pro-life, pro-marriage and pro-family movements to take a stand in their communities at a breakfast on the opening day of the World Congress of Families IX.
World Congress of Families IX: Panel discusses decline of faith, morality and family - A four-person panel addressed a World Congress of Families IX audience on the casualties that result in the decline of faith in society Thursday morning at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.
World Congress of Families IX: Individuals must act to perpetuate traditional family culture - A group of pro-family opinion leaders shared their views on how individual citizens can help fight attacks on families and the dignity of human beings during a group discussion on Tuesday at the World Congress of Families.
World Congress of Families IX: Not all young people having premarital sex - Dr. Nanci Cappolo taught a different approach to the behavioral problems of the youth of America.
World Congress of Families IX: Parental presence is vital for children’s development - Hearing that the biological roles of both mother and father are crucial to children’s development in the home affirmed what a largely female, overflow crowd at the World Congress of Families already believes.
World Congress of Families IX: There’s nothing casual about a hook-up - The normalization of casual sex in contemporary culture has a dark downside that very few people are willing to speak publicly about, but young adults gathered Thursday to learn about those dangers.
World Congress of Families IX: Defending family, religious freedom, children’s rights - Countering a continuing social slide toward non-family friendly social and government policies means conservative advocates have to first “assess the damage” before they can work to shore up traditional family values.
World Congress of Families IX: Utah pastor urges families to leave a legacy of faith - Pastor Chad Jacobson of City Church, a non-denominational Christian church in Sandy and Taylorsville, Utah, discussed how parents can leave a legacy of faith for their posterity at the World Congress of Families IX on Thursday.
World Congress of Families IX: Entrepreneurial leadership leads to successful advocacy - Brian Brown, co-founder and president of the National Organization for Marriage, trained delegates on entrepreneurial leadership as part of Thursday’s World Congress of Families IX lectures.
World Congress of Families IX: Weekly worship, chastity enhance the stability of marriage - A plenary panel highlighted the impact that worship has on chastity, marriage and society as a whole during the World Congress of Families IX in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
World Congress of Families IX: Society needs to turn back toward the traditional family - Family advocates Lynda and Richard Eyre spoke about the importance of families and how the world has abandoned the family as a priority.
World Congress of Families IX: New generation of advocates learning about challenges to family life - The Emerging Leaders Youth Scholarship Foundation gave about 300 students worldwide the opportunity to come to Utah and participate in the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake.
World Congress of Families IX: Lobbyists discuss pro-family victories at the United Nations - Several traditional family lobbyists at the United Nations provided insight into their work and their success during a round-table discussion at the World Congress of Families.
World Congress of Families IX: Parents can help create a media-wise family - Media consumption and its impact on children was the focus of a panel discussion on Thursday during the World Congress of Families.
World Congress of Families IX: Couples share tips on marriage and family life - Three couples shared their advice with young adult leaders Friday at the World Congress of Families, discussing how to combine faith and traditional family life in seeking happiness for themselves and their children.
World Congress of Families IX: Stephanie Nielson’s story of faith, family and survival - Blogger Stephanie Nielson told delegates at the World Congress of Families on Friday that her family and faith gave her the strength to survive and keep fighting after an unexpected tragedy changed her life.
World Congress of Families IX: Delegates seek to create coalitions with traditional family organizations - Alexey Komov and his wife had run a management consulting business for ten years in Moscow, Russia when they decided to get involved with the World Congress of Families in 2009.
World Congress of Families IX: Views on traditional families, marriages are similar across denominations - Despite vast differences in theology and religious practice among participants at the World Congress of Families, five speakers from uniquely different faiths spoke of their view on family from the perspective of their faith, finding similarities across tradition.
World Congress of Families IX: How parents can help children avoid the enHeadlinement trap - Authors and consultants Richard and Linda Eyre addressed the World Congress of Families Friday on “proven techniques for raising responsible kids and avoiding the enHeadlinement trap.”
World Congress of Families IX: Traditional families are central to African identity - A panel of African delegates reported to the World Conference of Families on the progress of the pro-family movement on the African continent Friday in a closing session of the conference.
World Congress of Families IX: How traditional family advocates can respond to same-sex marriage decision - The Supreme Court’s legalization of gay marriage in June 2015 makes the need to stand firm for traditional families and marriages more important than ever, according to panelists speaking on the final day of the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City.
World Congress of Families IX: Woman who was nearly aborted finds purpose in helping others - Living with her mother who was a prostitute until age nine, Bev Adair-Beets saw how grim life can be.
World Congress of Families IX: Next World Congress to convene April 2016 in Tbilisi, Georgia - The next World Congress of Families will be held May 2016, in Tbilisi, Georgia. -
World Congress of Families IX: The power of stories can shape society for good - The Friendship Train is one of America’s lost stories. After World War II, the train collected foodstuffs from thousands of American donors for transport to European countries. It was primarily a token gesture of goodwill.
World Congress of Families IX: Churches, individuals must defend religious freedom - The World Congress of Families IX opened its final plenary session with panelists who discussed the need for future laws and policies to protect life and the family.
World Congress of Families IX: Pornography and sex trafficking are the scourges of the Millennial generation - Founders of both Fight the New Drug and Operation Underground Railroad campaigns addressed a World Congress of Families audience to discuss the “scourges” of pornography and sex trafficking on Friday at the Little America in Salt Lake City.
World Congress of Families IX: Developing a strategic plan to support families can create success - Susan Yoshihara, director of the International Organizations Research Group Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam), presented a workshop that outlined strategic plans everyone can implement into their personal and professional lives.
World Congress of Families IX: The Piano Guys, American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic give delegates a musical finale - The World Congress of Families closed their four-day conference with a concert by The Piano Guys and the American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic.
World Congress of Families IX: Raising children often viewed as a 'restriction' by young adults, panelists say - Raising children is increasingly viewed as a restriction of free time and a roadblock for successful careers in an increasingly self-centered culture that exists in much of the developed world, according to panelists at the recent World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City.