Together Forever: Eternal Perspective and Sacred Practices in American Latter-day Saint Families

Keywords

family, Latter-day Saint families, LDS families, Mormon families, qualitative research, religion, religiosity, religious beliefs, religious practices

Abstract

Qualitative data analysis of in-depth interviews with 28 Latter-day Saint families (N = 67 individuals) revealed several recurring themes and concepts. Sharing an “eternal perspective” (i.e., shared belief in eternal marriage, eternal progression, eternal life, and eternal family) emerged as the overarching theme. In connection with the life strengths domain, participants commented on the hope, belonging, purpose, and growth experienced from living their faith. In connection with the marital strengthsand parenting strengths domains, participants commented on a variety of sacred practices (e.g., prayer, scripture study, and church attendance) and relational strengths (e.g., forgiveness, humility, and patience) that reportedly helped their family relationships. Overall, the intersection of belief, practice, and strength played an important role in these families, with specific shared beliefs in an “eternal perspective” most salient.

Original Publication Citation

*Leonhardt, N. D., *Kirchner, E. R., Phillips, T. M., *Skipper, A. D., Dollahite, D. C., & Marks, L. D. (2108). Together forever: Eternal perspective and sacred practices in American Latter-day Saint families. Marriage and Family Review, 54, 719-732.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018-06-25

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7647

Publisher

Marriage & Family Review

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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