Family and Eternal Reward

Families Forever – it’s a cute phrase almost every Mormon child has knows since they’ve been speaking. This is probably the most fundamental and important aspect to Mormonism – the family.1 The Church teaches that it is the fundamental unit of society and that it is the best way to achieve happiness.2 After all, as Church leaders say, it is God’s ultimate plan of happiness for human beings.
Family is beautiful – I think that any person can appreciate the beauty in family. There is definitely a sense of fulfillment and a joy to be able to have a wife (or husband) and children. But is family the only way to find happiness? Does one have to have a family to be fulfilled as a human being? According to the Mormon Church, yes. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my family, and I respect it as a societal institution, but is it necessary for salvation?
According to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one must get married to attain the highest degree of glory, Godhood – or in Mormon words, salvation.3 It is important to note that in Mormonism, there are three distinct “levels” or degrees of heaven, and all are technically considered heaven. However, to be completely saved and have total resurrection, one must enter the highest degree of glory, the Celestial Kingdom. And what must one do to get in? It’s quite simple - get married.4 There are many other commandments a person must keep to gain entrance, but without marriage, even if a person lived life adhering strictly to Mormon scripture and commandments, they would not gain their exaltation.5 Any degree below the Celestial Kingdom is “hell” in Mormonism. Hell is a state of mind not a place. Outer Darkness the tangible hell.) 8 

A man must have the Priesthood to gain entrance, and a woman must be married to a worthy priesthood holder to enter the Kingdom.6 Therefore, her salvation is completely dependant on the man. She cannot, has not, and will not be able to be saved unless she is married. The same is true for men as well, but they at least have the Priesthood – meanwhile, women are left with nothing. The implication is that women really are worthless; they don't have the priesthood, and all they're good for is Motherhood and support for their husbands. The woman who seldom steps out of these boundaries in LDS culture is the outcast, the wierdo, the lost sheep.
This makes a person wonder – What is this religion saying about the value of a woman? Should a woman’s salvation be entirely or even remotely dependent on her marital status? I should certainly hope not! The idea that is implied is that woman is too weak to survive by herself and that she needs a companion. How ludicrous to think that a person needs to depend on another to survive, and even to have salvation! Women are perfectly capable of making their own decisions, doing the things they wish to do, and are certainly no less smarter or intelligent than a man. This doctrine is set up so that women have no choice but to marry, and it purposefully gives men the upper hand. Because they are they are threatened with damnation if they do not, most marry.7 According to Deseret News, the Church owned newspaper in Utah, in 2005, "Utah has the country's highest fertility rate, youngest median age of first marriage and highest percentage of married households, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures." 10
Furthermore, the women are expected to love and enjoy being a wife and a mother.9 I’m sure there are many women who do love doing this, and for good reason - motherhood can be one of the most satisfying and fulfilling roles a person can have. But is it the only one? Why must a woman be married, have children, and like doing it to be considered a good one? Why must this Church make it religious dogma to have a family?
Family is important. Family is beautiful and I’m grateful every day to be able to have a good family to help me out in times of need. But is family that important that I may risk eternal punishment and damnation for not having one?

1 The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
2 The Gospel Blesses Families and Individuals. www.mormon.org <http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/the-restoration-of-truth/the-gospel-blesses-families-and-individuals>. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 
3 Section 132:18-20. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
4 Section 132:18-20. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
5 Heaven and Eternal Reward. www.mormon.org. <http://mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-happiness/heaven-and-eternal-reward>. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 
6 Section 132:53-54. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 
7 Section 132:54. Doctrine and Covenants. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
8 Moses: 5-22-26. The Pearl of Great Price. Copyright 2008 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.
9 Nelson, Russell M. Our Sacred Duty to Honor Women. Ensign Magazine, May 1999, pp. 38. Copyright 1999 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc.

10. Utah's Birthrate is Tops. Bulkeley, Deborah. Copyright 2005 by Deseret News