Proclamation on the Family & Prophetic Fulfillment

I recently completed reading America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It by Mark Steyn. Much of the book discusses changing world demographics. Steyn reviews demographic changes in Europe due to two major factors: 1) declining birth rates among the native populations; 2) Immigration, primarily from Muslim nations. According to Steyn, by mid-century many European nations will have a Muslim majority.

Steyn states that by “2050, Italy’s population will have fallen by 22 percent, Bulgaria’s by 36 percent, Estonia’s by 52 percent—or more. Seventeen European nations are now at what demographers call ‘lowest-low’ fertility: 1.3 births per woman. In theory, those countries will find their population halving every thirty-five years or so.”

I was startled by what I read. As a high school student we were taught about the exploding world population. Steyn points to a different scenario, with falling birth rates throughout the world, many nations are below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman. I wondered if Steyn was spinning a tale for political purposes. I checked Wikipedia and found an article that supports Steyn’s claim (see Wikipedia: Sub Replacement Fertility). For hard statistics see Field Listing - Total Fertility Rate in the CIA World Factbook.

As I read through Steyn’s American Alone, it hit me that I might be seeing evidence of prophetic fulfillment of the warning found in the Proclamation on the Family. Consider the following statements from the Proclamation:

Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is Central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.

We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.

It occurred to me that many of the nations or nationalities with birth rates below replacement levels are those with the most liberal lifestyles, moving away from basic principles found within the Proclamation. Many of these countries have minimized the importance of marriage, in that many of their citizens live together out of wedlock and allow for gay marriage or civil unions. Abortion is easy. Consider the projected population loss by 2050 in some of these nations: Spain = 22.7%, Bulgaria = 34.8%, Germany 14.4%, Italy 20.3% (see NationMaster.com). The list goes on. Amazingly, these statistics include immigrant growth. In addition, the population will be aging as there are fewer and fewer young people, thus placing social programs, such as health care and retirement, into a crisis. These are statistics from 2001. It appears to have changed for the worse since that date.

Near the end of the Proclamation we find this warning:

We warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

It would be interesting to take the time to search the prophecies and find that which has indeed been foretold. However, based on the demographic changes which are occurring due to liberal lifestyles, we can guess at some possibilities. If the demographic trends in Europe continue, many of those nations could lose their historical identity. The Italians, the French, and the Spanish peoples may become a minority in their own nations as immigrants from Muslim nations, along with their natural born children, become a majority. With Muslims in the majority, they would be empowered to enact their own, more conservative laws. Might the Muslim majority choose to be ruled by Sharia law (see Sharia - Wikipedia)? Could there be European civil war?

The Old Testament and Book of Mormon provide many examples of what happens to nations when the people turn away from time honored traditions and the teachings of the Lord’s prophets. Other civilizations, such as the Greek and Roman empires, provide further evidence of what happens to those nations that sacrifice basic values. The Lord’s modern prophets have issued a proclamation to the world reminding all people of the importance of morality, marriage, family, and the sanctity of life. Based on the limited evidence noted above, it appears that the world has failed to hear and heed. As a consequence, we are beginning to see the fulfillment of “the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”