Some people wonder why Mormons have so many kids.
I am not sure where that idea comes from since most mormon families I know have around 2 or 3 children.
Having said, I can tell you that there is a lot theology in Mormonism that could explain why some mormon couples have so many children.
I am sure those Mormon families who have that many kids are firm believers in Mormon theology.
Table of Contents
Born in Heaven from Heavenly Parents
I know this is going to sound a bit crazy but Mormons believe that they were born spiritually from a heavenly mother and heavenly father.
Yes, Mormons believe that we all have a heavenly mother, God’s Wife.
So We were born spiritually and we have to be tested so God can find out if we truly love him or not.
To be tested , we have to be born on Earth.
So Mormons might think that all these spiritual children have to come to Earth in one point or another so why not bringing them into Mormon families and help them pass that test?
Grow the Membership
I read that the religion with more growth was the Islam and not necessarily because of the missionary efforts.
The reason because Islam is growing is simply because Muslim women have more children than Christian women.
The Pew Research centers confirms what you just read:
The main reasons for Islam’s growth ultimately involve simple demographics. To begin with, Muslims have more children than members of the seven other major religious groups analyzed in the study. Muslim women have an average of 2.9 children, significantly above the next-highest group (Christians at 2.6) and the average of all non-Muslims (2.2). In all major regions where there is a sizable Muslim population, Muslim fertility exceeds non-Muslim fertility.
Why Muslims are the world’s fastest-growing religious group
I think that Mormons have a lot of work to do in they want to catch up on the statistics.
Thoughts about Mormon Women
Another factor that contributes to women having so many children is that the Church teaches that being a mother is a sacred calling so some of them take it seriously.
In a proclamation made by the Church almost 20 years ago, we read the following:
We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.
The Family Proclamation
So the church commands Mormons to have as many children as possible and once you have them, guess who will stay home to take care of them:
Let’s read what the same proclamation has to say about that matter:
By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.
The Family Proclamation
Let me be clear that fortunately not all men and women in the Church but some Mormons consciously or subconsciously can use those proclamations and other parts of Mormon theology to convince a women that they must stay home.
Do Mormons have so many Children?
I am sure that there are some mormon families who have around 8 children and sometimes but not all of them.
The Pew research institute confirmed the following in one of his studies:
Mormons also tend to have more children than other groups. Mormons ages 40-59 have had an average of 3.4 children in their lifetime, well above the comparable figure for all Americans in that age range (2.1) and higher than any other religious group. Overall, Mormon adults have an average of 1.1 children currently living at home, nearly double the national average (0.6).
Mormons more likely to marry, have more children than other U.S. religious groups
So Mormon families tend to have more children than other Christian families and even more children than Muslim women.
That’s very impressive way to grow Mormonism if these families can make their children to stay in the church
Conclusions
Mormons have a control over their lives and over the quantity of children they want to have.
Within Mormon theology, there is enough to justify why some of these families have so many children.
You can argue that some women might adopt roles and ideas like not going to the university, starting a career but this ideal family that Mormon theology promotes is not mandatory.
Mormon families are not judged by the amount of children they have.
More about Mormonism
These are some posts I have about Mormonism that I have written over the past few days.
