Fragmentation of social and familial bonds

The following is a guest post from Tanner Shenewark, a BYU English student:

In its newest annual report the Legatum Prosperity Index announced that the fragmentation of social and familial bonds is a primary factor in ISIS’s rise in the Middle East. Likewise, it noted that in high-risk countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Yemen, and Kuwait public perception of support from family and friends fell 15 percent. The haunting echo of The Family: A Proclamation to the World (which turned 20 this year) is clearly audible in these chilling reports: “we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” Perhaps the devastating consequences of familial and social disintegration is old news, but Legatum’s decision to headline this finding as critical threat to the world’s prosperity, along with recent changes in church policy, demand our renewed consideration of the importance of the family.