Dr. Laura's Advice

[HeavenlyRoses]

I listened briefly to Dr. Laura today. A woman called to say she and her husband were trying to figure out how to raise their future children because neither of them truly believed in the LDS faith anymore. The woman’s parents are extremely active in the church. She mentioned part of her was glad she’d been raised LDS because it kept her from drugs, drinking, sex, etc. as a teen.
Dr. Laura’s response was to encourage her to raise her children LDS because of the social value - the ethics, morals, and social interaction - even if the parents didn’t believe many tenets of the faith.
That struck me as odd. I’m curious about what other people think.

 

[Tietjen]

I listened briefly to Dr. Laura today. A woman called to say she and her husband were trying to figure out how to raise their future children because neither of them truly believed in the LDS faith anymore. The woman’s parents are extremely active in the church. She mentioned part of her was glad she’d been raised LDS because it kept her from drugs, drinking, sex, etc. as a teen.
Dr. Laura’s response was to encourage her to raise her children LDS because of the social value - the ethics, morals, and social interaction - even if the parents didn’t believe many tenets of the faith.
That struck me as odd. I’m curious about what other people think.

I’m of the opinion that one can rear their child(ren) with these same ethics AND in any Christian Church. All of the Protestant Churchs (and of course the Catholic Church as well) teach against these things. Where problems arise is when parents don’t hold their children accountable. Apparently, the caller refered to parents as being “extremely active” in their LDS Church. This suggests to me that the home reflected what was taught at the Church and thus the child(ren) avoided the ethical issues listed. I know many Catholic families that have reared children that likewise avoided these things because Catholicism was viewed as not only being required on Sundays but instead praticed at home and abroad 24/7.

 

[Apollos]

Short version: Mormons typically follow Natural Law, which is independent of any religion. So Dr. L. was not wrong.

 

[miguel]

I listened briefly to Dr. Laura today. A woman called to say she and her husband were trying to figure out how to raise their future children because neither of them truly believed in the LDS faith anymore. The woman’s parents are extremely active in the church. She mentioned part of her was glad she’d been raised LDS because it kept her from drugs, drinking, sex, etc. as a teen.
Dr. Laura’s response was to encourage her to raise her children LDS because of the social value - the ethics, morals, and social interaction - even if the parents didn’t believe many tenets of the faith.
That struck me as odd. I’m curious about what other people think.

I’m not sure what you mean by odd. I don’t know if things have changed, but last I heard Dr Laura is a convert to Judaism. She believes parents should have unity of faith when it comes to raising children…to promote marital harmony and avoid confusing the kids along with other benefits you mention. But I think a Catholic would question the notion that any faith will do.

 

[Nanny_PK]

I listen to Dr. Laura all the time – I podcast it so I’m sure I heard the question you’re referring to just not specifically; but I’ve heard the question asked a million times. Her advice is to be on the same page as far as your faith is because once the kids come, it can put quite a strain on the relationship. The most common example of this is when neither of the couple is very religious, but it seems that once the kids come along their faith comes to the forefront again. For example, you have a Christian and a Jewish person that are not very religious when they marry. Well, when the kids come, which faith wins out – this is an extreme example because the religions are extreme opposites in their beliefs. Then you have the whole issue of extended family – are you going to be upset if you’re raising your child Jewish but the other grandparents give Christmas gifts?

I think that’s the basis of her advice when people call in about religious questions dealing with marriage and family.