Speaking on the “2020 Strengthening Families conference”, with the theme: “The Family, the Building Block of Society”, the Area Authority Seventy, elder Christian Chigbundu, said that a family gives birth to a community, while a community gives birth to a state through which a nation is born.

The conference brought together stakeholders from West Africa, to deliberate on important issues confronting families in the region and identify both short and long term strategies to help resolve those challenges. Chigbundu added that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints particularly places strong emphasis on family as the basic unit of the church and society, because families are the building blocks of any society. He noted that the coronavirus pandemic, particularly during the total lockdown, was able to strengthen love and togetherness in many homes as the family members have nowhere else to run to for comfort. However he was swift to add that it has also affected the family negatively, pointing out that poverty was increased in the land as a result of job losses and other economic crises. He advised that strong marriages should be built on faith in God, love, self-respect, transparency, forgiveness and repentance among the couples. In his contribution, the president of Agege Stake, Archbishop Asuquo Udobong said the Satan was working round the clock to make sure that marriages fail. But he strongly believes that with patience, mutual respect and selflessness, most marriages would succeed. He said that the church has been at the forefront in sensitizing the public on the need to embrace all principles that would pave the way for healthy homes and trouble-free society. He said that parents must provide for their children’s spiritual and physical needs, including disciplining and correcting them in love and righteousness. He stated that if those core values were instilled in children from tender age, the society would become a better place for everyone to live in. Chigbundu called on youths to renounce violence and embrace peace with all men. He also advised them not to cut corners while pursuing riches, assuring that there was a greater reward in treading legitimate paths.