Then and Now: Family Roll Call

Celebrating 30 Years of The Family: A Proclamation to the World

September 23, 2025

Join us for a social media relay honoring 30 years of The Family. Families, writers, scholars, and storytellers will share how faith and family have evolved—and endured—across generations

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What Is the Family Roll Call?

This social media relay is a celebration of both heritage and hope. Over the course of the day (Thursday, September 23, 2025) participants will share reflections, insights, research and stories—exploring what has changed and what has remained constant in our family lives since the Proclamation was first published in 1995. This isn’t a conference or a webinar—it’s a digital gathering of voices, rolling out one post at a time.

The Then and Now: Family Roll Call is a social media storytelling relay where each content creator, speaker, or storyteller shares their thoughts on their own platform, then “passes the baton” by linking to the next presenter. Stories will remain live for 24 hours, so you can jump in anytime. Each participant will link to the one before and after them—just like a true relay—so you won’t miss a single perspective. After the event, the full schedule and links will be archived on our website.

How You Can Join

Before Roll Call

1. Follow the #hashtag

Follow the event hashtag: #ThenAndNowFamily on your favorite social media platform

2. Keep up to date

We’ll be posting updates regularly to @thefamilyproclamation on Instagram

Sept 23

3. Watch the relay

Jump into the relay anytime on Tuesday, September 23. Each presenter shares on their own platform, then links to the next. Posts stay live for 24 hours, and the full lineup will be archived on our site—so you can follow along without missing a beat

4. Add your voice!

Now, it’s your turn! Share your thoughts using one of these prompt questions:

1. How has your family changed over the past 30 years?
2. What truths have endured?
3. What challenges or blessings feel unique to your generation?
4. What do you hope your family looks like 30 years from now?

Don’t forget the hashtag so we can find you!

Featured contributors

Jared Halverson (Unshaken Saints)

Jared Halverson is an associate professor of Ancient Scripture at Brigham Young University and the creator of the Unshaken Saints podcast and YouTube channel, where he helps people strengthen faith through in-depth scripture study. A noted scholar in American religious history, he is known for his thoughtful approaches to questions of faith and his practical, empathetic teaching style. Halverson’s content has become especially popular for supporting individuals experiencing faith crises and for making scripture relevant and accessible.

Megan (In Defense of Family)

Megan is the creator of the Instagram account In Defense of Family, where she fearlessly and boldly stands up for and teaches about the importance of the family. She shares uplifting content focused on defending family principles and Christ-centered motherhood. Megan lives just outside Richmond, Virginia, and is passionate about building a community that values and supports family.

Greg Matsen (Cwic Media)

Greg Matsen is the founder of Cwic Media and host of the Cwic Show, a popular independent Latter-day Saint podcast on YouTube and podcast platforms that explores gospel topics and current cultural issues. With a background in web development, marketing, and wealth management, Greg brings decades of scripture study and insight to his work, helping others find clarity and faith amidst today’s challenges. He is also known for developing the “Cwic Interpreters,” and continues to serve in church leadership while living with his family in Arizona.

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Join the Conversation

We invite you to be part of this unique digital gathering. Share your stories and insights on family life, and help us celebrate the enduring principles of the Family Proclamation.

Share Your Story

Creator Schedule

Time (MDT)	Creator	Paragraph
9:00	Family Proclamation: Carol	We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
9:10	Sara Phelps	solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God…
9:20	Sara Phelps	…and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
9:30	Shayla Egan (aka ldspreppergirl)	All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God.
9:40	Lynnette Sheppard	Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.
9:50	Unshaken Saints: Jared Halverson	In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience…
10:00	Ashley Ruth	The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.
10:10	The Latter-Day Ladies: Jennie Moss	Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
10:20	My Life by Gogo Goff: Jeremy Goff	The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife.
10:30	My Life by Gogo Goff: Jeremy Goff	We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.
10:40	Public Square Magazine: Hannah/Danny	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 declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed.
10:50	Jessica Spackman	We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.
11:00	Christ Centered Parenthood: Tiffani	Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3).
11:10	Family Proclamation: Loren	Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness… Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.
11:20	Jared Lambert	The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.
11:30	In Defense of Family: Megan	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.
11:40	Women Who Choose Faith: Monique	Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
11:50	She Chose the Good Part: Julia Groves	Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.
12:00	Stick of Joseph	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.
12:10	She Chose the Good Part: Julia Groves	Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.
12:20	Women Who Choose Faith: Jill	In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Extended families should lend support when needed.
12:30	Priscilla Davis: Jenet	We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.
12:40	Priscilla Davis: Jenet	Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
12:50	Greg Matsen: CWIC Media	We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere
1:00		to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.