People everywhere throughout the world care about their families. It doesn’t matter what our religion or culture may be, we all love our children and want the best for them. And it doesn’t stop there. We want the best for all families. When someone else’s child is suffering, we all feel a portion of the pain. When marriage is threatened we are concerned because we understand the impact it can have on the family and society in general. Healthy families are vital to a healthy society.

A New Institute to Protect the Family

A few years ago we served a five-year part-time Church service mission helping to promote traditional family values and policies worldwide. Our director was Dr. Richard Wilkins of the World Family Policy Center at Brigham Young University. He has since retired from BYU and, three years ago, accepted an invitation to establish The Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development (DIIFSD).

This Institute is located in Doha, Qatar, and has become a leading global academic institute which conducts research and scholarship on the legal, sociological, and scientific basis of the family as the natural and fundamental group unit of society. It is the goal of the Institute to unite and join with all like-minded people and organizations whose research and work is to support and protect marriage and the family. To learn more about this Institute visit their website at http://www.fsd.org.qa/.

Gathering Information

We are back in the saddle, working with Richard Wilkins once again, on a special assignment, right here from our home in Provo, Utah. Our current project is to create a global information resource on family-centered organizations, mainly non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic and research centers, family institutes, religious organizations, and government agencies dealing with family issues. The information will be printed in the second edition of the book “The World Unites to Protect the Family.”

This information will help organizations be able to contact others with similar goals, interchange ideas, and , when possible, promote each other’s activities and events. It will also be a source where individuals wanting to help protect families can find an organization to join, assist, or find help they need personally for their own family.

You Helped Us Before

The creation of the first edition of “The World Unites to Protect the Family” was one of our mission assignments. At that time, five years ago, we turned to Meridian Magazine, knowing that a worldwide readership may be able to help us. The result was overwhelming. We asked for help and you gave it to us. At that time we were asking for people to hold meetings in their homes and communities to promote marriage and the family. Many of these events were recorded and noted in the first edition of the book, which had an impact on delegates at the United Nations. It showed that people all over the world care about protecting traditional marriage and family values. We thank you all again for that help.

We Need You Again

Now we come to you with a different request. We need your help once again, but this time it is to help us identify organizations that are already working for the good of families. We have located over 200 organizations headquartered in the United States that are doing incredible work for families, and many outside of the U.S. as well. But we need many more from countries located in Asia, South America, North America (other than US), Central America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. We need names of people and organizations located in these areas.

We have been deeply impressed by the number of people who have organized to help families all over the world. Some work to protect marriage and fundamental rights of parents to teach and care for their children. Others work to help those in developing countries learn ways to provide basic needs for their families. Others work to help victims of AIDS, especially children who have lost parents to this dreaded disease. Still others work to assist families hit hard by natural disasters or wars. The list of good-hearted people who have organized to help families goes on and on. We need to know who they are.

We would appreciate it very much if you would send us names of individuals or organizations with their contact information (include an email or website if available) of those you know. You may know someone or an organization that we would not otherwise locate. Of course, we are sweeping the Internet in our searches, but personal recommendations are always the best. All answers to this request should be sent to worldunites@gmail.com. Please forward this on to others who may be helpful.

Save the Family Song

When we were originally involved in this work we, along with Janice Kapp Perry, wrote a song for all families and anyone interested, to use freely. It is available in four languages on our website at http://www.garyjoylundberg.com, just scroll down the right side to Free Music and click on Save the Family to download it at no cost. We hope you enjoy the song.

Thank you for any help you may be able to give us as we all continue to follow the mandate given us in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, which reads: “We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” That is the whole purpose of this work in creating “The World Unites to Protect the Family”— to promote and strengthen the family worldwide.

Gary and Joy Lundberg live in Provo, Utah and are parents of five children and have fifteen grandchildren.

Gary is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.  Born and reared in Washington, D.C, he served seven years as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force.

Joy is a writer and lyricist and has written nearly 200 songs with composer Janice Kapp Perry.  She served as script writer for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcast Music and the Spoken Word for six years, has authored numerous articles in the Ensign, New Era and Friend magazines. She was born in Ogden, Utah and reared in Vale, Oregon.

Gary and Joy are the authors of Love That Lasts: 14 Secrets to a More Joyful, Passionate, and Fulfilling Marriage, the novel Meeting Amazing Grace: Wisdom for All Families and In-laws (based on true stories). Other books they’ve written on developing happy, fulfilling relationships are I Don’t Have to Make Everything All Better, and On Guard: Seven Safeguards to Protect Your Sexual Purity (for youth). 

They present firesides and seminars throughout the country and enjoy teaching at BYU Campus Education Week.  They served a five-year part-time Church Service Mission at the BYU World Family Policy Center helping to protect families worldwide. Currently they are assisting The Doha International Institute for Family Studies and Development, research organizations protecting families throughout the world..

For more information visit their website at http://www.garyjoylundberg.comhttp://www.lundbergcompany.com