Elder Adilson de Paula Parrella, a General Authority Seventy, testified of the sacredness of marriage and family at the 15th Doha Conference for Interfaith Dialogue in Doha, Qatar.
The conference, “Family Structure in Light of Changing World: Religious Perspective,” gathered representatives of Christianity, Judaism and Islam around the world to promote interfaith understanding and cooperation.
Elder Parrella represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the May 8 conference as first counselor in the Middle East/Africa North Area presidency. According to a press release from the Church’s Middle East Newsroom, he highlighted three essential truths of the gospel:
- Family and marriage, the union between man and woman, are sacred.
- Parents are divinely responsible for rearing their children in a loving and righteous environment.
- The family allows youth to learn how to navigate the complexities of life with faith and confidence.
“Family is the core of everything,” he said. “It’s sacred.”
Elder Parrella underscored the Church’s dedication to supporting youth through family-centered worship practices — family prayer, scripture study and regular church attendance.
The Church’s efforts, he said, include extending opportunities in both spiritual and secular education, including the BYU–Pathway Worldwide program and Church-sponsored universities.
Other speakers at the event included Dr. Jason S. Carroll, the Family Initiative director at the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University; Dr. Mahasin Salah, associate professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies; and Karim Assouad, representing FamilySearch.
Dr. Carroll presented research showing the role of faith in fostering family integration. Assouad and Dr. Salah explained how family history — including the recording of memories and oral histories — strengthens the family.
The two-day conference was organized by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.
Government leaders, representatives of academia and nongovernmental organization leaders from more than 40 countries were also in attendance.
