The Mormon Church focuses its attention of families because one of the basic Mormon beliefs is about the eternity of families. When people realize that their family relationships are supposed to last for all eternity they start thinking and behaving differently.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Mormon Church said:
“We cannot and we must not allow the school, community, television, or even Church organizations to establish our children’s values. The Lord has placed this duty with mothers and fathers. It is one from which we cannot escape and one that cannot be delegated. Others may help, but parents remain accountable. Therefore, we must guard the sanctity of our homes, because that is where children develop their values, attitudes, and habits for everyday living.” ( M. Russell Ballard, “Teach the Children,” Ensign, May 1991, 79-80)
I have noticed how easy it is for our kids, especially teenagers, to be influenced by their peers. Even when parents are teaching the correct principles they still are tempted to follow the crowd of their friends without always thinking properly about consequences.
Fathers and mothers have the duty of teaching their children and they can’t delegate this duty to anybody else. However, fathers and mothers are more motivated and inspired to teach their children when they have an eternal perspective, when they know the real purpose of what they are doing.
This is one of the reasons because if we desire to live in a better world we should be promoting missionary work. Probably more good people will improve their parenting by learning about the Gospel of Jesus Christ than by participating in most parenting seminaries.