Claim. A family needs grandparents, parents, spouses, and children because relationship with God requires love in all directions.
Elaboration. SMM proposes three generations living together because “only when you have all the members of the family can you attend God” (CSG 4.2 §2, 128-17, 1983.5.29). The reason is directional: to form a relationship, one must sometimes stand below, above, in the center, and on the same level. A second passage links this to universal reciprocation: sadness over a spouse’s death or childlessness arises because “the fundamental principle of the universe makes it necessary to have relationships in all directions” (70-76, 1974.2.8). The family is therefore a miniature relational cosmos: above and below, north and south, and reciprocal partners held together by give-and-take-action.
See also. formation-growth-completion-stages