Why do mormons have large families?

Ever see someone with a lot of kids and ask "Are you mormon?"  Why do we tend to have large families? 

In Genesis 1:28 we read 'And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it...'   There is more, but this portion of the scripture is what I wish to focus on in this post. 

This a commandment for Adam and Eve to have children.  We believe that God is the literal father of our spirits.  He sent us to earth for several reasons.  One of which is to gain a body.  This body is for our benefit (we'll develop this thought in a later post) and every spirit needs one.  For this purpose, we are to have children, to provide physical tabernacles for those spirits.  We are set up in family units by God in His wisdom.  We know that family provides the greatest source of happiness and joy.  2 Nephi 2:25 (from the Book of Mormon) reads in part, '....and men are, that they might have joy.'  He wants us to experience this joy. 

One of my personal favorite things about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (mormon church) is that we are always counseled to know for ourselves.  Our leaders encourage us to pray to our father and seek His will and His answers to our questions.  No one will ever tell us how many children each family should have.  It's a choice left up to the couple, and together they decide for themselves, always seeking to know what God would have them do. 

In 1995, President Gordon B Hinckley presented The Family: A Proclamation To The World (read it in full here here) The 4th paragraph reads, "The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. 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."  (bold italics are mine)  This is a commandment given not only to Adam and Eve, but to all men!  How we fulfill it is to be determined between each couple and God and no one else. 

This is such a beautiful commandment and one I love so much.  My husband and I have 8 children.  We have many friends and family members and the numbers of children vary widely from family to family.  Some have many, some have 1 or 2, and some have none at all.  The particular number of children that we have is very personal and may be limited by personal revelation, poor health, fertility issues, etc.  We do not judge others as no one can know the personal experiences of another.  I am so thankful for the blessing my children are to me and I know my friends and family are also, whether their families are large or small.