Marriage in Better Context

Many people will stumble across this blog post and quickly stop reading because my position and views are unpopular; however, I sincerely hope that you will decide to keep reading because, with any luck, my post will give you a better idea about why many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take the perspective they do. My goal is not to change your mind or position, but to help you understand my feelings from my perspective. 

My Wife and I

Like I said, I am a member of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marriage between a man and a woman is important. I am married to a beautiful woman named Melissa. We have one 6-month-old daughter. I wrote something back in March of 2015, but I quickly realized that without understanding marriage from our context, it is difficult to really understand my perspective.

Before I begin, I want to say, I do not speak in behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My words should not be taken as official Church material.

This perspective is taught very simply and clearly in a proclamation issued in 1995. It was published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (this is official Church material) and is called The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I will be quoting from this proclamation throughout my post.

“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents."

We existed with HeavenlyParents as spirits before the Earth was created. We did not have bodies of flesh and bone, but we did have spirit bodies. We were created in the image of our Heavenly Parents. God our Father has a perfect, immortal body with arms and legs, fingers and toes. We did not have physical bodies yet. We were only spirits, but we wanted to be like our Heavenly Parents and we existed as a heavenly family. When we were born on this Earth, we forgot all pre-Earth existence.

“His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.”

Our purpose in this life is to gain the experiences necessary to obtain Eternal Life. Eternal life is a life like God’s. He wants us to gain what He has, and become like Him. This is possible through the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ who paid for our sins. Someday, we will have perfect, immortal bodies like our Heavenly Parents. At this point you may be thinking, "So, what does this have to do with marriage?" Please keep reading.

My Family

“The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.”

So, if families are important in the pre-Earth life (when we lived with Heavenly Parents as spirits) and if families are so important in this life (because we are learning to become like our Heavenly Parents), then they must be important in the life to come. Indeed, families were meant to continue on for Eternity. Marriages can continue beyond death. Husbands and wives can live happily as husbands and wives forever! 

“Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.”

Families (especially marriages) are essential to God's plan. God designed a world where families come into biological and physical existence through procreation between a man and woman. It's deeper than that though, if we are to have a life like our Heavenly Parents' Lives, we must learn to become parents like Them.

A leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently said "What the restored gospel brings to the discussion on marriage and family is so large and so relevant that it cannot be overstated: we make the subject eternal! We take the commitment and the sanctity of marriage to a greater level because of our belief and understanding that families go back to before this earth was and that they can go forward into eternity" ("Why Marriage and Family Matter—Everywhere in the World" by Elder L. Tom Perry).

A Song from a Recently Released Album I Love

If you have questions about this, please refer the proclamation I am quoting from. Feel free to comment below. I want to read your thoughts and opinions, even (and maybe especially) if they differ from my own..