Marriage... What is it?

What is a marriage? According to Ryan Anderson, “it exists to bring a man and a woman together to be a mother and father to any children that the union produces.” According to The Family:Proclamation to the World, it is define very similarly. “Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.” Others believe that it is simply a way to show commitment and love between two people, it doesn’t matter the sex as long as there is love.

So what’s the big issue? Is the traditional marriage too old-fashioned? Is it not politically correct enough? Or does it exclude people? Ryan Anderson in the same interview said that men and women are complimentary and that is why both are needed in a union. “Up until the year 2000 there was no political community anywhere on the face of the earth who defined marriage as anything other than male/female.” Why is it that we need to redefine an institution that has remained virtually the same since Adam and Eve? If you’re a Christian you feel that it was defined correctly prior to the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015).

As an active Christian I do feel that the Supreme Court made a mistake and that it didn’t just redefine marriage, but redefined the family as well. I feel that because of this ruling I will be made out to be some kind of an uncaring person that can’t accept others and their choices because of my beliefs and what I feel marriage should be. I had a friend that chose to be married to her lesbian partner and she decided to no longer be friends with me because I was not more excited for her to have this opportunity. I didn’t say anything good or bad about it and because I didn’t specifically tell her that I supported her choice and was happy for her in her new union she decided to no longer be my friend. She is a very nice person and I am sad to have lost her as a friend, but I will not tell someone that I feel is going against God’s plan that I am happy for their choice because it is a brother or sister that is missing out on so many promised blessings. I wish she was willing to listen to the reasons why I would like more for her.

Elder Russel M. Nelson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a commencement speech to BYU graduates shared these inspiring words, 

“There is great power in a strong partnership. True partners can achieve more than the sum of each acting alone. With true partners, one plus one is much more than two. For example, Dr. Will Mayo and his brother, Dr. Charles Mayo, formed the Mayo Clinic. Lawyers and others form important partnerships. And in marriage, a husband and wife can form the most significant partnership of all—an eternal family.” 

This is my hope for everyone! I so badly want people to remember what marriage meant before the need to be intimate before marriage came about and realize that as partners, yes you can accomplish good things, but as a married couple you can accomplish eternal things! Things that will far outlast anything done on this earth.