Why Marriage, take 2!

Hang on, this is going to be a long one!

At the age of 16 I was introduced to, then joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  The teachings and truths I found in this church were so precious to me. They profoundly impacted my life. As I attended the church I felt a sweet, beautiful spirit.  I knew in my heart this was God leading me to this place, and that it was good. I made a choice to believe, to follow that spirit that led me to a place of peace. Here are the beliefs I hold dear to my heart, as taught by the LDS church. These are just a few of them, but I feel they will be relevant for my blog post.

Some of the Articles of Faith: (numbers in parenthesis denote number of Article of Faith)

• We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. (1)
• We believe that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. (3)
• We believe that the first principle and ordinances of the gospel are: First, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, repentance. Third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. Fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. (4)
• We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those in authority, to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. (5)
• We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, namely apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. (6)
• We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth. (7)
• We claim the right of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience and allow all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where, or what they may. (11)
• We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. (12)
• We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and doing good to all men. Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul – We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. (13)
  

And we also believe:

• We are children of our Father in Heaven, who loves us deeply. We lived with Him before we were born (Old Testament Ecclesiastes 12:7, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Something or someone  can’t return to a place they haven’t been before.  
• He created this world for us to come to, to gain our bodies, to learn (I think of it as a school), and to learn to follow Him in faith.
• He gave us the commandments, and teachings through the Savior and through His prophets to protect us, to teach us what we needed to do to be happy, and to return to Him.

I think of the laws of God this way:

• One day I was taking a walk thinking of my family and how much I loved them. I was praying, thanking God for my husband and my children. My heart just filled with love for them! The scripture in Exodus came into my mind, Exodus 20::5, “I, the Lord thy God am a jealous God…” and I understood what it meant.  Understanding what the original Hebrew word for jealous meant… “sensitive and deep feeling”, I understood that God loves us as deeply, actually more deeply and perfectly, then I love my own children. I am passionate about my children, and now my grandchildren.  How much more deeply and passionately must He love us!
• I have always felt protective of my children. I gave my children rules to teach them, and to protect them from harm. There were things I knew would hurt them that, as they were growing up, they couldn’t understand.  So it is with God. Those things He tells us we need to do are for our growth, and protection.

What’s this got to do with marriage and families?

Well... (CUE WEDDING WALTZ HERE...) (CUE CUTE FAMILY PHOTO HERE.)

First, God is a God of love, He is our Father.  He has prophets and apostles on this earth, and in the Old Testament He said that, “surely the Lord God will do nothing but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the prophets.”

So, as I connect these teachings that I hold close to my heart, I come to a document written in 1995 by then President of the Church Gordon B. Hinckley, his counselors, and the 12 apostles of the church called “The Proclamation on the Family”.  It is my belief that as I consider these men to be men of God, and it was announced and read in a church meeting, this is an inspired document from God.  I choose to believe and follow those principles outlined in this document.

In the Proclamation, we’re told these principles:

• IN THE PRE-MORTAL REALM,spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan ….The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.
• THE FAMILY is ordained of God. 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. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.

Oh, I love this! 

In the Proclamation we learn that marriage and family are eternal principles.  Marriage is ordained of God, and families are forever. 

I believe God intends for us to be happy.  Contained within just these two paragraphs of the Proclamation.. and there is more to the Proclamation then just these two paragraphs, are principles that lead to security and peace within family life. 

Families are forever, it’s an eternal principle. This is why marriage.

A picture of a rendition of the Savior, just because I love Him.  He is my hope,  joy, and peace.