2016
Why do we talk so much about marriage?
August 2016


“Why do we talk so much about marriage?” New Era, August 2016, 41

Why do we talk so much about marriage? It’s something I’m just not interested in.

“Everything we do should have celestial marriage as its focus and purpose”1 because “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and … the family is central to the Creator’s plan for [our] eternal destiny.”2

Marriage in the Father’s plan is not just about here and now but also the eternities. During this life, “God … has extended to us the privilege of our own family … to help us become more like Him.”3

Heavenly Father is an exalted being with an eternal family. He wants the same for us. It’s a major part of His plan for us. “A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God’s plan to thrive. … Such marriage … is as much a part of the plan of happiness as the Fall and the Atonement.”4

Now, not all are able to marry for eternity in this life. But all who are worthy have been promised the opportunity either here or in the next life. Pray to Heavenly Father about the role of eternal marriage in His plan for you. He will answer you through His Spirit.

Notes

  1. Henry B. Eyring, “Eternal Families,” Ensign, May 2016, 82.

  2. “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 2010, 129; emphasis added.

  3. M. Russell Ballard, “That the Lost May Be Found,” Ensign, May 2012, 100.

  4. D. Todd Christofferson, “Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign, May 2015, 52.