“Personal and Family Application of the Teachings and Counsel of Living Prophets”
Quotation 2: Eternal Marriage and Procreation Are Under Divine Direction©
It is no surprise that the world has many opinions about marriage, its origin, purpose and value, and about sex, procreation and the family. What does surprise me is that so many of the younger generation of Latter-day Saints seem to share many of those worldly opinions. Individual freedom from family responsibility surfeits modern culture. My sense is that these trendings have also greatly influenced the most recent generation of Latter-day Saint youth. Their lack of understanding about the LDS doctrine of marriage demonstrates itself in the freedom with which many LDS youth take issue with the Church and its leaders on LGBTQ matters, as if the Church should have one standard for LGBTQ folks engaging in all sorts of sexual practices, and another one for straights who engage in petting, fornication, or adultery. There is no such double standard in the law of chastity as taught by the LDS Church. But, this is not an essay on sexual preference per se. That is only an illustration of the ignorance and the arrogance of the elevated value of personal opinion I see even among some LDS youth about the LDS doctrines of marriage and family. This essay intends to address a single aspect of this subject.
In doing research on those subjects when I was an active sealer in the Logan Temple I came across a wonderful, and wonderfully profound quotation by Charles W. Penrose. He was a counselor in the Church’s First Presidency during the years 1911-1925. He was a native of England and called as an apostle 7 July 1904. The quotation comes from the period prior to his apostleship, but its precision, eloquence, and profundity may give some indication why the Lord thought so highly of him. In 1881 he wrote:
In its correct form [marriage] is under the divine direction. The Father of the race has the right to a voice in the sexual unions of his children. Those relations are fraught with so much consequence, relating to time and eternity, that the Supreme Ruler should regulate them for the benefit of the parties, the welfare of society and the good of posterity in this world, as well as for eternal results in the life to come.(1)
This is a tightly worded statement, requiring us to unpack it. At least four things are of note in this passage. First, the correct form of marriage [presumably this means temple marriages] are under God’s direction. This is because, as D&C 49:15 says, “marriage is ordained of God unto man.” There are only two possibilities for the origin of marriage. Either God established it, or it is a man-made institution which evolved with civilization. Since God ordained it, it is “under his direction.” Elder Penrose thus asserts God’s right and authority to direct marriage, like all other saving ordinances, that is, to give laws and set conditions and boundaries pertaining to both marriage and procreation.
Second, as part of his direction, God has the right to “a voice” in the sexual unions of his children. This statement likely surprises many. The mantra today is, “It is my body, I will do what I want with it.” Many, perhaps most people, including many Christians, are not aware that the Apostle Paul taught otherwise. Here is what he said in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20.
18) Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
When you think about it, it must be this way. Otherwise how can God hold us accountable in the judgment for various sexual transgressions with the body? But brother Penrose suggest other reasons we should seriously consider.
His third point is that those sexual unions are “fraught with so much consequence, relating to time and eternity,” that God regulates them. What consequences relating to time and eternity? For one, we are back to the judgment. Most in secular society and a large number of Christians, have abandoned the notion that God means what he said on Sinai–“thou shalt not commit adultery,” or that there will be any consequence for doing so. Christ raised the ante when he declared that if one engages in lust, he has already committed adultery in his heart. (Mt. 6:28) And Elder Jeffrey R. Holland reminds us that,
Sadly enough, my young friends, it is a characteristic of our age that if people want any gods at all, they want them to be gods who do not demand much, comfortable gods, smooth gods who not only don’t rock the boat but don’t even row it, gods who pat us on the head, make us giggle, then tell us to run along and pick marigolds.
Talk about man creating God in his own image! Sometimes—and this seems the greatest irony of all—these folks invoke the name of Jesus as one who was this kind of “comfortable” God. Really? He who said not only should we not break commandments, but we should not even think about breaking them. And if we do think about breaking them, we have already broken them in our heart. Does that sound like “comfortable” doctrine, easy on the ear and popular down at the village love-in?(2)
So much for eternal consequences. We turn to contemplation of the consequences relating to time of which brother Penrose spoke. It isn’t difficult, just look around. See tens and hundreds of thousands of moral-less men (the sterile academic term is amoral) scattering their sperm around like a gardener fertilizing roses, with equally as many willing moral-less receptive women. See the deadbeat fathers leaving the hapless women to suffer the consequences alone, with apparently none to themselves. See about a million of these women a year in the United States alone since Roe v. Wade (1973), eliminate the conception as if it was so much flotsam. See the hardness of heart, insensitivity to the sacredness of life, and total lack of responsibility to man or mankind evident in these two patterns of behavior and consider the consequences in time. This is but one of a myriad of scenarios playing out in the era of modern sexual freedom.(3)
Finally, as with all aspects of the Gospel, brother Penrose says God regulates the sexual unions of his children for the benefit of three entities: 1) “the parties,” i.e., the couple, 2) the “welfare of society,” 3) “the good of posterity in this world,” and 4) for “the eternal results in the life to come.”
What practical benefits does adherence to the laws of chastity and eternal marriage bring to the couple? Modern apostles and prophets speak of many. Church leaders have consistently taught that marriage is necessary for the growth, refinement, and perfection of men and women.(4) Elder Bednar explained, “The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation.”(5) Elder Glenn Pace wrote, “There is a spiritual development that can only be obtained when a man and a woman join their incomplete selves into a complete couple. Just as conception requires the physical union of male and female, perfection requires the union of the very souls of male and female.”(6) Elder Bruce Hafen said, “Marriage and family life are among God’s chief institutions for perfecting us....”(7) Elder Packer taught, “No relationship has more potential to exalt a man and a woman than the marriage covenant.”(8) President Nelson observed, “Marriage should ever be a covenant to lift husbands and wives to exaltation in celestial glory.”(9) In addition, the prophets and apostles teach that eternal marriage and families are relationships out of which can grow here and in the eternities the greatest love, joy, peace, serenity and happiness known to man.(10) These are just a few of many statements on many aspects of this subject which could be cited.
How do the laws of chastity and eternal marriage benefit the “welfare of society.” Elimination of a million abortions a year in this country isn’t a bad start. Elimination of a million Lady Macbeth’s with indelible blood incarnadine on their hands could introduce a new element of respect for life, and compassion, responsibility and family strength that would inevitably redound to strengthen our society. Elimination of hundreds of thousands of expectant mothers that do not want to be, would lift legions of women each year. Hundreds of thousands of men respecting the chastity of women, providing for the children they sire–who can count those benefits to the welfare of society? If you want a good society it isn’t created by governmental legislation, it is created by honorable, honest, moral men and women, one at a time. Idealistic you say. Consider the havoc perpetually wrecked upon society in the absence of such ideals!
Brother Penrose also calls our attention to the benefits of adhering to God’s guidance in matters of marriage and procreation to the “good of posterity in this world.” Now, things incessantly spiral ever downward, perpetuating secular immorality, crime, poverty, ignorance, and a host of societal ills. What benefits would come to millions of children if they were raised in a two-parent home, with a responsible father? We would eliminate millions of children who are often reared by a poor and uneducated single mother, who but for exceptional circumstances, start life on an uneven playing field with little or no chance to catch up, trillion dollar government programs notwithstanding.
Brother Penrose concludes by asking us to consider the “eternal results in the life to come.” The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith those who meet the conditions of eternal marriage
shall be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall the be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except ye abide my law ye cannot attain to this glory. (D&C 132:20-21)
I hope, at this point, that you agree that brother Penrose’s statement was all that I said it was and more. And I assure you there is much, much more that could be said in reference to this single quotation.
Let’s think together again, soon.
Notes:
1. Charles W. Penrose, “Leaves from the Tree of Life,” Eleventh Leaf, The Contributor, 2 (August 1881):337. Elder Penrose went on to write, “The male and female elements of humanity seek union, of their own volition. The natural attraction that prompts this is right and proper. But if there were no rules and restrictions for the government of these tendencies and the actions resultant, confusion would ensue, and the effects would be sorrow, ruin and destruction. Matrimony therefore becomes a part of religion. It is a divine institution, and hence should be divinely directed.” Emphasis added.
2. Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Cost–and Blessings–of Discipleship,” Ensign (May 2014):7-8. See also Mosiah 4:29-30 and Alma 12:14.
3. I am aware that there is a trend downward in the number of abortions in the United States. But I am not simply concerned with US statistics. Add to our total those from around the world and surely many more than a million fetuses are aborted every year.
4. Indeed, Elder Bednar in teaching that marriage can be understood only in context of the Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation and happiness, says that the first of the doctrines that help us understand why this is the case is that “The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation.” David A. Bednar, Increase in Learning: Spiritual Patterns for Obtaining Your Own Answers,176-177. See also: John Taylor, “It takes a woman and a man to make a man. Did you ever think about that, that without a union of the sexes we are not perfect? God has so ordained it. And therefore do we expect to have our wives in the future state? Yes. And do wives expect to have their husbands? Yes.” JD 19:245, discourse of 21 October 1877; Brigham Young, “Speech Delivered April 6, 1845,” Millennial Star 6, no. 8 (1 October 1845):122, in which he said: “No man can be perfect without the woman, so no woman can be perfect without a man to lead her. I will tell you the truth as it is in the bosom of eternity, and I say so to every man upon the face of the earth–if he wishes to be saved, he cannot be saved without a woman by his side.” Cited in Brian C. Hales, Joseph Smith’s Polygamy, Volume 3: Theology, 153. See also George A Smith, JD 2:216, discourse of 18 March 1855; Wendy Ulrich, The Temple Experience: Passage to Healing and Holiness, Springville, UT: Cedar Fort, 2012, 207-17. Ellis Rasmussen has written: “The greatest opportunity of all, to learn eternal values and achieve heavenly potentials, resides in the responsibility and the privilege to create bodies for others of God’s spirit children.” Ellis Rasmussen, A Latter-Day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1993, 7-8; Richard G. Scott, “To Have Peace and Happiness,” in Brigham Young University Speeches 2010-2011, Provo, UT: BYU, 2011, 178; D. Todd Christofferson,“Why Marriage, Why Family,” Ensign (May 2015):52. “A family built on the marriage of a man and woman supplies the best setting for God’s plan to thrive....”
5. David A. Bednar, Increase in Learning, 176-177. He went on to say, “By divine design, men and women are intended to progress together toward perfection and a fulness of glory. Because of their distinctive temperaments and capacities, males and females each bring to a marriage relationship unique perspectives and experiences. The man and the woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way. The man completes and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man as they learn from and mutually strengthen and bless each other.” Emphasis added.
6. Glenn Pace, “The Divine Nature and Destiny of Women,” BYU devotional address 9 March 2010. Available online at: http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=1886
7. Bruce C. Hafen, Covenant Hearts: Why Marriage Matters and How to Make It Last, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005, 31-32.
8. Boyd K. Packer, “Marriage,” Ensign (May 1981):15. Terryl and Fiona Givens offered an interesting insight when they agree the godly virtues are all social in nature–kindness, patience, mercy, generosity, self-control, etc. Thus, they are best developed and perfected in a social environment with others and God. Terryl and Fiona Givens, The God Who Weeps: How Mormonism Makes Sense of Life, Pleasant Grove, UT: Ensign Peak, 2012, 113.
9. Russell M. Nelson, “Nurturing Marriage,” Ensign (May 2006):37.
10. Bruce R. McConkie, “Celestial Marriage,” BYU Devotional, 6 November 1977, in 1977 Devotional Speeches of the Year, Provo, UT: BYU Press, 1978, 174; Joseph Fielding Smith, in Doctrines of Salvation, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, 2:58-59, 3 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954; George F. Richards, Conference Report, October 1942, 40-41; Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards, Salt Lake City: Improvement Era, 1943,153; “Beginning Life Together,” Improvement Era (April 1936):198-99.
