Musings on Marriage

"There is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." The quote goes something like that. For some reason, this has popped into my head. Why? I don't know... But it did. It may be the fact that for some reason many things I have been studying in my personal study everyday seem to talk in some way shape or form about marriage. There is something that is very well known about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and very noticeable. It is that many of the young men and women of the church marry young. Many of my friends are married, some are expecting children. I am 20. I never wanted to be a 19 year old bride... Well, I've overcome that 19 year old part. I do wish to get married in the Lord's time. But why is marriage so important? Why do we seek to find a spouse? Shouldn't we be more worried about getting our degrees, finding a career, or having a good time? Here is what I have learned about marriage lately.

1. Marriage has an effect on our eternities, not just our earthly life. 
We believe that the institution of marriage is meant to endure eternity. This is the purpose of a temple marriage. A temple marriage is performed by someone who holds the authority to seal a couple together for time and all eternity. This power is referenced by Christ Himself while He is addressing His apostle, Peter. He says, "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19) This is called the priesthood authority, the authority and power from God to act in His name. Through this authority, we can be bound as families forever. To dwell in the presence of our Heavenly Father, this must be something we have. We need to be together as husband and wife to dwell with our Heavenly Father. This makes marriage a high priority in our lives.



2. Do we seek to please God or Man?
Man desires us to focus on career, money, prestige, position, worldly power... But we can't take any of this with us. We need our education, jobs, and those things for this life, but we won't need them in the next. We can take very little with us except our knowledge gained and, if we are sealed for time and all eternity, our family relationships. I would rather please God and be married and have my marriage be centered on the teaching of Jesus Christ than be a billionaire. I know this is His plan, so I am going to do my best to follow it.

Here is the thing: I've wanted to get married for as long as I remember, but I never knew how important marriage is until recently. I thought it would be just something that if it happened, that would be great. But now, I realize it isn't something to be delayed. It is something to be sought out and to be prayed about and to be led by the spirit to know when and who I will marry. I think of so many people who delay it and who decide it is okay to live with a boyfriend or girlfriend without being married. I just don't understand where anyone believes this is okay. God set up marriage from the beginning and I stand as a witness that if we follow His teachings, we will be blessed and be able to find eternal happiness. If we decide to marry, life isn't going to be perfect. It is going to take work. But we can find eternal happiness at the end of this period of trial and tribulation.

I promise that as we take this into consideration, we will see that there is nothing wrong with marrying the right person at the right time for you in the right place.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond