Marriage

Marriage By Joseph A. West Next to being born, marriage, of all things in this world, is of the greatest importance to the human race. God evidently so thought, for he had no sooner "created man in his own image; male and female created he them," just like himself in duality; than he married them, stating as a reason therefor "that it was not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18), and as the great purpose thereof, that they should, "multiply and re- plenish the earth" Without the union of the sexes, man would soon cease to be, and the very object for which this splendid world of ours was created would be defeated. God, therefore, by his personal example, made marriage a divine institution, full of meaning and importance to the human race, next only to that of life itself. He also decreed that, throughout all nature, like should beget like, and this is one of the purposes of God which never fail. Man, the crowning glory of creation, often tries to avoid the responsibility of this universal requirement. He often prefers to waste his vital powers in sinful pleasure that often entails upon humanity mental and physical defects that are more than filling our hospitals and asylums with the victims of the most dreadful of human maladies.* It is for this reason that God provided the penalty of death for certain violations of the laws of chastity, and decreed that the sins of the fathers guilty of such crimes, should be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation. Hence the wisdom and justice of the drastic penalty of death for the adulterer as well as the murderer, for murderers those guilty of sexual immorality often become. It is astonishing, therefore, how certain Christians consider marriage sinful, and induce multitudes of their fellows to re- nounce it altogether and thus dry up and destroy the very fountains of human life. When sanctified by love, no holier joys than those that spring from the conjugal relations can be found in all the range of human experience. What can com- *Upon this subject, President Joseph F. Smith, in Gospel Doctrine, page 242, says: "Without marriage, virtue would be destroyed to give place to sin and corruption."

MARRIAGE 325 pare with the exalting love of true and faithful sweethearts, or the fervent, devoted and self-sacrificing love of chaste hus- bands and wives, and parents and children? Its beneficent rays extend throughout all human relationships; so far, indeed, that the Lord had only to "turn the hearts of the [living] children to their [dead] fathers," by revealing to them the new and everlasting covenant of marriage, to awaken in their hearts a love and devotion as exalted as the heavens, and as broad and boundless as humanity itself. Leonard Darwin, England's most renowned eugenist, believes that love is the very best guide to the mating of the sexes in marriage, and when strictly followed, is of inestimable benefit to future generations. That God so designed, there can be no question. This teaching and practice of celibacy among certain orders is all the more remarkable when the very Bible from which they claim to derive their authority therefor, not only offers the example set forth in the beginning of this article, but also says: "Now the spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils * * * forbidding to marry," etc. (I Tim. 4:1-3.) The Apostle Paul also says: "Nevertheless, neither is man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord." (1st Cor. 11:11.) And at another time^ "The husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church." (Eph. 5:23.) Is Christ to be the head of the Church only in this life, or eternally? And do Christians only hope and expect to be in the Lord while they sojourn in mortality? If not, then they must have their wives married to them for time and all eternity through the new and everlasting covenant by one divinely com- missioned. For marriage is a divine institution designed by the Creator to last forever. It was first solemnized by him, of whom one of the prophets has said: "Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever." (Eccl. 3:14.) !A/s correct marriage, properly lived, is the source of the greatest joy of mortal life, so will it be the source of our great- est joy and glory hereafter. In our pre-existent state, we were one great family, having one Father and one mother, Jesus Christ being "our elder brother" or the "first born of every creature" (Col. 1:15); he is also called the "the first born of many brethren" (Rom. 8:29), and "the first begotten" (Heb. 1:6). These scriptural titles could not be applied to him in his mortal life, for he lived four thousand years after Adam.

326 IMPROVEMENT ERA It is in this life that we lay the foundations of all those multifarious family relationships from which spring so much of human happiness. Like baptism, marriage appertains to this life, and if it is not performed here, cannot exist hereafter, for the Savior said, "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels in heaven." (Matt. 22:30) Orson Pratt, on page 177, vol. 16, of the Journal of Discourses, has the following to say upon this important subject: "God has appointed that both marriage and baptism shall be attended to in the flesh, and if neglected here the blessings are forfeited." "Spirits cannot bring forth, multiply and increase. They must have bodies." (p. 253.) "But another and greater object that the Lord had in view in sending us down from yonder world was this, that we might be redeemed in due time by keeping the celestial law and have our bodies restored to us in all the beauty of immortality. Then we will be able to multiply and extend forth our posterity and increase our dominion without end. Can spirits do this? No, they remain single. There is no marriage among spirits, no coup- ling together of males and females among them; but when they arise from the grave after being tabernacled in mortal bodies, they have all the functions that are necessary to people worlds and to create worlds and send forth their spirit children to inhabit those worlds. * * * So the offspring of the Almighty, who begat us, will grow up and become literal Gods, or the Sons of God." (p. 242, Vol. 14.) "Except a man and his wife enter into an everlasting covenant and be married for eternity while in this probation by the power and authority of the Holy Priesthood, they will cease to increase when they die; that is, they will not have any children after the resurrection. But those who marry by the power and authority of the holy Priesthood in this life, and continue without sinning against the Holy Ghost, will continue to increase and have children in the celestial glory." (See Joseph Smith's Teachings, page 104.) "Some of these good women who have passed beyond have actually been anointed to be queens and priestesses * * * unto their husbands, to continue their work and to be the mothers of spirits in the world to come. (Page 582, Gospel Doctrine, President Joseph F. Smith.) The sealing power by which these sisters were anointed was the same that Christ conferred upon Peter when he said, "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." (Math. 16:9.) Peter gave these same keys to the prophet, Joseph Smith, on the memorable occasion, on the banks of the Susquehannah river, when he and James and John conferred upon Joseph the Melchizedek Priesthood. These keys were in turn conferred upon his successors down to the present day. Outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, men and women marry only for time, or until death separates them. Hence they cannot be in the Lord hereafter, nor can

MARRIAGE 327 the husband be the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church, to all eternity. Provision is made, however, for all who lived when this authority was not upon the earth, to have this ordinance vi- cariously performed for them, but there may be some doubt that this can be done for those who wilfully, or carelessly neg- lect to do this work for themselves when they have opportunity so to do. (Doc. and Cov. 132:3-6.) Relative to this law, the same revelation says: "Verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: — Ail covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, con. nections, associations or expectations, that are not made and entered into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revela- tion and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this power * * * are of no efficacy, virtue or force, in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end, have an end when men are dead." "And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed upon them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the keys of this Priesthood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall come forth in the first resur- rection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths — then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity, and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the Gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever. * * * Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they 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." (Verses 19, 20.) In further confirmation of this, I will quote from Section 131:1-4: "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees, and in order to obtain the highest a man must enter into this order of the Priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage] ; and if he does not, he cannot obtain it. He may enter into the other, but that is an end of his kingdom: he cannot have an increase." Verse 16, of section 132, speaking of those who have not been married by God's law, reads as follows: "Therefore, when they are out of the world, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are appointed angels in heaven, which angels

328 IMPROVEMENT ERA are ministering servants, to minister for those who ate worthy of a far mere, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory." According to "Mormon" philosophy, therefore, the bless- ings resulting from marriage are very great. None of God's children can attain to their highest destiny without it. It was so highly prized by God's primeval family that they "shouted for joy when the foundations of this world were laid," as re- corded in the 38th chapter of Job, because it was here that those who kept their first estate were promised the priceless reward through marriage of inheriting tabernacles through and by which they might, if faithful, become like God, their Father. Just how many have been thus provided for, there is no means of knowing. President Woodruff, in his Leaves from My Journal, in order to determine the cause for so much wickedness on this most fallen of God's creation (see Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses 7:36), estimates the number of evil spirits, whose whole mission is to lead men astray, to be very many for every man, woman and child then living. All of God's children must receive bodies before this earth and its inhabitants will have fulfilled the great purpose for which they were created. How great, therefore, is the responsibility of the living to the millions yet unborn. That this is far from being appreciated by the world at large is proved by the fact that, according to a recent statement in the Oregonian, the American family of fifty years ago averaged a little over five children: whereas now it averages but a little over two; one hundred and fifty years ago, the average was about eight. We have besides an innumerable host of men and women who fail to comply with God's first great commandment — to multiply and replenish the earth. Notwithstanding the Lord's declaration that "all those to whom this law shall be revealed, must obey it" and Apostle Pratt's statement that "if neglected here the blessings are for- feited" we are told that a large per cent of all "Mormon" mar- riages are solemnized outside of the temple, the only place where these sacred ordinances can be performed. How can this remarkable condition be accounted for? Per- haps in four ways: First, because of ignorance of the law and its requirements. Second: Because some may prefer to experiment with mar- riage and be sure that an eternal union with their marital com- panion is desirable, all of which should have been determined before. For parents have no right to bring children into the world with the slightest probability of entailing upon them the terrible cosequences of such domestic inharmony as may lead later to a divorce with all its attendant evils.

MARRIAGE 32$ Third: Because their lives have not been such that they can obtain a temple recommend, and Lastly: Because many may think that, should they fail, from any cause, to enter into this covenant in life, it can and will be atteded to for them by some relative or friend. But can this be done and be accepted by the Lord, in view of what he has said? The writer recently listened to a very impressive address by the President of the Oneida stake, in which, speaking of those who neglected to do the work for their dead, he said : "I have been very strongly impressed with the thought that all such, upon passing to the great beyond, will be consigned to the same condition or place in which, by their neglect, they have left their departed kindred, and be compelled to so remain until, by the work of others more valiant than they, their kindred are relieved therefrom." In the case of those who neglected in life to be married in the temple, when they had the opportunity so to do, is it un- reasonable to suppose that they may not be allowed to enjoy any of the advantages of such vicarious unions, should they be performed, until all who had not had this opportunity in life had been fully taken care of? This doubtless would be a very long time, considering the vast number for whom such work has to be vicariously done. If, as the Prophet Joseph Smith has said, "all those who neglect their temple work for their dead, do it at the peril of their own salvation," how much more so must the salvation of those who neglect to do this important work for themselves be imperiled by its non-performance? At a subsequent meeting Brother Taylor Nelson, President of the Oneida stake, stated that he had labored four years with a certain brother before he could convert him to the necessity of having his endowments, and his wife and children sealed to him, but after it was done the brother said: "If what I have here obtained cost the wealth of the entire world, and it was all mine to give, I would gladly give it for what I have received in the temple today." And yet these sacred ordinances are offered to every laitn- ful Latter-day Saint "without money and without price," ex- cept the price of a good, clean, Christian life, and a worthy membership in the Church. Logan, Utah