Marriage: A Oneness Between Man, Woman, and God

Hey friends,

Today is my mom and dad’s anniversary.  That gets me thinking about long-lasting, eternal marriages, and interestingly enough, today in class we talked about eternal marriage versus the idea of marriage in the world.  I loved what my professor said about the nature of eternal marriage and the symbolism of the altar.

I loved the symbolism given by my professor about the sealing altar of the temple.  This is what I wrote in my notes: “When you kneel at the altar, it is a threshold.  You go from being eternally single to eternally married.  You are promising your whole life, existence, and eternity to the one kneeling across from you.  There is only one thing that comes between the kneeling bride and groom – it is the altar.  This is a similitude of Christ’s Atonement.  At the very root of the altar is Christ, the Son; it is He that binds the marriage and holds you together eternally if you will stay connected to Him eternally.  This is the first time you make a covenant with God the Father and Christ – it is a step on the covenant path towards God, even the gateway to eternity.”

I find that teaching beautiful and so simple.  It is through Christ that eternal marriage is made possible.  In class we discussed the Sadducean law in Matthew 22, cross referencing D&C 132:15, which reads, “Therefore, if a man marry him a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world and she with him, their covenant and marriage are not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world; therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world.”

In Matthew 22, the Sadducees were tempting Christ, asking him which man would be sealed to a woman who married seven men on the earth.  Christ’s response was powerful.  He told them, “in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:15).  Christ taught a higher law.  The Sadducean law is not God’s law—they did not believe in the resurrection and were upset by Christ’s teachings.  However, today we see that by Christ teaching these eternal doctrines back in their day, He showed that God’s law is unchanging and eternal.  Marriage has been defined as an eternal entity, a oneness between man and woman and God, since the beginning of creation.  I love this because it teaches me that families are forever, and for that I am so grateful.