SO I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts that have been on my mind lately about one subject in particular.... MARRIAGE. I know, classic RM.
With a lot of changes happening in the world with regards to marriage and the who, what, when, where, and why of it, I wanted to share my beliefs.
I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe that God established it to be that way from the beginning and we have zero authority to question or change that. Men and women were made to complement (is that the correct version of complement? I've been out of school too long) each other. One is not greater or better than the other. We are supposed to work together, to use our unique skills, abilities and traits to move the Lord's work forward, one of those ways being through child-rearing.
Just for the record, I am very proud to be a woman. I'm okay with the fact that dudes can beat me in an arm wrestle. Its fine with me if the guy wants to open the door. I like being soft and cuddly and sweet-smelling and soft-spoken and gentle. Because all of those things are going to make me a good mommy. God made me that way so that I can learn and develop the attributes of Christ and fulfill whatever it is that God needs me to do here on earth.
Just as important to me as the who and what of marriage is the where. God established marriage to last much longer than just "till death do you part". In fact, it's supposed to last for eternity! That's a pretty long time. So choose your spouse wisely... :) The place where those marriage bonds are made eternal is in God's Holy Temples. Getting married in the temple is top priority for me. And if that is my goal, then I need to live everyday keeping that in mind. Every decision I make is either moving me closer to or farther away from that goal.
Sidenote: The adversary is going to try and get us through distraction. He may not always be able to get us through the big no-no sins. But if he can get us to take our eyes off of our goal, its a victory for him. As a missionary, we were taught to filter every decision through Our Purpose. As missionaries our purpose was to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Before we did anything we had to make sure that whatever it was was going to help us to fulfill our purpose. In life, we could say our purpose is to live in such a way that we can return to live in the presence of God and Jesus Christ. We should filter everything we do through this purpose... Does this TV show help me to be worthy to live with God again?... I know this might seem a bit extreme, and it definitely isn't easy. But life is short, and we need to be using this time wisely. That was a long sidenote... sorry.
ANYWHO! Marriage between and man and woman in the House of God. It's important. I may not fully understand the WHY of marriage, but I do know that it is important. And I know that there is strength and blessings that will come when we make this a priority.
BUT, and this is a big but, while we must stand firm and stand up for our beliefs, we CANNOT judge and belittle others because they believe differently. We must be kind. We must be loving. We must do and say things like Christ would. Because despite differing opinions and beliefs everyone is our brother and sister and God loves them a whole heck of a lot. SO SHOULD WE!
I know God loves us. I know His plan is perfect. And we need to trust Him.
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