From God's omniscient perspective, marriage could have little eternal significance. He knew the end from the beginning and realized there would come a time when marriage for humans would be no longer practiced. In fact, this is THE silver bullet that pierces the heart of Mormonism. Mormon hopes rest in eternal marriages with expansive reproduction of offspring, whereas Jesus said such do not and will not exist. Therefore, Mormons bank all of their hopes on a mirage that actually never was and never will be.
If marriage has such a limited shelf life, then why did God institute it at all and make such a fuss about it?
God's plans for humankind within history required marriage, but not just for the dominion clause. Breeding and bossing can be accomplished without a covenant between husband and wife, but effective child-rearing cannot. Fathers and mothers working together is absolutely required. That is why the divorce epidemic is having such detrimental effects on our broader society— children cannot be raised according to design by single mothers (or fathers) in broken homes. Sure, there are exceptions, but it's hard to miss the overall trend.
God's plans for humankind within history required marriage, but not just for the dominion clause. Breeding and bossing can be accomplished without a covenant between husband and wife, but effective child-rearing cannot. Fathers and mothers working together is absolutely required. That is why the divorce epidemic is having such detrimental effects on our broader society— children cannot be raised according to design by single mothers (or fathers) in broken homes. Sure, there are exceptions, but it's hard to miss the overall trend.
Our fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants, make-it-up-as-we-go approach to love, marriage and family is a dismal failure.
So, within this space called history, from the fall in the garden to the dead seed of man rising from the dust to face God's judgment, marriage has divine and practical benefit. He who finds a wife, or vice-versa for that matter, finds a good thing. Certainly not something to be discarded after the kids have grown and gone. Certainly not something to discard because it takes too much effort.
So, within this space called history, from the fall in the garden to the dead seed of man rising from the dust to face God's judgment, marriage has divine and practical benefit. He who finds a wife, or vice-versa for that matter, finds a good thing. Certainly not something to be discarded after the kids have grown and gone. Certainly not something to discard because it takes too much effort.
How hard can it be to see that spouse as the gift from God he or she truly is?
Marriage is not a human invention, nor a societal convention that can be tossed aside or experimented with. Oh, we can continue to break marriages upon the rocks of hedonism, but that only delivers the next generation into the cold, dark, stormy deep. That a non-believer opts for the selfish option or takes what seems to be the easier road is not all that surprising— that supposed Christians do is incomprehensible.
Marriage is not a human invention, nor a societal convention that can be tossed aside or experimented with. Oh, we can continue to break marriages upon the rocks of hedonism, but that only delivers the next generation into the cold, dark, stormy deep. That a non-believer opts for the selfish option or takes what seems to be the easier road is not all that surprising— that supposed Christians do is incomprehensible.
When it comes to marriage and family, there's God's plan or there's an inevitable spiral down into chaos. He didn't create marriage for that!
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