Same-Sex Marriage

The topic of same-sex marriage is a sensitive one, but it is so important. In these days, people who know the truth about marriage and what God wants it to be, really have to stand up for it. Men and women both bring different things in a marriage. They have different perspectives that allow each of them to succeed, especially in raising a family. Around the world, people are rewriting marriage. Judges and justices are arguing that marriage between two men or two women is okay and that there isn’t anything wrong with that. Because intelligent officials are saying these things, people are trusting them and agreeing with them. This can be clearly seen in the Obergefell v. Hodges link (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.). It is sad how the world has tried to change and twist God’s plan for His Children. There is a story about two nurses in this reading that fall in love and decide to adopt 3 children. They adopt two boys and one girl. I feel like this is so unfair to those children. They won’t ever grow up with a father. How is the little boy supposed to look up to a grown man that he can be like one day? How will the little girls have an example of a strong man that they want to marry one day? How can two women raise a young boy that has a different body, and different gender-related struggles than what they’ve ever experienced? It is just so unfair to the children that are being raised like this. I am sure the two women are great moms, but the children are missing out on so much by not having a father.

Latter-Day Saints understand why marriage is the way it should be. We know that man and woman must be sealed in the temple in order to return to live in the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. Because of The Family Proclamation, Latter-Day Saints also understand the different roles that men and women have. These roles are essential and crucial to children’s lives. When Latter-Day Saints argue about the way marriage should be, it isn’t because we are “hating on” those with different beliefs or because we don’t like gay/lesbian people. We are just standing up for our beliefs in what we know to be true. The world shouldn’t change what God has commanded.

Personally, one of the ways that I like to share the truths that I know about marriage, is through social media. I like to post a picture of my husband and I. Along with the picture, I will share a quote about marriage between a man and a woman, or about the importance of both genders in a marriage. Usually, this doesn’t cause any contention. I always hope that someone who needed to see that, saw my post and rethought about what they might believe about marriage.

Russel M Nelson said, “Male and female are created for what they can do and become, together. It takes a man and a woman to bring a child into the world. Mothers and fathers are not interchangeable. Men and women are distinct and complementary. Children deserve a chance to grow up with both a mom and a dad.” I really like this quote by President Nelson, because it very simply states the importance of a man and a woman in marriage.

                                    

Divorce and Children

Ever since I was young, I have felt that divorce was a really sad thing and I knew I didn’t ever want to have to deal with that. I didn’t want my parents to get divorced, and I wanted to marry carefully to make sure I wasn’t leading myself to a future divorce. When I was a child, I lived in Dallas, Texas. I went to an elementary school that had many children that came from divorced parents. Before I really understood what divorce was, the idea of my best friend’s parents living in two different homes, really confused me. Because I was so young, I didn’t really see much of a trend change from happily married parents to divorced parents. There were just always lots of kids with divorced parents. I do remember feeling so bad for all of my friends that had to live a life where they lived at a different house every other night. Later on, when I was in middle school, I remember teachers sending students home with papers for their parents to sign. The next day, if the student’s name wasn’t on the paper, the teacher had no idea who the parent signature belonged to. I went home one night and expressed my feelings to my mom. I remember telling her how sad I thought it was that most of my classmates didn’t even share the same last name as their parents.

In Amato’s article, he talked about how children in divorced families don’t have as strong of bonds with their parents as they could if their parents weren’t divorced. This stood out to me, because it made me realize that some children probably have a tendency to like one parent more than the other. One of the parents might be wealthier, one might have a bigger house, one might spoil them more, one might be less strict than the other, etc. Children should see their parents equally, and it is so sad that preferring one over the other is so normal. This past week actually, my aunt and uncle got a divorce. It has been so sad to see them go through this, especially for the sake of their children. One of the children absolutely hates the mother now, because she's the one that filed for a divorce and chose to leave the family. The child is terrified when she can hear the sound of her mother’s voice, and has nightmares about her mom coming to take her away. It is so sad to see the close relationship that they used to have, and how the separation and divorce destroyed a mother-daughter relationship. Our families are who we will be with forever in the eternities, and it is so important to establish loving, trusting, fun relationships with our family members.

President Kimball said, “…only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.” I think that one of the most important ways to preserve our families today, is through faith. Every family goes through trying times, and sometimes the easiest thing to do, might seem like the best thing to do at the time. If we have faith that we can make it through those hard times, we will be able to. The Lord won’t give us more than we can handle. It is extremely crucial in marriages to put God first. You and your spouse should grow closer together because you are growing closer to God. You shouldn’t grow closer to God because you are growing closer to your spouse. It is so important to remember this, even in the hard times. A family won’t be completely broken if the parents stay together. The parents are the glue to the family, and children need to know that their parents love and adore each other and want all of their children to return to live with Heavenly Father one day.

In regards to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and their feelings about divorce, they strongly discourage divorce if it is “just because” or if things just aren’t working out. They believe that there are situations where divorce might be necessary, but there are so many more reasons why the couple should be able to make marriage work. It is so important to marry the right person and listen to the spirit when you are deciding who to marry. It is better to completely prevent a possible divorce than to try and make it work before you are even married.

"The Family is ordained of God. Marriage between a man and a woman is essential to His eternal plan." ~ The Family: A Proclamation To The World. 

https://www.lds.org/topics/family-proclamation?lang=eng&old=true