Marriage Forum

            Marriage between a man and a woman is part of God’s plan for the eternal happiness of His children. By supporting traditional marriage we can strengthen families, communities, and nations. Wise people know this to be true because marriage between a man and a woman has been around for thousands of years since the time of Adam and Eve.

            Tad Walch of The Deseret News recently reported on a marriage symposium held in New York City. This symposium was based on a major event held by the Vatican in November 2014 titled “Humanum: An International Interreligious Colloquium on the Complementarity of Man and Woman.” The Humanum was a big deal where leaders of two dozen different faiths spoke. President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and called for “a renaissance of happy marriages and productive families.” He used his own marriage as a witness of happy relationships between husbands and wives. He based his remarks on the principles found in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” published by the Church in September 1995. 

            Elder David A. Bednar, a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, represented the Church at the recent symposium on marriage. Here are some of his comments.

   Men and women complement and complete each other in unique ways that enable them individually and as a couple to fulfill their divine potential.

   The man and the woman contribute differently but equally to a oneness and a unity that can be achieved in no other way. The man completes and perfects the woman and the woman completes and perfects the man as they learn from and mutually strengthen and bless each other. Thus, by divine design, men and women are intended to progress together toward redemption and enduring joy.

            Elder Bednar said that the LDS Church considers marriage to be “a sacred and enduring union between man and woman centered on self-sacrifice and raising a family.” Here is the link for more of Elder Bednar’s counsel on marriage as reported by Walch. 

            Two other speakers – both of whom are considered to be friends by leaders of the Church - joined Elder Bednar at the symposium. They are Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the arch bishop of New York, and Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, director of the Straus Center for Torah and Western Thought at Yeshiva University. Walch reported that the addresses by Cardinal Dolan and Rabbi Soloveichik were not “available for immediate review.”

            Walch reported that the symposium was just one more attempt to teach the general public that “Marriage is the bedrock of civilization and that the major religions of the world are really united in their views of marriage as the complementary union of man and woman in one lifelong, exclusive marriage, and that this has been entirely to the benefit of society from the beginning. Wherever you find strong families, you find a strong society” (Mitchell Muncy, director of the Witherspoon Institute and sponsor of the symposium).

            Many people who are wise and knowledgeable about this subject agree with Director Muncy. We can strengthen our communities and nations by strengthening marriages and families.