What Is God’s Law of Marriage?

            My Come, Follow Me lesson for this week took me to Doctrine and Covenants 129-132. There are numerous principles taught in these sections, but this post will focus on the following principle: Heavenly Father made it possible for families to be eternal.

            On May 16-17, 1843, the Prophet Joseph Smith stayed with Benjamin and Melissa Johnson in Ramus, Illinois. While he was there, the Prophet taught the Lord’s law of marriage to the Johnson’s and sealed them for eternity. Doctrine and Covenants 131 contains the teachings that he gave. A month later on July 12, 1843, the Prophet dictated the revelation that is recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 132. In this revelation, the Lord taught “the new and everlasting covenant of marriage” (Doctrine and Covenants 131:2).

            Historical evidence suggests that the Prophet received some of the principles found in this revelation as early as 1831. The Lord taught principles concerning eternal marriage and the importance of abiding by His law.

            On February 16, 1832, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon received the revelation that is recorded as Doctrine and Covenants 76. The Lord used this revelation to teach the young Prophet about eternal life. He taught that there are three degrees or kingdoms of glory – the celestial, the terrestrial, and the telestial.

By May 1843 when he met with the Johnsons, the Prophet knew that there are three heavens or degrees in the celestial glory. He also knew the requirements to enter into the highest degree. To enter the highest heaven or degree in the celestial kingdom, a man and a woman must enter into the new and everlasting covenants of marriage. The Lord defined the boundaries for this law in Doctrine and Covenants 132:

4 For behold, I reveal unto you a new and an everlasting covenant; and if ye abide not that covenant, then are ye damned; for no one can reject this covenant and be permitted to enter into my glory.

5 For all who will have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof, as were instituted from before the foundation of the world.

6 And as pertaining to the new and everlasting covenant, it was instituted for the fulness of my glory; and he that receiveth a fulness thereof must and shall abide the law, or he shall be damned, saith the Lord God.

7 And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, and that too most holy, by revelation and commandment through the medium of mine anointed, whom I have appointed on the earth to hold this  power (and I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred), are of no efficacy, virtue, or force in and after the resurrection from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end have an end when men are dead.

            This covenant is described as “new” because it was revealed to Joseph Smith in the dispensation of fulness of times. It is called “everlasting” because it will endure throughout eternity for those who enter into it and are faithful to its terms and conditions. President Marion G. Romney (1897-1988) of the First Presidency summarized this doctrine when he said, “The new and everlasting covenant of celestial marriage is the gate to exaltation in the celestial kingdom” (in Conference Report, April 1962, 17).

            President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876-1972) emphasized the importance of entering into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage with this statement:

There is no ordinance connected with the Gospel of Jesus Christ of greater importance, of more solemn and sacred nature, and more necessary to [our] eternal joy … than marriage.

The fulness and blessings of the Priesthood and Gospel grow out of Celestial marriage. This is the crowning ordinance of the Gospel and crowning ordinance of the temple (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith [2013], 194).

            Then-Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that the new and everlasting covenant of marriage necessarily includes a man and a woman: “Men and women receive the highest ordinance in the house of the Lord together and equally, or not at all. (See Doctrine and Covenants 131:1-3.) (“Woman – Of Infinite Worth,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 20).

            At a different time, then-Elder Nelson further testified that the divinely appointed pattern of marriage between a man and a woman is essential to Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness for His children:

Marriage between a man and a woman is fundamental to the Lord’s doctrine and crucial to God’s eternal plan. Marriage between a man and a woman is God’s pattern for a fulness of life on earth and in heaven. God’s marriage pattern cannot be abused, misunderstood, or misconstrued [see Matthew 19:4-6; Mosiah 29:26-27; Helaman 5:2]. Not if you want true joy….

In our day civil governments have a vested interest in protecting marriage because strong families constitute the best way of providing for the health, education, welfare, and prosperity of rising generations. But civil governments are heavily influenced by social trends and secular philosophies as they write, rewrite, and enforce laws. Regardless of what civil legislation may be enacted, the doctrine of the Lord regarding marriage and morality cannot be changed” (“Decisions for Eternity,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 108).

            Heavenly Father performed a marriage for Adam and Eve and commanded them to have children. He has not rescinded that law. His new and everlasting covenant of marriage is eternal, and it is essential for the eternal happiness of His children. Those who enter into this law will be exalted in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom.