Why Does God Ordain Marriage Between a Man and Woman?

             My Come, Follow Me studies for this week took me to Genesis as well as to the books of Moses and Abraham. These books of scripture teach the Creation story. This story teaches us that God has the power to make something beautiful and significant from something that is unorganized.

We should remember – particularly when life seems chaotic – that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are Creators and that their creative work with each of us is not finished. They have the power to cause light to shine in the dark moments of our lives. They can help us to find solid ground in the stormy seas of our lives. If we are obedient to their word, they can transform us into the beautiful creations that we have the potential to become. Genesis 1:26 tells us that we were created in the image of God, after His likeness. This means that we have the potential to become like Him, exalted, glorified, celestial beings.

According to the inspired document titled “The Family – A Proclamation to the World,” “marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and … the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (paragraph 1). This theme is continued throughout the proclamation and is stated as follows in the seventh paragraph: “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan.” 

God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman with the first couple who lived on earth, Adam and Eve. After God created Adam and Eve, He “blessed them” and “said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.” He also told them to “have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).

President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints taught, “Adam and Eve were joined together in marriage for time and for all eternity by the power of [the] everlasting priesthood” (“Lessons from Eve,” Ensign, Nov. 1987, 87).

This wedding took place while they were living in the Garden of Eden and in the presence of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. It was a marriage that was meant to last for eternity, and it was a marriage that was blessed with numerous children. We know that they had three sons – Cain, Abel, and Seth.

We also know that they had daughters because women are essential to multiplying and replenishing the earth. God ordained marriage between a man and a woman because male and female are necessary to create offspring. Fathers, mothers, and children – sealed together as eternal families – are essential for the successful completion of Heavenly Father’s plan for the happiness of His children.