Mormon Theology no. 48 - The Covenant Marriage

30 April 2009

Kim Kardashian's recently failed marriage to Kris Humphries is a tragic story.  Tragic, but one that need not happen again.  In the 27 January 2012 online edition of Us Weekly, Kim remarked to her sister Kourtney, "'It's hard for me.  He's a good heart, he's a Christian -- everything on paper I want in someone, but for some reason, my heart isn't connecting,' she tells Kourtney".  The main reason that marriage failed was because it wasn't a Covenant Marriage.

What is a Covenant Marriage?

 To fully answer this question, we must first define what a covenant is.  Dictionary.com's definition of the word "covenant" reads, "an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified."  This is sufficient when we add the words "between God and man" to replace the words "between two or more persons".  We then have the definition as follows: "An agreement, usually formal, between God and man to do or not do something specified."  In other words, a covenant is a two-way promise between God and man, in which  God sets the terms, and man agrees to follow said terms.  In the case of a covenant marriage, the agreement is as follows:

And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power and the keys of this priesthood; and it shall be said unto them—Ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.  Then shall they be gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them.  Then shall they be gods, because they have all power, and the angels are subject unto them (D&C 132:19-20). whereby to shed innocent blood

In layman's terms, this means that when a man and a woman are married by the Lord's Holy Priesthood in one of His Temples (built only by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons), that marriage has the potential to last literally forever, even into the next life.  That couple will continue to have children in the next life, and even become Gods, as God our Father is also a God.

Not all champagne and roses

Now, of course marriage is not all champagne and roses.  Marriage is hard work.  One must realize that in order to make it work, one must forgo self.  If both the man and woman are looking out for the other's happiness, safety, security, etc., then the marriage will work, despite the troubles and trials that come upon us.  To put it in the words of modern Prophets and Apostles, "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities" ("The Family: A Proclamation to the World").  Indeed, the old adage that "the family the prays together stays together" rings true.  The Christ has established marriage as far back as the Garden of Eden to be entered into through a covenant with Him and thus to be eternal, as He is Eternal.

I hope this explains more clearly why Mormon marriages are the way they are, and why married Mormons are so happy.

Mormon Theology no. 6 - Marriage for Time and All Eternity

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only church which has the Authority, plain and simple, to bind families together forever. We trace the Priesthood back to an appearance of John the Baptist to the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on 15 May 1829 in Pennsylvania. If this event did not occur, then the LDS Church's claim to Priesthood Authority is null and void. We are the only Church to claim Authority legitimately because we include the presence of Angels in that claim. If the Angels didn't come and restore that Authority, then the Catholic Church has it and no other. But since I have verily proven in our past lectures that the LDS Church is the only true Church, then that argument is settled.

In the Houses of the Lord scattered across the Earth, the fact is that the LDS Church DOES have the Authority to marry forever because God said in the beginning to the first man and the first woman that He had "created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth (Gen 1:28)". And also Jesus says, "What God hath joined together let not man put asunder (Matt 19:6)." We are the only religion in the world to teach that man and woman can live forever as husband and wife.

President Jedidiah M. Grant saw the Spirit World for two nights in succession before he died.  President Grant told President Heber C. Kimball of the vision.  President Heber C. Kimball quoted Grant as saying, "To my astonishment when I looked at families there was a deficiency in some, there was a lack, for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here. (JD 4:136)"  The "calling" which the families did not honor begins in the House of the Lord when the New and Everlasting Covenant of Marriage is entered into.  The only way to be united as a family for eternity is within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Thus saith Jesus Christ, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life. And they are they which testify of Me."
- John 5:29

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!