President Russell M. Nelson now our living Prophet, said when giving an Apostolic address in August 2014; “God is the Father of all men and women. They are His children. It was He who ordained marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Marriage was not created by human judges or legislators. It was not created by think tanks or by popular vote or by oft quoted bloggers or pundits. It was not created by lobbyists. Marriage was created by God!
The Ten Commandments forbade adultery and covetousness (see Exodus 20:14,17). Those ancient commandments were given later to people of the New Testament and Book of Mormon times (see Matthew 5:17; 19:18; Mosiah 13:22, 24; 3 Nephi 12:27). In modern revelation the Lord reaffirmed: “Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else” (Doctrine and Covenants 42:22).
True intimacy, as planned by our Creator, is experienced only within the sacred union of husband and wife, because it is enriched by truth and ennobled by the honoring of covenants a husband and wife make with each other and with God. It is crucial to note that full fidelity to those covenants forbids pornography, lust, or abuse in any form.
Social and political pressure to change marriage laws result in practices contrary to God’s will regarding the eternal nature and purposes of marriage. Man simply cannot make moral what God has declared to be immoral. Sin, even if legalized by man, is still sin in the eyes of God.
Brothers and Sisters, undergirded by incontrovertible truth, proclaim your love for God! Proclaim your love for all human beings, “with malice toward none, with charity for all” (Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865). They as children of God, are our brothers and sisters. We value their rights and feelings. But we cannot condone efforts to change divine doctrine. It is not for man to change.
God loves His children. And if they love Him, they will show that love by keeping His commandments, including chastity before marriage and total fidelity within marriage. Scriptures warn that behavior contrary to the commandments of the Lord will not only deprive couples of divinely approved intimacy but will bring about the stern judgments of God (see Leviticus 26:15-20; Psalm 89:31-32‘ Matthew 5:19).
The Noblest yearning of the human heart is for a marriage that will endure beyond death. Complete fidelity to covenants made in holy temples will allow husband and wife to be sealed together throughout all eternity. (“Disciples of Jesus Christ—-Defenders of Marriage,” BYU Commencement, August 14, 2014).
