The other day I was flipping through the channels and they had on TV, "The Family Guy." I usually don't watch this show, but something caught my eye. Anyways, as I watched this the show brought up a point that really bothered me.
In this episode Brian's brother is gay and wants to get married to his boyfriend, in the Griffin's backyard. Peter agrees to it and Lois doesn't and takes Stewie with her to her parent's house. While there, her parents try to explain why gay marriage is wrong, but they end up convincing Lois that gay marriage is okay, because "if a man and a woman can get married who don't love each other can get married, then why can't two men who do love each other get married?"
So, it was that statement that has just plain rubbed me wrong. I have sat and thought about this for a few days now, thinking about this and trying to find the real reasons why.
I started working on this from how marriage is viewed today and began to work backwards through time.
Right now, marriage can be done by church or state. Any man or woman can get married together whether it is under the sea, in a drive through, in a church or a temple. The marriage can last from anywhere from days to months, to years and even eternity. Has it always been this way? How did marriage all get started? What was the real purpose of marriage?
Today, if you were to ask people what they think of marriage, you would get many different answers. It could range from financial reasons, to pure physical attractions, to wanting a family, to just wanting sex. There is an infinite amount of reasons anyone could want to get married. But, I don't think it has always been this way.
I think that as we look back through time, that marriage once was just performed by the church and only in a chapel. Then, it wasn't just to get married because the girl was pregnant. And before that it was only between two people that abstained from sex before they were married.
How can all of this be true? I believe that the origin of marriage used to be an exclusive act, that was reserved for those who truly loved each other and were willing to make covenants with our Heavenly Father that bring us to a higher standard, that helps us come closer to perfection.
For someone to get married in the temple, think of all of standards that both the man and woman need to meet. They must attend church regularly, they must pay tithing, they have to be endowed, the man must hold the priesthood. These aren't easy acts that can be picked up at the drop of a hat, these are things that are lifelong commitments.
Marriage is another step, now that we have met these standards we are allowed to be married, which means more commitments between each other and our Heavenly Father.
It is only after we make these covenants that we can rightfully use our procreative powers and create children. This way, the children that are brought into this family will be taught the same principles that their parents are working to keep.
So, I don't believe that marriage is for everyone, not even for all men and women. I believe that the real purpose of marriage is to move yourself, along with your spouse, closer to perfection. Too many times in our day, we try to move perfection closer to us, rather than us moving closer to perfection.
Look how many people are trying to get the church to allow them to lower the marriage standard and allow gay marriage. How many times have you seen the church take a stand on "political" issues. I think that we will see more of this as everyone continues to lower the standards.
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