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What power makes God unique? What power sets him apart from angels and all other heavenly beings? One answer is his power to procreate, which is his ability to create beings like himself. In other words, to create children.
As spirit children of heavenly parents, we wanted to become like them in every way, and, as their children we inherited the potential to become like them. But this required gaining a physical body. To give us the gift of a physical body, which we had wanted desperately throughout the vast ages of eternity, God, our Heavenly Father, sent us to earth. The body is an amazing thing: among its infinite abilities it comes equipped with God’s power of procreation.
But there are conditions: God has declared that the powers of procreation must be used only in the covenant relationship of marriage. This is the law of chastity and one of the criteria for true love. If we abuse the sacred powers of procreation in any degree, and if we remain unrepentant, we will never again through all eternity regain the opportunity or ability to use them. The extent of our progression will be limited to “angels in heaven, which are ministering servants for those who are worthy of a far more, and an exceeding, and an eternal weight of glory. For these angels did not abide may law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly, without exaltation in their saved condition, to all eternity….” (1)
Breaking the law of chastity by misusing the powers of procreation never results in happiness, for wickedness never was happiness; (2) rather sexual sin--with or without a partner--always results in misery. Moreover, breaking the law of chastity through sexual relations outside the covenant of marriage is not an expression of true love and most often drives a couple apart rather than uniting them. President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “It is my observation that a young man and a young woman who violate the principles of morality soon end up hating one another.” (3)
“We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.”
How mortal life begins, continues and ends is sacred. The divine means by which God has provided that mortal life should begin is though the instrumentality of a husband and wife who have made a legal covenant of marriage.
“Physical intimacy between a husband and a wife is divinely intended a beautiful expression of love that is to be enjoyed exclusively by a married couple. The counsel of prophets is, and always has been, sexual abstinence before marriage, and complete fidelity after marriage.” (4) Thus physical intimacy “demands special sanctity. Such an act of love between a man and a woman is--or certainly was ordained to be--a symbol of total union: union of their hearts, their hopes, their lives, their love, their family, their future, their everything…But such a total, virtually unbreakable union, such an unyielding commitment between a man and a woman, can only come with the proximity and permanence afforded in a marriage covenant….” (5)
From such a loving marriage, life is divinely intended to spring forth. Each new life is sacred to God, our Heavenly Father, for it was God who declared, “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God,” and that which will result in the most joy is bringing “souls unto me.” (6) The opposite is true. Latter-day prophets have denounced practices that lead to birth outside the marriage covenant or practices that abort life while it is developing in the womb: “Thou shalt not…kill, nor do anything like unto it.” (7)
“We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.”
The law of chastity cannot be violated in any degree without drawing down the wrath of heaven upon the individual and causing him/her untold misery. Such violations of the law of chastity are not expressions of true love. “Spiritual and emotional damage always come from sharing physical intimacies with someone outside of marriage.” (8) Any of the following are violations of the law of chastity:
Adultery is the worst violation of the law of chastity. “Thou shalt not…commit adultery…nor anything like unto it.” (9) Adultery is only exceeded by murder as the most serious of sins. But adultery is more than a sexual sin; adultery is first a sexual sin that is committed “in the heart,” (10) and falls into the category of “anything like unto it.” Adultery is defined by the Lord is these words: “He that looketh on a woman (or man) to lust after her (him), or if any shall commit adultery in their hearts, they shall not have the Spirit, but shall deny the faith and shall fear.” (11) Clearly, the sexual sin of adultery is a blatant violation of the law of chastity and not an expression of true love.
Because sexual sin is one of the predominate defining factors of the last days, and because it has infected and destroyed former civilizations, prophets of God have consistently warned individuals and society to avoid and flee this epidemic.
Abuse of any kind—by word or deed in any degree—and avoiding family responsibilities will bring the judgment of God upon an individual. Presently, divorce destroys about half of all marriages in the United States. The numbers are much higher in many parts of the world. Physical and emotional abuse and dodging family responsibilities are plagues that are destroying high percentages of marriages and families. Moreover, the increasing trend is couples violating God’s law of chastity by uniting without marriage. No civilization has endured or can endure by embracing such practices. The scriptures are replete with warnings about the dangers and the results. Despite belief to the contrary, God will not tolerate those who mock his commandments.
“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.”
True love—Christlike love, which is called charity (12)—is built on three pillars:
Remove any one of these pillars and love crumbles. True love grows and matures. True love is measured by continual loving acts, for there is a vast difference between being in love and being loving. Therefore, couples should continue to court one another to ensure that true love never diminishes. Likewise, to keep their love vibrant, couples should anticipate the needs of a companion then surprise and delight. Children can receive no greater gift than being reared by parents who love each other.
“Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.”
Return to Marriages and Families blessed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Return to Strong Families
By Larry Barkdull. Content made possible by Ilene Olsen and Ron and Bonnie McMillan.
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