The Sanctity of Marriage

President Thomas S. Monson - Prophet, Seer, and Revelator

My good friend and former coworker Connor wrote a great post today. You should check it out.

I feel very strongly about following the prophet, who I testify is President Thomas S. Monson. I know he is the mouthpiece of God on earth today, he follows the Savior fully, and if we follow him as the prophet, we truly are following Christ.

Because of that, I am committed to following President Monson, the living prophet, all the way.

One issue (which Connor discusses in detail) is homosexual marriage. The definition of marriage is being discussed again in California politics. This is a hot and complicated issue. I have friends who are homosexual. I love them and want them to be happy. But I know that President Monson is the prophet, that the truth is the truth, and that the popular vote does not change the reality that

marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

I know this is true, because of the countless times I have felt the Spirit testify to me of the importance and eternal nature of marriage, family, and even gender.

In the last general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Kenneth Johnson said:

The scientist's success has been achieved by complying with what are often referred to as natural laws. The great scientists of the past and present did not create the laws associated with these naturally occurring processes; they discovered them. . . .

It is important to understand that natural laws were not determined on the basis of popularity. They were established and rest on the rock of reality.

There are also moral verities that did not originate with man. They are central to a divine plan which, when discovered and applied, brings great happiness and hope on our mortal journey. ("Restoring Faith in the Family," May 2008 Ensign, 15-16)

It gets down to this: the truth is the truth. You can call "red" "yellow" as many times as you'd like, but it doesn't change the fact that "red" is "red." So it goes with the eternal moral principles of marriage, family, and gender. There will always be opposition to the truth, but that opposition never changes the truth.

To close, here are the inspiring words of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin:

To those who have strayed because of doctrinal concerns, we cannot apologize for the truth. We cannot deny doctrine given to us by the Lord Himself. On this principle we cannot compromise.

I understand that sometimes people disagree with doctrine. They even go so far as to call it foolish. But I echo words of the Apostle Paul, who said that sometimes spiritual things can appear as foolishness to men. Nevertheless, "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."

In truth, things of the Spirit are revealed by the Spirit. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." ("Concern for the One," May 2008 Ensign, 19-20)

We must all decide where we stand 100%. There is no halfway; we are either all the way following the Lord's servants, or we are disobeying them and thus Him.

I love President Monson, and I truly know he is the prophet today. That is why I follow him, even though I don't understand everything. I don't understand all the complexities of loving a person and wanting their happiness, but knowing that a lifestyle is fundamentally and eternally wrong.

What I do know is that as we follow the prophet, we will always be on the Lord's side, and that is what matters eternally.