Protecting Marriage

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True marriage love is a gift from the Lord—a heavenly love. One of the ten commandments teaches the importance of protecting this love. It tells us that we are not to do or say anything that hurts marriage. We must treasure it carefully, guarding it against injury, either from within ourselves or from the world around us.

From the Word

Readings About Marriage

Ideas for Discussion

  1. The Lord gives the gift of true marriage love—on earth or in heaven—to everyone who tries to obey His commandments.
  2. The story of Joseph shows us an example of someone protecting marriage. Joseph refused to sleep with another man’s wife because it was “a sin against God.”
  3. Our actions and thoughts regarding the opposite sex, our spouse, marriage, etc. all have a role in supporting marriage or hurting marriage. So, we should avoid anything that harms marriage such as telling dirty jokes, looking at pornography, and using obscene language.
  4. We are not responsible for the thoughts that pop into our heads, but we are held responsible for thoughts that we invite back into our minds and dwell on.
  5. If we make a mistake and are truly sorry, we can ask the Lord to help us change our ways so that we can come back into order and work toward the ideal of true marriage love. The Lord is merciful and forgiving. But we will save ourselves and others much sadness if we avoid making mistakes in the first place.
  6. The Word tells us that when we do something that honors marriage, we turn toward heaven, but when we do something that harms marriage, we turn away. This is because true marriage love (conjugial love) and adultery are opposites. The one is loving and unselfish while the other is selfish and hateful.
  7. How can we protect the innocence of children and help teenagers look toward the ideal of marriage? It is good to be aware of how books and media may influence our ideas about romance and true marriage love and talk about false ideas they may present. We can also support the marriages of friends and family as well as reaffirming a commitment to our own marriage.
  8. When we do the work of marriage—avoiding evils and living charitably—then the Lord can grant us that precious jewel of human live—truly conjugial love.

Projects and activities for various ages:

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