Elder David A. Bednar gives two reasons why eternal marriage between a man and a woman is essential to God’s plan:
“Reason 1: The natures of male and female spirits complete and perfect each other, and therefore men and women are intended to progress together toward exaltation.”
“Reason 2: By divine design, both a man and a woman are needed to bring children into mortality and to provide the best setting for the rearing and nurturing of children” (Bednar).
From the beginning, Adam was given Eve. They were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth.
1 Corinthians 11 states: “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord”
Both a man and a woman are needed for exactly what they can do. A young man from a Seminary class that I taught compared the worlds view of marriage to cell phones. Many people go into a marriage without a commitment. When they get sick of the marriage, like a cell phone, they throw it away and get a new one. God’s view is quite contrary to the world’s. Bruce C. Hafen of the quorum of the Seventy explains:
Marriage is by nature a covenant, not just a private contract one may cancel at will. Jesus taught about contractual attitudes when he described the “hireling,” who performs his conditional promise of care only when he receives something in return. When the hireling “seeth the wolf coming,” he “leaveth the sheep, and fleeth … because he … careth not for the sheep.” By contrast, the Savior said, “I am the good shepherd, … and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Many people today marry as hirelings. And when the wolf comes, they flee. This idea is wrong. It curses the earth, turning parents’ hearts away from their children and from each other (Hafen).
See citation in work cited
Brother Hafen describes three different wolves that test a marriage: Natural adversity, own imperfections, and excessive individualism (Hafen). A marriage has to be trained to fight through the wolves. Like a shepherd that protects his sheep, a man and woman have got to protect their marriage. Rather than an image of a cell phone marriage, a man and a woman need to see their marriage compared to a lamb that they, as shepherds, will do anything to protect.
Elder C. Hafen concludes his remarks:
May we restore the concept of marriage as a covenant, even the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. And when the wolf comes, may we be as shepherds, not hirelings, willing to lay down our lives, a day at a time, for the sheep of our covenant. Then, like Adam and Eve, we will have joy (Hafen).
See citation below
A marriage is a binding and everlasting covenant. It is not like an old worn out pair of shoes that we discard when it gets worn out. It takes great care to keep a marriage alive and well. When a couple works together to make their marriage celestial, God smiles from Heaven. I have had experiences every kind of wolf in my marriage. I can testify that wolves can be over come. It is a fight, but it is a fight work making.
Works Cited
Bednar, D. A. (n.d.). Marriage Is Essential to His Eternal Plan(2006 ed., Vol. May, Ensign). Lds.org.
Hafen, Bruce C. “Covenant Marriage,” Ensign, Nov 1996, 26. Lds.org
Making Marriage Happy 