Marital Intimacy

Getting married to Andy was so exciting! I could not wait until that day in March when we would be sealed together as a couple in the Salt Lake Temple. We avoided the temptation of being sexually intimate before the wedding, knowing the blessings we would receive in the House of the Lord on our wedding day. We made promises to always be faithful and love each other with all of our heart. The Lord has told us, “Thou shalt love thy [spouse] with all your heart and shalt cleave unto her [him] and none else.” D & C 42:22)

Sex before marriage

Shortly after our marriage, I was visiting with a woman in our apartment complex. She told me that a man, who lived next door to us, asked her for a date. I was excited for her and asked where they were going. She told me she didn’t accept the date because she didn’t feel like having sex that night. Her statement shocked me. I never thought a date meant being sexually involved!  In the New Era, Victor Cline said this about pornography and having sex outside of marriage,

Movies legitimize adultery, infidelity, and immorality because ‘the physical attraction is so beautiful.’ All they are doing is justifying irresponsibility, telling us that passion overwhelms and justifies all. Well, in my view this is an antisocial message, destructive and Satanic in impact. It degrades love, and it is destructive of human personality and male-female relationships. (1971 p. 11)

I was, and still am, grateful for my upbringing and being taught the law of chastity in my Young Women classes.

Fidelity in Marriage

            This week we have been learning about marital intimacy and the importance of becoming one. We learned there is an emotional depth in sexual intimacy within the bonds of marriage.  In Teachings of Presidents of the Church, President Harold B. Lee declares, “The divine impulse within every true man and woman that impels companionship with the opposite sex is intended by our Maker as a holy impulse for a holy purpose . . . to be reserved as an expression of true love in holy wedlock.” (2000, p. 112)

            Sean E. Brotherson, PhD, has an article written in Meridian Magazine, entitled, “Fulfilling the Sexual Stewardship in Marriage.”  He compares sexual intimacy in marriage to our temple blessings.  He says:

In our spiritual lives, we are counseled to return to the temple often after we have received our personal temple blessings to give of ourselves in service to others and be reminded of the great and powerful meaning of the standards that we have committed ourselves to live. Likewise, in our marital lives, a frequent return as a couple to the union of sexual intimacy makes it possible to give of ourselves in service to each other and be reminded of the commitment we have made to unity and fidelity and love to our marital companion. What a powerful blessing this can be to a marriage relationship! (Brotherson, p. 5)

What a remarkable way to explain the sacredness of our marriage relationship. When we are true to our temple and marriage covenants, we are blessed with peace, joy, and sweet companionship of our spouse and of the Holy Ghost.

            A final thought comes from the book, Drawing Heaven into your Marriage, by H. Wallace Goddard. He states, “Those who resist the lure and guile of Satan, those who honor covenants, those who tend the little garden of their own covenants, will enjoy sweetness in this life and rewards unmeasured in the world to come.” (2009, p. 96)

References

Cline, V.E., A Conversation on things of the spirit, pornography, and certain kinds of movies, books and magazines. New Era, May 1971, p. 11.

Lee, H. B. (2000). Teachings of presidents of the church, , p. 112.

Brotherson, S.E. (2003). Fulfilling the sexual stewardship in marriage. Meridian Magazine, www.meridianmagazine.com.


Goddard, H. W. (2007). Drawing heaven into your marriage: Powerful principles with eternal results. Fairfax, VA: Meridian Publishing.