This is an essay I wrote for a primarily Mormon audience, though anyone I think can read and understand it. May Jesus bless Mormons everywhere with a greater knowledge of His truth and His love.
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The Beautiful Promise of Eternal Marriage
By Seth Wilson
Being raised in the LDS church, I was taught that husbands and wives could spend eternity together, loving each other just as they could on Earth. Though I left the Church as a teenager, I always believed that the LDS teaching on marriage reflected a great beauty. Imagine my surprise, then, after surrendering my life to Jesus Christ, when I realized that the Bible teaches a great deal on eternal marriage, though in a way far more beautiful and glorious than I could ever have imagined in my younger days.
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“And again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant…it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity; and shall be of full force when thy are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fullness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” (D&C 132:19)[1]
These words, recorded by Joseph Smith in 1843, set out the doctrine of eternal marriage to the LDS Church. Rather than marrying “’till death do we part,” as orthodox Christians do, Mormons marry with the belief that, if they live worthily, they can spend eternity with their spouses, reigning as celestial beings. This is an astounding idea.
However, even more astounding is the idea of eternal marriage found in the book of Revelation:
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great!” And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he saith unto me, “Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb!” And he saith unto me, “These are the true sayings of God.” (Rev. 19:5-9)[2]
Who is this wife of the Lamb? Who are so blessed as to be “called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb”? Paul describes the profound mystery of this eternal marriage in his epistle to the Ephesians:
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish…“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.” This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:25-27, 31-32)
This idea of Christ as the bridegroom and the Church as His bride, being consummated in eternal marriage at the end of time, is reflected in Old Testament teaching as well. The God of the Old Testament continually describes his relationship to Israel as one of marriage, albeit one in which Israel is continuously unfaithful. One of the most poignant uses of the marriage relationship between God and his people is found in Jeremiah chapter 2:
“I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown…
“Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute. I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Sovereign Lord.
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving—in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’”
(Jeremiah 2:2, 20-25, NIV)
Israel is a bride who has prostituted herself before idols, loving so many things besides her one true Husband. Money, prestige, sex, ambition, even husbands or wives—things which can be good in and of themselves, yet we desire these created things more than the source of them all, the Creator and Lover of our souls. What a wretched state! Yet in Isaiah, God says to defeated, broken Israel,
“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
And remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”says the Lord your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:4-8, NIV)
This everlasting kindness, despite our prostitution and unfaithfulness to our Husband, is demonstrated through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us, by his death on the cross. As Paul says in Romans,
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:6-11)
Because of God’s great love and mercy for us, he gave his Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us prostitutes and make us a pure, spotless bride. Remember how Ephesians describes Christ’s love for us:
“[Christ] loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
Brothers and sisters, let us stop and reflect upon what we have read here. What amazing love is this! Though we have rejected Him and considered His love worthless, Jesus continues to pursue us with abandon, even to the point of dying the death we deserved as adulterers! He so desires for us to be his beautiful, spotless, shining bride that he poured out his own precious blood to cleanse our stain-ridden garments.
What can our response to such love be, but to joyfully worship and praise the One who loves us with such a relentless passion! Why prostitute ourselves any longer, when such a glorious marriage awaits us? No, the only reasonable response to such love is to desire our Maker, and Him alone, to enjoy His goodness for eternity. And such is what God has in store for those who love Him and accept the atoning sacrifice He has made: an eternal marriage of joyful worship, consummated on that final wedding day.
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice,
“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing!”
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
“Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!”
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Rev. 5:11-14)
This, then, is the truth that God has revealed to us through the apostles and prophets: We are unfaithful prostitutes, and we stand condemned, but our Lover has purchased us by the blood of the Lamb to be a pure and spotless bride for Him, to love and enjoy and worship Him forever and ever! Nothing, not even eternity with an earthly wife or husband, nor reigning as gods ourselves, can compare to this beautiful gift. Though our relationships to people on earth may give us great joy, let us always remember they are but the shadow of the true Light of the World, the source of all life and joy, our Maker and Husband. Let us also sing, along with the bride in the Song of Solomon:
“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,
For thy love is better than wine…
Draw me, we will run after thee:
The king hath brought me into his chambers.” (S.S. 1:2,4a)
Let all those who are willing, enter into the chambers of the living God. Once you sold yourselves as prostitutes, but now the Lamb has bought you with His life, and you belong to your Husband.
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. (Rev. 22:17, NIV)
If you have any questions or comments for the author, feel free to contact him at sethwilson1@yahoo.com.
[1] LDS Scripture quotations are from the standard versions. All italics are author’s emphasis.
[2] Unless otherwise specified, all Bible quotations are from the King James Version. http://biblegateway.com
