Marriage and the Eating of Meats

Today I read Doctrine and Covenants section 49, a section that was originally received and read to a local community of Shakers at Leman Copley's request who had once been a member of that community. It contains several important pieces of the gospel that are usually not talked about.

Verses 15 - 19 stood out to me in particular. In ancient days, the apostle Paul wrote and epistle to Timothy and in it, in the 4th chapter, he outlines part of the apostasy of the last days. He mentions that the two things men in the last days will teach that are not in accordance with the Lord's teachings are to abstain from marriage and to abstain from eating meat.

The Lord teaches us in this section that marriage is ordained of God. Moreover they are to become one flesh. Now what does it mean to become one flesh? How can two people become one flesh? Obviously they cannot become physically one flesh, they are two separate people. So how does a husband and a wife become one?

The same way the Father and the Son are one. They become one unit, one in purpose, one in working towards the same goal. I honestly don't understand how a family can function any other way. Think about it. If you have a mother and a father that don't see eye to eye on things and don't agree on how to raise their children, what kind of a home life is that going to provide? Yes the children might be ecstatic at first when they realize that if mom won't say yes, dad probably will, but how will they feel when the inevitable fights start happening? It will not make for love at home that is for sure.

Husband and wife owe it to their children, and themselves, to talk to each other, to plan how they will handle certain situations. I remember when my wife and I first got married we could not have children right away due to our circumstances. My wife however, despite this fact, immediately started asking me questions like, "If one of our children one day comes home drunk, how will we handle that?" and other such situations that it will be very likely that we will come across. At first I was resistant, mainly because I had not thought about it yet but my wife had and already had a game plan and she really wanted me to talk with her about it, but over time we have talked and planned about most of the important aspects of living the gospel in our home.

As we have been exposed to other situations that come up in couples around us, including my in-laws who had a late life child and are raising an 11 year old, my wife and I talk about situations that we see, how the people in question handled it, and how we desire to handle it one day if it comes up. We most likely will not be perfect in our responses, in fact I can almost guarantee that we won't be, but the point is, we are working at trying to become one and create a positive atmosphere for our children.

However, children is not the only aspect of your lives that you should be one in. Now, you do not have to like everything your spouse likes or enjoy doing all that they enjoy doing. But it is important to spend time together each day, obviously if you all are in separate states/countries/cities this is not always possible. But as we have discussed previously marriage is not meant to be two single people living together who have sex. They are meant to be each others' best friend. They are meant to grow closer together each and every day. Now I don't think you have to live in each others' back pockets, I have friends that while at work, every single break they have they call their significant other and talk to them the entire time and I personally think that is excessive, but at the same moment, you should spend more time together than just sleeping in the same bed each night.

Now, the other part of the verses that stood out to me is the abstaining from meats. Per this section of the Doctrine and Covenants and section 89, commonly called the Word of Wisdom, we learn that animals are for the use and enjoyment of man. People, or organizations, that teach that eating animals is cruel and wrong, are not in sync with the teachings of the Lord. Now, verse 21 puts it in perspective that we are NOT to abuse this right. It is against the Lord's will to kill for the sake of killing. But we are to use what the Lord has given us in thanksgiving.

Now there are people that are allergic to meat and others who do not like to kill to have food. I have friends that fall into both categories and I do not feel that they are outside the will of the Lord. But in both cases, none of my friends or acquaintances that fall in these categories, impose their ideas on others. The one who is allergic, likes meat but just can't have it. And a friend who does not desire to kill an animal for her food had no problem being with others that desire to eat meat. But for the rest of us, the Lord tells us that we are to use all He has given us in thanksgiving and use the privilege appropriately.

Marriage and the eating of meats are two things that are ordained of God that some in the world would see polluted or done away with completely. Both scriptures, 1 Timothy 4:3 and Doctrine and Covenants 49 tell us otherwise and reveal to us the will of the Lord in this matter. Both should be done in happiness and thanking the Lord for His blessings. Marriage and the gift to participate in creating life, are gifts from heaven and should be treated with the reverence and respect they deserve. As spouses learn and grow together, it will be the best times of their lives. Remember, the Lord doesn't give us anything, or command us to do anything, that isn't in our best interests. Until tomorrow.