The opinion of the Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges was included in this week reading for my FAML 300 class, for us to understand that this is an issue that concerns the entire world, not just us as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As citizens, we have the responsibility to help marriage between men and women to continue being an example for our children. Because they will be responsible for the future, and many more generations will depend on them.

When legalizing marriage between the same sex, the biggest problem is that the procreation will be affected by the entire human race. From my point of view, I think that same-sex marriages will try to have children in an incorrect way, or logically, not having it at all. For example, adoption has been an easier option for having children, but negative effects are much of the same result, meaning, the children aren’t being raised by a Man and a Woman, when they are entitled to both.

As a citizen and member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints I can help my community to defend traditional marriage, being an example for others, caring with love my marriage and my children. I can also help highlight the importance of marriage and family.

I want to highlight this quote of the article Obergefell v. Hodges  “The lifelong union of a man and a woman always has promised nobility and dignity to all persons, without regard to their station in life. Marriage is sacred to those who live by their religions and offers unique fulfillment to those who find meaning in the secular realm. Its dynamic allows two people to find a life that could not be found alone, for a marriage becomes greater than just the two persons. Rising from the most basic human needs, marriage is essential to our most profound hopes and aspirations.” (576 U. S. Opinion of the Court ,2015) I find it very interesting because it goes according to my beliefs and above all to what the Lord wants.

Undoubtedly marriage between a Man and a Woman, is the essential part of the plan of our Heavenly Father and as such we must honor it. However, I also believe that we should respect and love people who believe differently from what we believe. There are many people who suffer because of this complicated topic, parents who suffer seeing their children do the opposite of what the Lord wants. We can be an example by not judging others and being charitable and showing the love of Jesus Christ. I loved when President Russell M. Nelson said ” “Brothers and sisters, undergirded by incontrovertible truth, proclaim your love for God! Proclaim your love for all human beings “with malice toward none, with charity for all.” They as children of God are our brothers and sisters. We value their rights and feelings. But we cannot condone efforts to change divine doctrine. It is not for man to change.”

There is no doubt that God loves us all equally, but marriage between Man and Woman will always be sacred.

It is sad to see how the world do not see marriage from a spiritual point of view, sometimes they only want to satisfy their temporal needs without giving any regard to the plan of salvation that our Heavenly Father prepared for us. Also, the world does not respect marriage values, when they prefer to live in cohabitation; many do not want to have the responsibilities that a family brings, nor to make sacred promises to respect and love his wife or her husband. However, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter – day Saints sees marriage as the perfect plan to be happy on earth, so together we can live with God again.

Sometimes it is very easy to think about a divorce when there are minor problems in marriage, maybe because we want to meet our personal needs and we do not think about the needs of our spouse and our children. I know that there are no perfect marriages, but I also know that through prayers and mutual desire to improve, many things can be achieved. Sometimes we cannot avoid divorce for many reasons, however I think that we must do everything in our power to avoid it. I love it when Elder Dallin H. Oaks says “Divorce is not an all-purpose solution, and it often creates long-term heartache. A broad-based international study of the levels of happiness before and after “major life events” found that, on average, persons are far more successful in recovering their level of happiness after the death of a spouse than after a divorce.  Spouses who hope that divorce will resolve conflicts often find that it aggravates them, since the complexities that follow divorce—especially where there are children—generate new conflicts.”

I had the experience of a divorce, with 9 years of marriage and two wonderful children, I went through many difficult moments in my life where the divorce could not be avoided. It was a where many situations were unbearable, and lack of respect could not be forgiven anymore. I finally understood that I was a daughter of God and that my Heavenly Father did not want me to live unhappy on this earth, I understood that if I was not happy my children would not be happy either. It was when I said “no more” however I know that my experience was to learn and value my current marriage. It was to have a person next to me who would love me and respect me as a daughter of God that I am, to learn to trust in marriage and above all in love.

Even though I am divorced from my first marriage, I know without doubt that we have great potential to achieve eternal life with our spouse and children. We can overcome all the barriers that we find along the way. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father gave me a second chance to make things better and have an imperfect but a happy marriage.