What is marriage?

(Marriage -  Week 2)

How would you define marriage? As I pondered this question, I wondered how much the definition of marriage has changed over the last several years. So I grabbed my handy Mirriam-Webster’s dictionary off my bookshelf and looked up the definition. I own the 10^th collegiate edition, published in 1998, and the first definition states:

a: the state of being married
b: the mutual relation of husband and wife : WEDLOCK
c: the institution whereby men and women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family

Then I decided to look up the definition found on Mirriam-Webster’s website (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marriage). I knew it was going to be different, and it definitely was.

a (1): the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2): the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage>
b: the mutual relation of married persons: WEDLOCK
c: the institution whereby individuals are joined in a marriage

Wow! Do you see some significant differences? The newer version has changed all the wording to be gender neutral and to include a definition of same-sex marriage.

In 1995, The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, published a proclamation to the world concerning “The Family.” The very first sentence “solemnly proclaim[s] that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children” (emphasis added). This is how I choose to define marriage. Marriage is between a man and a woman, end of story in my mind. Abraham Lincoln is attributed to a story that applies very well to this situation. It is said that he “once asked how many legs a dog would have if you counted a tail as a leg. To the response ‘five legs,’ Lincoln said, ‘No; calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg.’ In other words, marriage is not merely a positivist creation, but a fundamental human relationship deeply imbedded and essentially defined in human nature and history” (Wardle, L.D., North Dakota Law Review: 83, 2008, p. 1371).

The newer definition of marriage may be more encompassing, but calling a tail doesn’t make it a leg, and I believe that calling a union between two individuals of the same gender does not make it a marriage.

I found it very interesting that the older definition of marriage included the purpose of marriage and that was to found and maintain a family. The newer definition left the purpose of marriage out completely. What does that say to you? The first definition also includes that marriage is “a special kind of social and legal dependence.” I believe this to be true. “Marriage is a public institution, a public status, with public benefits. . . Marriage establishes the moral core of the family and moral baseline and standards for society in many ways” (Wardle, L.D. (2008). The attack on marriage as the union of a man and a woman. North Dakota Law Review, 83: June 2008.)

So what can we do about this changing definition of marriage? Russell M. Nelson instructs, “The day is gone when you can be a quiet and comfortable Christian. . . Disciples of the Lord are defenders of marriage.  We cannot yield. History is not our judge.  A secular society is not our judge. God is our judge! . . . The future of marriage and of countless human lives will be determined by your willingness to bear solemn witness of the Lord and live according to His gospel” (Disciples of Jesus Christ – Defenders of Marriage, Aug. 14, 2014).