Love Is in The Air
“our natural affections are planted in us by the Spirit
of God, for a wise purpose; and they are the very main-springs of life and
happiness—they are the cement of all virtuous and heavenly society. ... “The
fact is, God made man, male and female; he planted in their bosoms those
affections which are calculated to promote their happiness and union.” (Parker
Pratt Robison, ed., Writings of Parley Parker Pratt, Salt Lake
City: Deseret News Press, 1952, pp. 52–53.)
I love these words spoken by Elder Parley P. Pratt. They
truly lead us to an understanding of sexuality that gets muddied somehow over
time. We know that we have ongoing and confusing messages surrounding sexuality
promoted by Hollywood, media, and other influential outlets (even political
agenda’s promote a confusing message surrounding love, sexuality, and marital
relations). With so many outlets preaching a different drum, it can at
times be confusing to decipher what is truth and what is simply deceit.
Lucky for us, we have access to ancient, not so ancient,
and even current prophets on the matter. The words shared by Elder Pratt seem
to touch a sound cord for me. First of all, he addresses the nature of our
“affections.” He says quite plainly–they are “natural.” Moving away from
the message of the world regarding this, and looking at the cultural influence
of our tight-knit Church of Christ communities, we see so many struggling with
the sexual desires they face in their pre-married states, as being somehow
sinful. This is a strong and very wrong impression to make and one we should
correct whenever we can. Having sexual desires is not only normal, but it is
also godly in sense. They are instilled in us by God himself.
Not only are they natural and God-given, but they are
“the very main-springs of life and happiness” Our existence on earth as a human
race is dependent on these desires. If all sexual desire was erased from the
face of the earth, mankind would eventually die off and no longer inhabit this
earth. It is essential for humanity to repopulate. Not only is it for the
benefit of mankind to remain on earth, but it the very main-spring of happiness
according to Pratt. When sexuality is used as God has outlined, it is
fulfilling and joyful. Everything the ‘world’ tells us it should be, is
contrary to God’s will and causes heartache, pain and suffering in so many
ways.
I know our church leaders are leading us to a life of
mortal happiness, and eternal happiness when they instruct us on these matters.
No comments:
Post a Comment