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Holy Matrimony
by Michael Pearl
Most of my readers will agree that holy matrimony
is not the product of the state, but few understand that
it is likewise not the product of the church.
Origin of marriage
The marriage of one man to one woman is the oldest institution on earth, predating
all religion and government, inaugurated in the Garden of Eden by the Creator
himself. The incarnate son of the Creator, Jesus, said, “Have ye not read, that he which
made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause
shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain [two
and no more] shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What
therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matthew 19:4-6).
The traditional view of marriage that has come down to us from antiquity is
shared by peoples of every culture and language, and reflects quite well the Biblical
definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman. History, likewise,
reveals that all governments and religions have assumed that marriage is an unalienable
human mandate from God, thus pre-existing government, and that it is therefore
beyond its jurisdiction.
Legislators and rulers have seldom attempted to tamper with the private nature
of this covenant between a man and a woman. Where legislation has been passed in
regard to marriage, it has, with rare exception, been to protect the sanctity and independence
of this fundamental human right. In fact, previous to the last fifty years or so,
the march of history had tended toward increasing respect for the distinctive autonomy
and sanctity of holy matrimony. As the collective states became more enlightened,
they increasingly legislated against polygamy, incest, abandonment of children, and
the patriarchal abuse of the female in marriage.
The United States has demonstrated in its tax codes a vested interest in protecting
the autonomous freedom of marriage. But an “invested interest” separated from
the Biblical and traditional concept of a lifetime covenant between one man and one
woman provides no protection at all to marriage as God has ordained it. And so it is
that until recently, the states have not attempted to offer a definition of marriage different
from the traditional assumptions and practices.
Role of the State
Let’s be very clear: the established record of history has consistently indicated
that the state does not create the right of marriage. As a part of its function, it acknowledges
and protects certain rights, duties, and privileges of both the husband and the
wife, as have been well defined by the common practice of otherwise diverse cultures
and religions. Historically, governments have guarded the sanctity of marriage more
consistently than they have other unalienable rights, such as liberty, property, and
freedom of association.
Where the state has failed to protect the inherent nature of holy matrimony, by allowing
polygamy or preventing mixed race marriages, it was understood by all, and eventually
was so demonstrated, to be the result of corruption and injustice in that state.
The state, being secondary to the institution of marriage, has no jurisdiction to
redefine the nature of marriage, as in so-called same-sex “marriage.” Even in ancient
Greece, where homosexual activity was common, same sex relationships were understood
to be the aberration—equal to adultery—while heterosexual marriage was
understood to be the norm.
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