Whoso Forbiddeth to Marry
May 20th, 2021 by G.
Whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God.
-D&C 49:15. “Is not ordained of God” is an interesting choice of words. It could be “condemned” or “errs” or “is not of me,” but instead its “Is not ordained of God.” I wonder why.
There may be an esoteric or poetic layer of meaning there. To be ordained is to be given a direction and a destiny and a future. What God ordains for you is what He wants to have happen to you in the days to come. So an underlayer of meaning here may be ‘no marriage, no future.’ Marriage of course also meaning sex, since in the right view they are one and the same.
John Mansfield
May 20, 2021
My reading of “not ordained” is that those teaching such things, the Shakers in particular, are not proclaiming a message from him, and you can safely ignore their teachings altogether. The truths that you should gather will not be found there.
G.
May 21, 2021
I think that’s the sensible, straightforward interpretation. Good.