12
Testimonies on Sexual Behavior, Adultery, and Divorce
life, or will he study the meaning of the words, “Whatsoever ye do,
in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus”?—
Manuscript
152, 1899
.
The Necessity of Careful Preparation—Before assuming the
responsibilities involved in marriage, young men and young women
should have such an experience in practical life as will prepare them
for its duties and its burdens. Early marriages are not to be encouraged.
A relation so important as marriage and so far-reaching in its results
should not be entered upon hastily, without sufficient preparation,
[16]
and before the mental and physical powers are well developed.—
The
Ministry of Healing, 358
.
My dear Emma,
[
Written June 27, 1869, to Emma Mcdearmon, who was 21 when
she married Ellen White’s son, Edson, on his 21st birthday, July 28,
1870. Emma was born on November 16, 1848. Ellen White’s son,
William C. White, was 21 when he married Mary Kelsy, who was not
quite 19.
] There is not a person I could take to my heart as heartily
as yourself. Yet I advise you ... to ... Move cautiously, weigh every
move. You are making a move which will be lasting. Therefore do
not move hastily. Do not get entirely swallowed up in this one matter,
marriage.—
Letter 7, 1869
.
Consultation With God—The words of Christ should ever be
borne in mind: “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in
the days of the Son of man.” They married wives, they were given in
marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood
came and destroyed them all. We see the same infatuation in regard
to marriage. Youth, and even men and women, who ought to be wise
and discerning, act as if bewitched upon this question. Satanic power
seems to take possession of them. Courtship and marriage is the all-
absorbing theme. The most indiscreet marriages are formed. God
is not consulted. Human feelings, desires, and passions bear down
everything before them, until the die is cast. Untold misery is the result
of this state of things, and God is dishonored. The marriage bed is not
sanctified or holy. Shall there not be a decided change in reference to
this important matter?—
Letter 6a, 1888
.
[17]
With Believers Only—The wife of Lot was a selfish, irreligious
woman, and her influence was exerted to separate her husband from
Abraham. But for her, Lot would not have remained in Sodom, de-