Many theologians do not accept the doctrine of eternal
marriage. Some of them base their disbelief on their misinterpretation of Mark
12:18-27 in the New Testament. The Sadduccees put a hypothetical question to
the Savior as to which of seven brothers who successively married the same
woman would have her as his wife in the resurrection. The Sadducees did not
believe in the resurrection from the dead, nor in eternal marriage, so they
married for mortal life only. None of the brothers could have been married for
eternity, for each of them made a covenant of marriage for the duration of
mortal life only. Death dissolved the only kind of marriage covenant each of
them believed in or practiced. Each of the seven brothers automatically became
unmarried the moment physical death occurred, and each of them would remain
unmarried thereafter, inasmuch as none of them believed in or pretended to
enter into an eternal marriage covenant. When they would come forth in the
resurrection they would continue to be unmarried men.
True, the Savior said that in the resurrection “they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage.” (Mark 12:25.) He referred to the men
in question. But the time the resurrection would occur for them, it would be
too late for any to them to enter into an eternal marriage covenant. In order
for any of these seven brothers to have had a marriage covenant which could
continue beyond death and remain in effect beyond the resurrection, he would
have had to enter into an eternal marriage covenant prior to the resurrection,
by a man possessing the divine authority from God for such purpose. To the
Apostle Peter the Lord Jesus Christ promised power and authority to solemnize
covenants which would be eternal in duration:
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven . . .”
(Matt. 16:19.) (Paul E. Reimann, Plural Marriage Limited [Salt Lake
City: Utah Printing Company, 1974], 3)
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