Joy is Inextricably Connected to Procreation
“In their image” by Caitlyn Connolly
“Men are that they might have joy,” a scripture we know very well in the Church. It gives us a goal to work towards and tells us what God wants for us. Ultimately, we all hope to experience the same joy that our Heavenly Parents enjoy. But, some of us, especially Latter-day Saints who fall outside of the perceived “normal” mortal experience, may struggle to see how exactly we receive that joy in mortality and the world to come. This is the case with Saints who experience SSA (same-sex attraction).
Some within the Church who experience SSA say that because we’re in the Last Dispensation, the time when there will be a restoration of all things, that revelation will eventually be received by the Prophets to eventually allow same-gender sealings in the temple. This hope and assumption, however, is wholly opposed to being able to experience true joy, as it negates the scriptural and prophetic teachings from all dispensations, and those who espouse it have a deeply flawed understanding of the celestial order.
“Watching over us” by Paige Payne
“In the beginning … the Gods went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of the Gods to form they him, male and female to form they them” (Abraham 4:27). God, or Gods, when mentioned in the Bible is translated from the Hebrew Elohim. Elohim is the plural form of Eloh, -im being the plural ending. This particular plural ending can either denote a plurality of only males or a plurality of both males and females, but never a plurality of females only. This has immense implications concerning who took part in creation and who the Creators are.
Since we are reflections of the Divine, created in their image, male and female, this means that the Elohim consists of both a male and female Divinity; a Heavenly Father and Mother. As we are the literal spiritual offspring the Elohim, we must have been procreated from them. Accordingly, Elohim’s first commandment to Adam and Eve, whom we are supposed to emulate—which relationship is a direct reflection of our Heavenly Parents’ celestial marriage—was to “multiply and replenish the earth.” We further learn from the temple that the purpose of this procreation is “that they may have joy and rejoicing in their posterity.” So, godly joy is the result of becoming like and being co-creators with our Heavenly Parents—how glorious!
“The power of procreation is not an incidental part of the plan; it is the plan of happiness; it is the key to happiness”
President Boyd K Packer so powerfully taught: “The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth has never been rescinded. It is essential to the plan of redemption and is the source of human happiness. Through the righteous exercise of this power, we may come close to our Father in Heaven and experience a fullness of joy, even godhood. The power of procreation is not an incidental part of the plan; it is the plan of happiness; it is the key to happiness” (Boyd K Packer, The Plan of Happiness, April 2015). To reiterate: Procreation is the plan of happiness! When exercised within the bounds the Lord has set, in a marriage sealed by Priesthood authority, it is how we become like our Heavenly Parents and receive the joy that they themselves enjoy. Jesus Christ makes all of this possible through his redeeming and sanctifying atoning sacrifice. There is no other way to receive true, eternal joy. All other mortal pursuits may create a semblance of joy and happiness, but these pleasure-dependent counterfeits of joy and happiness are fleeting, and will ultimately all dissipate and end in misery.
As a same-sex-attracted man, newly engaged to my future wife, having never been sexually attracted to a woman before, I had absolutely no idea how procreation would ever be possible for us. But, like Nephi, I had the desire to “go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded,” for I knew “that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7). I knew that this also includes the commandments to marry, multiply, and replenish the earth. And although I truly didn’t know how marriage, especially procreation, would work out, I knew the Lord’s words were true. So, I took the nerve-racking leap of faith, not knowing beforehand the things that I should do, to follow the Lord’s ordained order for marriage. From that act of faith, I have seen the Lord work amazing miracles in my life and marriage.
The Lord has blessed my wife and me with two adorable children. I never knew what true love and joy was until our firstborn, our daughter, was born and I heard her first cries after leaving the womb. In that instant, I was filled with Spirit and overwhelming feeling of joy! I felt a small glimpse of what it must feel like to our Heavenly Parents and the immense, pure love that they feel for us. This is a fullness of joy. It’s no wonder that their work and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39); that we can dwell in their presence forever and also live the lives that they themselves live. This is the joy that I strive for, and pray that all men might likewise seek to fulfil their God-given purposes to receive the same.
