Honoring Marital Vows with Complete Fidelity

There are both spiritual and temporal consequences associated with all infidelity. Elder Richard G. Scott has warned, “Intimate acts are forbidden by the Lord outside of marriage because they undermine His purposes. When experienced any other way, they are against the Lord’s will.” Marital infidelity is a tactic used by Satan to spiritually and emotionally destroy individuals and families. Our bodies were created to fulfill divine purposes. Satan does not have a body, so he tempts the natural man and woman to misuse and demoralize their bodies. Living in a world that is advancing in media and technology provides more opportunities that often results in marital infidelity. Marital infidelity is temporary and will not bring eternal happiness. Marriages and children are both affected by infidelity. However there is always hope as we strive to live by the commandments and follow the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are ways to prevent marital infidelity.

“One way to prevent marital infidelity is to create boundaries and constantly be on guard.” Setting boundaries about what you believe is or is not appropriate will determine what actions will take place in your marriage. It is important to make decisions early on as to how you will react in certain situations concerning moral cleanliness. For example, it is essential to devise a plan as to what your actions will be if or when you come across pornography. If you have already developed a plan of action to help you escape this form of visual infidelity, it will be much easier to follow through on making the appropriate decision and keeping within the boundaries you have set for yourself. Dr. Shirley Glass explains, “We must know how to put up appropriate walls to protect our marriages from outside influences and open the window of love and communication within our marriage.” If you feel you have come across or done something that surpassed your marital boundary, then discussing and communicating this with your spouse may help to resolve problems.

“You must remain fiercely loyal to your spouse to prevent marital infidelity.” Infidelity can begin gradually and unfortunately remain a constant temptation. Satan can be very subtle in introducing us to marital infidelity. We can also become numb to our feelings of marital infidelity. It is crucial not to give in to small temptations which have the possibility of becoming desirable through the numbing of our spirit and marital boundaries. “To remain fiercely loyal we must control our thoughts.” Allen and colleagues report, “Other thought processes protect us from infidelity, such as reinforcing commitment to our spouse, devaluing extramarital alternatives, and suppressing thoughts and feelings about others outside our marriage.” Our minds are powerful. We are capable of using our minds to protect ourselves from marital infidelity. It is important to keep our mind and time occupied. Elder Maxwell discussed, “Keep anxiously engaged in good things, for idleness has a way of wrongly instilling, again and again, that it is ourselves we must think of pleasing.” We must not put our needs first but put the needs of our spouse and children before our own.