\u201cFrom Arranged Marriage to Temple Sealing: A Different Kind of Latter-day Love Story\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I once thought the idea of an arranged marriage perfectly abominable. \u00a0But I\u2019ve changed my mind quite a bit. \u00a0After all, it\u2019s not as if the American system of dating guarantees good choices or marital success. \u00a0Managing to be reasonably attractive over dinner before a movie is a nice thing, but it isn\u2019t necessarily a reliable indicator of the skills and attributes (e.g., prudence, kindness, self-sacrifice, good financial management, and so on) that are bedrock to a good marriage. \u00a0Many a cad can be charming for short periods of time.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moreover, as I\u2019ve come to understand how the practice of arranged marriages works (in its ideal form), I\u2019ve seen some strengths in it. \u00a0As the parents of the potential bride watch a potential groom and his family over a lengthy period (potentially over years), they\u2019re very likely to notice any lethal problems (e.g., laziness, indiscipline, violent tendencies, alcoholism, criminality, etc.) that might be surprisingly easy to miss during a short-term courtship.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t advocate arranged marriages, but, in cultures where they\u2019re the norm, I don\u2019t oppose them, either \u2014 as if my support or opposition is of any real significance! \u2014 so long as the final say belongs to the two potential spouses and so long as they aren\u2019t forced or even pressured into a marriage contract that they really don\u2019t want.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no single \u201cright\u201d way to select a spouse, although it\u2019s very possibly the most important decision that any of us ever makes. \u00a0(Lucky me!) \u00a0But there are plenty of wrong ways.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which reminds me of a passage in a book that I just started to read last night, Rolf Dobelli\u2019s Die Kunst des klugen Handelns: 52 Irrwege, die Sie besser anderen \u00fcberlassen<\/em> (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2014), 1, 3 (my translation):<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s be honest. \u00a0We don\u2019t know with certainty what makes us successful. \u00a0We don\u2019t know with certainty what makes us happy. \u00a0But we do know with certainty what destroys<\/em> success or happiness. . . . \u00a0We don\u2019t need any additional cunning, no new ideas, no hyperactivity. \u00a0We just need less stupidity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 New, via the website of the Interpreter Foundation, a fifty-minute audio interview by Stephen Smoot: \u00a0 \u201cStudying the Book of Mormon with Grant Hardy\u201d \u00a0 And, of course, Professor Hardy was interviewed during the first hour of the Interpreter Radio Show on 13 January 2019, as well: \u00a0 https:\/\/interpreterfoundation.org\/interpreter-radio-show-january-13-2019\/ \u00a0 *** \u00a0 Something […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2782,1809,2785,2788,861,1812,1191,641],"class_list":["post-69283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-arranged-marriage","tag-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints","tag-courtship","tag-dating","tag-india","tag-latter-day-saints","tag-marriage","tag-temple"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"California's](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/07\/san-diego-california-temple-grounds-1164680-gallery.jpg\")
<\/a>